Enlightenment is what? Russian enlightenment. Legal Education

For many centuries, various philosophical trends arose and gradually disappeared. Some of them corresponded to the spirit of their time, others were ahead of him in many respects. One part was supported and even planted by the state, and the second became banned. There are many cases where persecution started on prominent thinkers, their books were publicly burned at the stake as blasphemous. One of the most powerful movements of the 17-18th centuries was the Enlightenment. Originating in England, it quickly spread throughout Europe.

The main features of the Enlightenment

Enlightenment is a method of struggle conducted by representatives of the bourgeoisie with the cultural and political system of the state. The revolutionary-minded sections of society were ardent opponents of the established feudal-absolutist system. You can also give another notion. Enlightenment is the direction of cultural and philosophical thought associated with the assertion of capitalist relations. It was a natural stage in the development of any state, passing from obsolete foundations to completely new, industrialistic ones. The main features of the Enlightenment are:

• Democratism, which ensures the increase of education in all strata of the population;
• Rationalism, which provides a deep faith in the boundless possibilities of the human mind. Kant became the main propagandist of these ideas;
• Legal education. It included the dissemination of knowledge about inalienable rights and freedoms among all people.

Enlightenment Time in European Countries

The era, when rationalism and free-thinking came first, became one of the key in the formation of modern civilization. Enlightenment is a direction that arose under the influence of the scientific revolution in England. Very quickly, innovative ideas spread throughout Europe, penetrating into France, and later into Russia. Thus, the English Enlightenment became the progenitor of a powerful movement, which in many ways changed the world outlook of people. The most influential were representatives of the Enlightenment in France. It is this country that is famous for its outstanding philosophers who created voluminous treatises. Under the influence of the fundamental principles of the Enlightenment, the Declaration of Independence in the United States was written, as well as the French Declaration on the Rights of Man and the Citizen.

The movement that started could not but affect the ethics and various spheres of the social life of society. In the US, the Enlightenment has provoked the abolition of slavery and the acquisition of independence by colonial lands. In addition, the prestige of the aristocracy was greatly shaken, and the influence of the church on secular life diminished. Previously, it was almost absolute.

The culture of enlightenment itself did not represent one definite philosophical school. Very often the views of these or those thinkers and their adherents differed significantly and even contradicted each other. They were united by their criticism of the established traditional foundations, moral, ethical and political views.

As for the temporary boundaries of the Enlightenment, historians can not come to one opinion. Some believe that the movement originated in the late 19th century, others believe that it was the middle of the 18th century. The end of this period is usually associated with the death of Voltaire, as well as the beginning of the Napoleonic wars. There is another opinion: the apogee of the Enlightenment was the Glorious Revolution in England and the Great French Revolution.

Enlightenment in the Petrine era

The eighteenth century entered the history of Russia as a time of extraordinary contrasts that affected all spheres of life. There was an upsurge of science and enlightenment. There was a secularization of the temple architecture, cultural ties with other nations were established, national isolation was overcome. For the first time there were museums, assemblies, regular printed publications, official secular educational institutions.

The Russian Enlightenment is an attempt by all means to copy the European way of life. Merchants, the clergy strongly resisted the innovations and reluctantly went to meet the aristocracy.

Enlightenment in the 18th century

A lot of attention was paid to education, culture and art during the reign of Catherine II. The Empress bought collections of paintings and sculptures, communicated with prominent figures, including those who came from other countries. The example of Catherine II was followed and her approximate. They arranged exhibitions in their estates, joining in to the beautiful and enlightening.

A lot of attention in this period was paid to cadet schools, institutes and schools. The main merit of the empress can be called the creation of a unified education system, in which there was no division into classes. The exception was only serfs.

For the first time before officials, the question is raised about the development of general education, and not only technical and natural.

Russian law education

Issues related to the study and teaching of the foundations of legislation arose in Russia at the end of the 17th century. They were caused by the established enlightened absolutism and the creation of a unified educational system. As early as 1682, Tsar Fyodor Alexeyevich strongly recommended that he study the legacy both spiritual and legal. But these initiatives did not come true. The level of legal literacy in the country remained extremely low.

The first real enlighteners in Russia can rightfully be called Peter I and Catherine II. It was their efforts that created the first prerequisites for the formation of a modern legislative system in our country. Peter I ordered the creation of written normative acts and convened the first commission in Russia to write a new Code and translate into Russian foreign legal treatises. Catherine II continued the activities of his predecessor. She actively involved in the work of prominent lawyers, philosophers and politicians.

It was with the time of the reign of Peter the Great that historians associate the beginning of the existence of a legal education that entailed legal education. Many thinkers from European countries came to Russia to see firsthand the innovations in the field of legislation. A. Smith, one of the founders of such a direction as the English Enlightenment, was surprised to note the unprecedented pace of the development of law under the leadership of Peter I. In the future, this direction was given more and more attention.

The historical significance of the Enlightenment

Each philosophical direction becomes a very important milestone in the development of civilization. Enlightenment has affected all aspects of the social and spiritual life of Europe, the United States and Russia. It was thanks to him that secular society separated from the church, all sections of the population had the opportunity to study, and the national borders were broken.