Ideational Catalysis: Enlightenment Discourse and the Revolutionary Reordering of the World
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2025
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| author | Revista, Zen HISTORY, 10 |
| author_facet | Revista, Zen HISTORY, 10 |
| contents | This paper introduces the concept of "ideational catalysis" to explain how the intellectual currents of the Enlightenment profoundly shaped and accelerated the revolutionary reordering of the world in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Moving beyond a mere correlational understanding, this study argues that Enlightenment discourse did not merely coincide with these upheavals but actively functioned as a catalyst, providing the philosophical frameworks, moral justifications, and rhetorical tools necessary for challenging existing political, social, and economic orders. By examining the dissemination and appropriation of key Enlightenment ideas such as natural rights, popular sovereignty, the social contract, separation of powers, and the pursuit of reason, the paper demonstrates their transformative power in instigating and directing major revolutions, including the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions. It explores how these abstract principles were translated into actionable demands for liberty, equality, and fraternity, thereby dismantling traditional hierarchies and fostering new forms of governance and societal organization. The analysis emphasizes the mechanisms through which these ideas permeated various social strata, from elite intellectual circles to broader public spheres, ultimately creating a fertile ground for revolutionary movements that reshaped global political landscapes. |
| format | Recurso digital |
| id | zenodo_https___doi_org_10_5281_zenodo_17782951 |
| institution | Zenodo |
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| publishDate | 2025 |
| publisher | Zenodo |
| record_format | zenodo |
| spellingShingle | Ideational Catalysis: Enlightenment Discourse and the Revolutionary Reordering of the World Revista, Zen HISTORY, 10 This paper introduces the concept of "ideational catalysis" to explain how the intellectual currents of the Enlightenment profoundly shaped and accelerated the revolutionary reordering of the world in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Moving beyond a mere correlational understanding, this study argues that Enlightenment discourse did not merely coincide with these upheavals but actively functioned as a catalyst, providing the philosophical frameworks, moral justifications, and rhetorical tools necessary for challenging existing political, social, and economic orders. By examining the dissemination and appropriation of key Enlightenment ideas such as natural rights, popular sovereignty, the social contract, separation of powers, and the pursuit of reason, the paper demonstrates their transformative power in instigating and directing major revolutions, including the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions. It explores how these abstract principles were translated into actionable demands for liberty, equality, and fraternity, thereby dismantling traditional hierarchies and fostering new forms of governance and societal organization. The analysis emphasizes the mechanisms through which these ideas permeated various social strata, from elite intellectual circles to broader public spheres, ultimately creating a fertile ground for revolutionary movements that reshaped global political landscapes. |
| title | Ideational Catalysis: Enlightenment Discourse and the Revolutionary Reordering of the World |
| url | https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17782951 |