Page 3 - Pharmacy History 03 Sept 1997

The age of enlightenment
de la Perouse Rose de Freycinet
The Enlightenment was a European intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries. Ideas concerning God, reason, nature and man were meshed into a worldview that
was widely embraced and created revolutionary developments in art, philosophy and politics. Central
to Enlightenment thought was the celebration of reason, the power by which man understands the universe and improves his own condition. The goals of rational man were knowledge, freedom, and happiness.
This era affirmed the ascendancy of Europe over the rest of the world and marked the beginning of a new phase in the history of oceanic exploration. Scientists were particularly curious about the vast, uncharted region of the southern hemisphere referred to as Terra Australis or Terres Australes (Austral Lands). What countries lay in southern latitudes? What resources did they have? Were the oceans connected in any way? Chemists gained new understanding of major elements and biologists developed a vital new classification system for the natural species.
The Enlightenment also pioneered the application of scientific methods to the study of human society and the modern social sciences. The basic idea here was that rational laws could
St Alouarn Baudin
describe social as well as physical behavior, and that knowledge could be used to improve policy. The Enlightenment thus became an important force for political and social reform, and forecast the end of absolute monarchy.
Although beaten by Britain in the Napoleonic wars, the French, under a series of skilled navigators, made at least 20 journeys to explore the southern oceans between the 16th and 19th centuries, ostensibly for
D’Urville Leseuer
scientific research. However in fairness, they did make enormous contributions to scientific knowledge in the fields of anthropology, botany, zoology, astronomy, geology and geography in this part of the world. These voyagers were watched closely by the British as it was feared that the French may have been more interested in establishing a colony as Britain had done at Port Jackson, in New South Wales.
volume 5 no 36 FEBRUARY 2009
Pharmacy History Australia 3