Molded Jello and the Enlightenment Period

The Enlightenment period reminds me of molded jello.

It looks organized and easy to eat (a.k .a. reading the Enlightenment greats like Locke and Rosseau). But try picking up jello and squeezing it, and the jello squishes out everywhere. The act of squeezing jello is like understanding the nuances, interpretations, and the implementation of Locke’s concept of human nature as generally reasonable and tolerant but needs government to maintain order — where’s the beginning and end of those two statements? Or Rosseau also believes humans are inherently good but get corrupted by society and institutions — so are humans best suited to live in small 10-person communities to avoid corruption?

The more I thought about the implications and implementations from the Enlightenment, the more complex they became and harder to grasp. This takes me back to the lessons in Dr. Seuss’s whimsical books — simplicity in the face of the complex. These political and humanistic issues raised by Locke and Rosseau in the readings are impossible to define for all circumstances. Their strength and longevity lie in accepting the impossibility of a perfect definition and solution.

To wit and to badly mimic Dr. Seuss on how to interpret and implement the Enlightenment period, we should try to…

Like a whimsical wobble, ideas twist and tumble! To grasp their true dance, stay humble and rumble.