The Radical vs. Moderate Enlightenment: Origin of Our Current Political Divide

Many people know that the American Enlightenment (roughly the second half of the 18th Century) formed the basis of our Declaration of Independence, our Constitution, and the first ten amendments. Of course, both the Greek and Christian traditions had a big hand in influencing the Founding Fathers, also (and formed much of the foundations of the Enlightenment). But did you know that there were really two distinct Enlightenments? Some of our Founding Fathers belonged to what we now refer to as the Moderate Enlightenment, while others held a much more radical stance, belonging to the Radical Enlightenment, and a few changed their stance over the years leading up to and continuing through the American Revolution. We will take a look at the major tenets of these two distinct branches of the American Enlightenment and how these divisions have reverberated down to our own day.

It is the opinion of the presenter that these divisions truly form the basis of our conflicts right down to the present day, including the American Civil War, aspects of the Civil Rights Movement, and our present huge political divisions--a chasm, really--between those who favor a states' rights approach and those who favor a federalist approach. In addition, we will see how this conflates with the rural/agricultural versus urban/industrial background of regions of our country, which are in great conflict today. Finally, we will see how another aspect of our early history, that of the different types of settlers from various regions of what is now the UK, fit into the different beliefs and traditions that have influenced our political, religious, and philosophical differences and their ensuing conflicts and struggles from the beginning of European settlement here (the early 1600s) up to today.

Peterson has talked about what he considers the good and the bad resulting from the Enlightenment for years. It's a topic he feels strongly about. Basically, he believes it was historically beneficial to the creation of the west and its values but that it has its limitations primarily due its secularism, particularly as embraced by many Westerners in the last century. This will be discussed briefly but everyone should try to watch the following videos:

"What the Enlightenment Types Get Wrong," with JP, Ben Shapiro, and Dave Rubin
What the enlightenment types get wrong | Ben Shapiro and Jordan Peterson

"The West is not Multicultural--Why Our system is better," with JP and Brett Weinstein
The West Is NOT Multicultural — Why Our System Is Better

1. To what extent do you agree that many of our current conflicts arise from our founding fathers and the different cultural/religious/geographical regions they came from? What other factors might play into our current cultural and political chasms?

2. Do you agree with Peterson as to the limitations of the Enlightenment? Why or why not?

3. Where do you fall into the radical/moderate Enlightenment categories? Are you a radical Enlightenment person or a moderate? Or a little of both?

GENERAL INFORMATION:
The first half hour of our meetup is for mingling, then 7:30pm-10pm consists of a formal presentation and discussion; the discussion section may divide into smaller groups if size necessitates. All are encouraged to contribute to the formal discussion, although you may decline if you wish. Afterwards, we enjoy further discussion with those who wish to stay longer and pursue pertinent topics in more depth, but people should feel free to leave whenever they want/need to.

We have a potluck for everyone to partake of throughout the evening, so bring some food to share if you wish (this could be anything from a bag of chips to a homemade dish).
Our fundamental principle is to encourage the free expression and exploration of ideas. Therefore, we will never silence controversial views that anyone may have about a topic. For the same reason, we do not tolerate direct personal attacks, which only impede genuine dialogue.

DISCORD SERVER (updated link!):
The group has a Discord server! This gives us all a space to talk about stuff between meetups. Use the following link to join, if you haven't already:
https://discord.gg/FRab8G8j2V