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Swift and Intellect

"No man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience." John Locke said this in 1690, at the dawn of the enlightenment. The Age of Reason is well known for furthering the boundaries of science and human thought, yet it is often criticized for being overly intellectual.  In Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift displays the irrationality of Enlightenment rational thought, while calling for a more balanced view of the mind.


The Enlightenment is well known for being a period of intellectual emphasis


Jonathan Swift’s satiric description of Laputians is ultimately a critique on the rationality of the Enlightenment


Swifts depiction of the academy of Lagado contains a biting satire of 18^th century academics


Through Swift’s biting criticism, however, it becomes clear that he values the use of intellect towards practical purposes


Through his satire of the Laputians and the academics, Swift criticizes the irrationality of 18^th century rational thought. He suggests that human logic has limits, and rather than applying it to abstract, impractical ideas, human intellect should be practiced with practicality so that true progress can be achieved