Was print able to shape the minds of people of France directly?
Answer:
- There can be no doubt that print helps the spread of ideas but we must remember that people did not read just one kind of literature.
- If they read the ideas of Voltaire and Rousseau, they were also exposed to monarchical and Church propaganda.
- They were not influenced directly by everything they read or saw.
- They accepted some ideas and rejected others. They interpreted things their own way.
- Print did not directly shape their minds but it did open up the possibility of thinking differently.