The Age of Enlightenment

• Also known as “The Age of Reason”

• Scientific Revolution paved the way as Natural Laws that applied to nature were now Natural Rights that applied to society.

• Led to discovery of the world outside of Europe and the Columbian Exchange

• Enlightened philosophers (aka philosophies in French) and writers

Enlightened Philosophers (aka philosophies in French)

and Writers

Thomas Hobbes

• The Leviathan publish in 1651.• Without government, people would constantly be

fighting amongst themselves. • Life without government would be "poor, nasty, brutish,

and short." • The purpose of government is to ensure peace and

security through whatever means necessary. • Government is a contract between citizens and their

ruler. In this contract, citizens give up rights for the guarantee of peace and security.

• The best government is one in which the ruler has absolute power.

• People never have the right to rebel.

John Locke

• Government is a contract between citizens and their rulers.

• People have a natural right to life, liberty, and property. • The purpose of government is:

– to protect the rights of life, liberty, and property. – to create order in society.

• Citizens have the right to rebel against a government that does not respect the rights of its citizens.

• Rulers should stay in power only as long as they have the consent of the people they govern.

• Locke’s ideas influenced authors of US Declaration of Independence and French revolutionaries in the 1790s.

VoltaireFrançois-Marie Arouet

• Considered the most important of the enlightenment philosophers

• Prolific writer; His satire Candide is his most famous work.

• Fought for tolerance, reason, and freedom of thought, expression, and religious belief

• Twice imprisoned in the Bastille

• Fought against prejudice and superstition

• Deism: system of thought that denies the interference of the Creator with the laws of the universe.

Freedom of thought is most important: "I do not agree with a word you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

Baron d’Montesquieu

• The Spirit of Laws 1748

• Advocated separation of powers and checks and balances to keep any individual or group from gaining complete control of the government.

• One of the greatest influences on the US Constitution.

Rousseau

• Swiss philosopher• The Social Contract• Although born good, people are corrupted by

society. • Government should be a contract between

people, not between the people and a ruler. • People should give up some freedom in favor of

the General Will of the people. • People are equal and have a right to individual

freedom.

Beccaria

• Believed laws existed to preserve social order

• Advocated a criminal justice system based on fairness and reason

Adam Smith

• A Physiocrat: Natural laws govern the economy.

• Wrote The Wealth of Nations• Called for the economic freedom of

individuals, by keeping the government from interfering in the economy.

• Believed an “invisible hand” (the law of supply and demand and competition) would guide the economy.

Mary Wollstonecraft

• Vindication of the Rights of Women

• Argued for women’s right to become educated and to participate in politics

• Believed women, like men, need education to become virtuous and useful.

Denis Diderot• Spread enlightened thinking in all

areas by publishing the Encyclopedia, a 28 volumes of collected knowledge and the new ideas of the Scientific Revolution and the enlightenment

• First to use an alphabetical format

How did Enlightenment writers and thinkers set the stage for

revolutionary movements?

• Encouraged people to judge for themselves what was right or wrong in society–Rely on human reason to solve social

problems