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The Enlightenment
Chapter 10, Section 2
What was the Enlightenment?
• Enlightenment – an eighteenth century philosophical movement of individuals impressed with the scientific revolution
• Looked to apply reason to everyday life
• Reason, or logical thinking, was used to question and better understand things like government, religion, and education
Thomas Hobbes
• Expressed his views in a work called the Leviathan
• Believed man to be naturally selfish and wicked
• Said people needed a government with the power of a Leviathan
• Strong supporter of the absolute monarchy
John Locke• Every person is born with a
tabula rasa, or blank slate• People are influenced by their
surroundings– Could you create a better
society by changing surroundings to make them better?
• Said people were born with three natural rights: Life, Liberty, and Property
• Criticized absolute monarchy and favored self government
The Philosophes• Philosophe – French word for
philosopher• Inspiration was provided by the
English and their Glorious Revolution
• 5 core beliefs held them together:– Reason – Discovering the truth
through logical thinking– Nature – What was natural was good
and acceptable– Happiness – Urged people to find
well being on earth rather than the hereafter
– Progress – Stressed that society and humankind could improve
– Liberty – Called for the liberties the English had won in their Glorious Revolution and Bill of Rights
Montesquieu• Charles-Louis de Secondat
(1689-1755)• Most significant in the area of
political thought• Wrote On The Spirit of Laws,
which discussed the idea of a checks and balances system
• Believed there should be a separation of powers– Argued England embodied this
with the executive (monarch), legislative (parliament), and judicial (courts) branches
Voltaire• Francoi-Marie Arouet (1694-
1778)• Fought for freedom of thought
and expression• Wrote Treatises on Toleration,
criticizing the Church and pushing for equality of religions
• Was a proponent of deism, or the belief that God had set the universe in motion and was letting it run without interference
Rousseau• Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-
1778)• Most famous for social
contract theory– Society agrees to be governed
in exchange for protection
• Said people had become enslaved by the government through this social contract– Man is born free, but society
has put him in chains
• Good government is freely formed by the people
Diderot
• Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
• Wrote a 28-volume Encyclopedia that he hoped would “change the general way of thinking”– It attacked religious
superstition and called for social improvements
Crime and Punishment
• Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794)
• Wrote On Crimes and Punishments, criticizing the justice system– Believed punishments
should preserve the social order, not avenge crimes
• He did not agree with capital punishment and promoted the right to a speedy trial
Women’s Rights
• Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797)
• Published an essay called A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
• Argued that women needed education as much as men
• Urged women to enter male-dominated fields like medicine and politics
Economics
• Adam Smith (1723-1790)• Wrote the Wealth of
Nations, discussing the Laissez-Faire economic policy– “Let the people do as they
please”
• Government has only three roles– The army– The police– Public works
The Social World
• Salons – elegant drawing rooms in the homes of the upper class
• Writers and thinkers came together to discuss and exchange ideas
Religion
• The Philosophes may have attacked the church, but most people were religious
• 90-95% of Catholics attended Easter services
• Protestant faith were still prevalent
Exit Slip
• Who were the philosophes?
• How were the philosophes influential to the Enlightenment?
• Select and describe ONE of the following:– Cesare Beccaria– Mary Wollstonecraft– Adam Smith