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Voltaire
François-Marie d'Arouet
1694–1778Paris, FranceWriter and
PhilosopherCritic Social Activist• Liberty
PhilosophiesFree will existsReligion is a necessary guarantor of
social orderHedonistic moralitySkepticism is goodEmpirical facts• Optimism is ignoring the empirical facts
in
John Locke
August 29th 1632 – October 28th 1704Physician and philosopherWrote many treatisesEmpiricist• Knowledge comes from senses
Liberal• Individuals have rights• Limited governments must protect these
rights
Thomas Hobbes
April 5 1588 – December 4 1679Solely a philosopherWrote LeviathanWalked between Liberalism and
Monarchial Soveriegnty
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
1646–1716 born in Leipzig, Germany1672 Diplomat in Paris 15 Published Books• Discourse on Metaphysics
Four Principles The Principle of the Best•God always acts for the best
Predicate-in-Notion Principle•the notion of the predicate is in some way included in that of the subject.
Principle of Contradiction •“That which involves a contradiction [is] false, and that which is opposed or contradictory to the false [is] true.”
Principle of Sufficient Reason•“Nothing is without reason”•“There is no effect without a cause”
Jean Jacques Rousseau1712- 1778Calvinist GenevaWanted to become a
priest, then an itinerant musician, settled for a tutor
Abandoned his five children in a hospital
Reconverted to Calvinismpolitical philosophy and
moral psychology Criticized philosophers
Lettres Moraleshuman beings are increasingly dependent
on one another for the satisfaction of their needs
human beings are good by nature but are rendered corrupt by society
Philosophers are rationalizers of self-interest, as apologists of tyranny, and as playing a role in the alienation of humanity's natural impulse to compassion
derive their very sense of self from the opinion of others
Religious toleration and fallibility of inquisition
Learning not by lecturing but by experience
Denis Diderot
1713-1784Langres, FranceEncyclopediaWriter• Pensees philosophiques• Lettre sur les aveugles
Philosophies
All things must be examined, debated, investigated without exception and without regard for anyone’s feelings.
Pensees philosophiques• Attacked atheism and received Chritianity
Lettre sur les aveugles• Criticized the conventional morality of the
day• Alluded to the mistress of a minister
Rene Descartes 1596-La Haye, FranceWent to Jesuit collegeGeometry and
AlgebraNew concept of
MatterMeditationes de
Prima Philosophia • 1641
PhilosophiesThe Principles• Proves God’s existence• Unsound evidence
The Meditations• Questions the possibility of knowledge
The Passions• Passions of the soul are mental activities
that can move us to action• Must be controlled
Sir Thomas More
1478-1535London, EnglandLord ChancellorRenaissance
HumanistUtopia• 1516
UtopiaPerfectly orderly, reasonable social
arrangements Communal ownership of landBoth men and women are educatedComplete religious tolerationSlaveryGold not liked, jewelry only for childrenMoney only necessary for commoditiesWelfareNo lawyers
John Stuart Mill
May 20 1806 – May 8 1873Philosopher and economistMember of ParliamentWrote On LibertyUtilitarianism• Anybody can do anything as long as no
harm is caused• Social Liberty• Tyranny of Majority