The Enlightenment

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The Enlightenment

• 1650-1789

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Big Questions

1. What was the Enlightenment and how did it reflect
   new scientific ideas?
2. How did Enlightenment writers and thinkers set
   the stage for revolutionary movements?

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Enlightenment Ideas

• Reason is admired by philosophers.
• Used reason from science to improve all aspects
  of human life (government, religion, education,
  and economics).
• Pro-religious toleration.
• Society could be improved by using reason and the
  Scientific Method

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Enlightened Philosophers
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Thomas Hobbes

• Wrote the Leviathan.
• Called for an all-powerful leader.
• People are inherently bad.
• Role of govt- to preserve peace and stability at
  all costs.

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John Locke

• Wrote Two Treatises on Govt.
• Man is improvable through reason.
• All men are born equal with certain unalienable
  rightslife, liberty, PROPERTY (Natural Rights)
• Role of govt- to secure the rights for its
  citizens (revolts are ok).

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Montesquieu

• Wrote The Spirit of the Laws.
• Govt should operate with a system of checks and
  balances.
• Separation of Powers-3 branches of govt.

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Rousseau

• Wrote The Social Contract.
• Viewed government as a Social Contract among free
  individuals to create a society guided by the
  general will. (rebellion is ok, if necessary)
• Man in the state of nature is good

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Voltaire

• Pro-religious toleration.
• Enlightened Despotism- Rational monarchs protect
  peoples rights (freedom of speech, religion,
  etc.)

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Mary Wollstonecraft

• Argued for womens education and political
  participation
• Believed women, like men, need education to
  become virtuous and useful
• Womens equality

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Enlightenment Impact

• Encouraged people to
• Judge for themselves what was right or wrong in
  society.
• Rely on human reason to solve social problems.

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Hobbes vs. Locke

• Hobbes
• - People are selfish, self-serving, and brutal.
• Without control, society would be chaotic
• Locke
• People are reasonable and able to make their own
  decisions.
• People should be able to govern themselves.

13
Big Questions

1. What was the Enlightenment and how did it reflect
   new scientific ideas?
2. How did Enlightenment writers and thinkers set
   the stage for revolutionary movements?