The Enlightenment Tara Madsen

Path to the Enlightenment Enlightenment: 18th century movement of intellectuals who were impressed with the Scientific Revolution They centered all ideas around the word “reason” Reason dealt with logical thinking…

John Locke Argued that every person was born with a tabula rasa… this just means a blank mind He thought that people were molded and shaped by their environment and experiences John Locke developed the Social Compact Theory… see board for explanation

Isaac Newton Believed that the world worked like a giant machine and operated according to natural laws… these laws could be uncovered through investigation Example: law of gravity

Montesquieu A French noble who is famous for his work The Spirit of the Laws which was a study of governments. Montesquieu identified three types of governments 1. Republics 2. Despotism 3. Monarchies Montesquieu also pushed for the idea of a separation of powers… In this model, a government has different branches that “check” each other’s power.

Voltaire Strongly critical of Christianity and pushed for religious tolerance He was from Paris, France From a prosperous, middle class family

Diderot Went to the University of Paris Became a writer, studying many subjects and languages Diderot’s major contribution was the Encyclopedia which quickly spread Enlightenment ideas throughout France

Smith on Economics Adam Smith: Wrote Wealth of Nations In his writing, he suggests that the only way to properly run an economy is by a technique known as laissez-faire (meaning to leave alone) In his book, he discusses three things that drive the economy… 1. Competition 2. The Free Market 3. Capitalism

Other Enlightenment Thinkers Mary Wollstonecraft… English writer… Enlightenment figure who pushed for Women’s Rights John Wesley… Anglican minister… Father of the Methodist Church