The Enlightenment Unit 3: Revolution

Central Questions How did the Enlightenment change: European economics? European politics? European society? What were the major contributions of various Enlightenment figures?

Ideas of the Philosophes The Enlightenment: 18th century movement in which philosophers began questioning their place in society, government, and the Church Philosophes: Intellectuals philosophers that were the driving force behind the Enlightenment Enlightenment stressed reason, thought, and the power of individuals to solve problems and produce ideal society

Economics

One of the founders of social sciences (economics, political science) Posited the idea of laissez-faire economics Laissez-faire: Economic system that is totally free from government regulation Smith believes the economy functions best when entrepreneurs are given freedom to run their businesses unfettered

Pre-Enlightenment mercantilism was dictated by government Laissez-faire: What to produce: Determined by consumers’ demand How to produce: Determined by producers seeking profits For whom to produce: Determined by purchasing power

Politics

Published Leviathan to explain his ideas of how governments should work Believed people were motivated by self-preservation, not morals or logic Discussed the idea of a social contract between people and gov’t—people give up rights and power to a king in exchange for protection and order Once this contract is forged, the people lose their right overthrow or question the gov’t

Argued governments should not be ruled absolutely by one person Believed humans had natural rights (rights with which they are born) Life, liberty, and property Tabula rasa (blank slate)

Believed in a social contract between people and their government Gov’t protects natural rights and judges violators; people behave reasonable If the gov’t breaks the contract, the people have the right to overthrow the gov’t

Montesquieu Idea of separation of powers: A form of government in which the executive, legislative, and judicial branches limit and control each other through a system of checks and balances Checks and balances: Each branch of government has power over the other to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful

Governments should express the will of the people, and the people should submit to the will of the whole

Society

Voltaire often considered greatest Enlightenment figure Helped popularize other figures Well known for criticizing the Church and religion in general Strong belief in freedom of religion and speech Championed deism: religion in which the Abrahamic God created the universe but then let it evolve on its own

DIDEROT Created the Encyclopedia Attempted to catalogue the entirety of human knowledge The Encyclopedia was a powerful weapon against the power of the Church and governments Goal was to “change the general way of thinking” to a more rational society DIDEROT

WOLLSTONECRAFT Founder of modern women’s rights movements Criticized the hypocrisy of male-dominated Enlightenment: Men complained that kings held arbitrary power over their subjects…even though these same men held arbitrary power over women WOLLSTONECRAFT

Child-Rearing Parent-child relationship shifts to a more positive one “Love childhood. Look with friendly eyes on its games, its pleasures, its amiable dispositions.” - Rousseau Rousseau encourages parents to let children form own experiences and enjoy childhood More modern concept of what it means to be a child

Race Concept of race did not exist before Enlightenment People began categorizing plants and animals as scientific thought spread This obsession with scientific categorization eventually extended to human beings Europeans placed themselves at the top, Africans at bottom