Aim: Explain the ideas of Hobbes, Locke, and Other Enlightenment Philosophers

Two Views on Government Mid 1700’s: New intellectual movement stress reason & power of individuals to solve problems Called The Enlightenment Started from 2 English political thinkers Thomas Hobbes Expressed views in the Leviathan (1751) Convinced that all humans were selfish & wicked To escape bleak life, people had to hand over rights to strong ruler in exchange for law & order Agreement called The Social Contract John Locke Believed that people could learn from experience, improve & govern themselves People are born free with natural rights Natural rights were life, liberty, & property Governments job was to protect rights 2

Philosophes Advocate Reason Enlightenment reached its height in France Social critics of this period known as Philosophes (French for Philosopher) Believed that people could apply reason to all aspects of life 5 concepts formed core of Philosophes 1) Reason 2) Nature 3) Happiness 4) Progress 5) Liberty 3

Other Philosophes Voltaire Combats Intolerance Made frequent targets of the clergy, aristocracy, & the government Never stopped fighting for tolerance, reason, freedom of religious belief, & freedom of speech Montesquieu & Separation of Powers French writer that devoted himself to the study of political liberty Wrote Spirits of Law (1748) : Proposed that separation of powers would keep any group from gaining total control of power Rousseau: Champion of Freedom Committed to individual freedom Civilization corrupted people’s goodness Wrote Social Contract (1762) Only good government was one that was freely formed by people and came from consent of the governed 4