Enlightenment Unit 5 Notes (Pg. 1 – 2)

Renaissance The Renaissance, a rebirth of learning and the arts, inspired a spirit of curiosity in many fields. Before 1500, scholars generally decided what was true or false by referring to an ancient Greek or Roman author, or to the Bible.

Scientific Successes Scientific successes convinced educated Europeans to accept the power of reason. The Scientific Revolution of the 1500s and 1600 had transformed the way people in Europe looked at the world. Natural laws or rules discoverable by reason govern scientific forces such as gravity and heliocentric. Galileo and others began to develop the scientific method – a logical procedure for gathering and testing ideas. Observation -> Hypothesis -> Experiment -> Analyze and interpret

Philosophes 5 main ideas Scientific successes ultimately led to the Enlightenment, a new intellectual movement that stressed reason and the power of individuals to solve problems. The Enlightenment reached its height in France in the mid-1700s. The social critics of this period were known as philosophes, French for “philosophers.” Believed that people could apply reason to all aspects of life, just as Isaac Newton had applied reason to science. Reason – Truth can be discovered through reason or logical thinking. Nature – What was natural was also good and reasonable; these rights cannot be taken away by any society or government Happiness – The philosophes reject the medieval notion that people should find joy in the hereafter heaven, other world, etc. and urged people to seek well-being on earth. Progress – Society and humankind could improve Liberty – the liberties that the English people had won in their Glorious Revolution and Bill of Rights

Thomas Hobbes Seventeenth Century English thinker; outlined his idea in his work Leviathan Believed that people were naturally cruel, greedy, and selfish. He thought that without laws or other control, life would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” Therefore, people entered in a social contract, an agreement that people gave up their freedom for an organized society. Claimed most powerful government to ensure this was an absolute monarchy.

John Locke John Locke – believed that people were reasonable and moral; he thought all humans had natural rights such as life, liberty, and property. In his work Two Treaties of Government, he argued that people formed governments to protect their natural rights, and the best kind of government had limited power and was accepted by all citizens. Locke supported revolutions; if government failed to finish its obligations then the people have the right to overthrow that government.

Hobbes v. Locke

Baron de la Brede et de Montesquieu published The Spirit of the Laws; most well-known for thinking that the way to protect liberty was to divide the various functions and powers of government among three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.

Voltaire Given name was Francois-Marie Arouet “my trade is to say what I think” imprisoned and forced to exile for preaching freedom of speech Exposed the abuses of his day; targeted corrupt officials As a writer, he spoke for those battling inequality, injustice, and superstition He detested the slave trade and deplored religious prejudice

Denis Diderot wrote the first encyclopedia; compiled articles and wrote philosophes that denounced slavery, praised freedom of expression, and urged education for all, attacked the divine-right theory and traditional religions.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed people were basically good, but corrupted by the evils of society like the unequal distribution of property In his works The Social Contract felt that society placed too many limitations on people’s behavior. Government should place some control, but be elected by the people.

Woman during the Enlightenment The Enlightenment slogan “free and equal” did not apply to woman. Mary Wollstonecraft was a Britain social critic. She accepted that a woman’s first duty was to be a good mother, but felt that a woman should be able to decide what was in her own interest without depending on her husband.