Enlightened Philosophes (Philosophers)

Unit Objectives To understand what the Enlightenment was To learn who the philosophes were and what impact they had To compare and contrast the philosophes

The Age of Reason, mid-1700s What was the “Enlightenment”?

Philosophes (or philosophers) sought new ideas about government, religion, economics, and education as a result of the Renaissance and Reformation—Many see the Enlightenment as an extension of the Renaissance Like during the Renaissance, the old traditional ways were challenged Instead of blaming the supernatural or God for what was not understood, philosophes looked for the real answers based on reason and study

Five Core Concepts Reason (Truth could be discovered through reason or logical thinking) Nature (What was natural was also good and reasonable) Happiness (Urged people to seek well-being on earth, not wait for hereafter) Progress (Society and humankind could improve) Liberty (Supported liberties like the ones won by the British people in the Glorious Revolution and the Bill of Rights)

What is a “social contract”?

Several philosophes believed in social contracts, but not all in the same way

Thomas Hobbes British Believed in a social contract Write The Leviathan (1651) He was convinced that humans were naturally selfish and wicked and needed a strong ruler to keep the people under control

Hobbes Type of government Hobbes preferred:

Hobbes What was absolute monarchy based on?

Hobbes What did Hobbes believe it should be based on? In other words, Hobbes believed the people should agree to be ruled by an absolute ruler for their own good

John Locke British Locke also believed in a social contract Locke had a more positive view of human nature and believed people had the ability to grow from experiences and govern themselves Locke believed all people should be born free and equal and were entitled to three natural rights:

Locke Locke believed it was the government’s job to protect these rights—What if it didn’t?

Locke Locke criticized absolute monarchy and preferred a government in which the people rules themselves (democracy)

Locke Like Hobbes, Locke believed a government’s power should come with the consent of the governed, he just believed in the people doing the governing themselves instead of agreeing to be ruled by a monarch

Rousseau French Rousseau also believed in a social contract but in a different way—Instead of believing it to be a contract between a society and its government like Hobbes, he believed it to be an agreement between free individuals to create a society and a government Like Locke, Rousseau believed government came from the consent of the governed but in a much broader way—He believed all people were equal and all titles of nobility should be abolished, which inspired the French Revolution Wrote The Social Contract

Rousseau Direct Democracy:

Rousseau Believed strongly in individual freedom His opinion on human nature:

Voltaire French Wrote often about tolerance, reason, freedom of religion, and especially freedom of speech Sent to jail in France twice and was once exiled to England for things he wrote that were critical of the French monarchy “I do not agree with a word you say but will defend to the death your right to say it.”

Voltaire Known for being critical of Christianity Believed in Deism: Belief based on reason and natural law that a mechanic (God) created the universe and it worked like a clock that ran based on natural laws

Diderot Wrote the Encyclopedia Purpose was to change the general way of thinking—it helped spread ideas of Enlightenment It became a weapon against old French society attacking religious superstition and supporting religious tolerance

Baron de Montesquieu French Devoted to political liberty Believed in a balanced government that included:

Montesquieu Checks and Balances: Became the basis for the U.S. Constitution

Cesare Beccaria Italian Believed laws existed to preserve social order, not to avenge crimes Criticized abuses of justice like torturing witnesses or suspects, irregular proceedings in trials, cruel and unusual punishments (inspired the 8th Amendment in the Bill of Rights) Did not believe in capital punishment—Do you?

Mary Wollstonecraft British Supported educating women and encouraged women to enter predominantly male fields like medicine and politics