Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Wollstonecraft The Philosophes

The ideas of the 18 th Century were drawn from the scientific revolution of the 17 th Carried the ideas of Bacon and Descartes (inductive and deductive reasoning) Carried the ideas of Natural Law and Right Belief, in a non religious way, that life gets better as time goes on Faith of the age in the natural faculties of the human mind Philosophes French for philosopher In the 18 th, meant to approach any subject in a critical and inquiring spirit

The Reality of the Age They were social or literary critics All written under censorship To protect people from ‘harmful’ ideas France, the center of the enlightenment, had both censorship and large reading and writing public It discourage writers from openly or explicitly questioning Examples: customs of Persians, double meanings, innuendos, jokes Paris the heart of the movement Mingling of people of ideas in Salons, conducting by women

Thomas Hobbes Most famous for “Leviathan” – named for a biblical monster Rejected the Concept of Divine Right Mankind is selfish, power-hungry, egotistical and materialistic Society is corrupt People should be ruled by “all powerful” leader, to keep them in line People do not deserve freedom Life is “Nasty, Brutish and Short”

John Locke Most famous book “The Two Treatises on Government” In their natural state – people are good Society, civilization and Government corrupt people Humans have “Natural Rights” which cannot and should not be taken away “Tabula Rasa” – we are a blank slate at birth – innocent Governments should be small and the rights of people are most important

Mary Wollstonecraft Considered the Mother of Modern Feminism Wrote “A Vindication of the Rights of Women” Believed in Logic – Women lower place in society was not logical – just an extension of tradition If women have weaknesses (being emotional) – then it is societies pressures that have made them this way Invented the term “Male Dominated” to describe the conditions of women She was the mother of Mary Shelly (Frankenstein)

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Discourse on the Sciences and Math Criticizes education Not progressing us to anything good Education just makes us deceive ourselves and others – we try to fit in Leads to individuality, makes us self interested consumers Puts flowers on our chains – just hiding inequality Where ever science and math flourished, luxury and leisure flourish They are born from our vices, and do nothing to improve the moral well being of society Don’t contribute anything to love of country, friends, or the unfortunate Science does not give any guidance for making people more virtuous citizens We learn to hate ourselves because the masks we have to wear To cope, we hate the people below us Science is based on a sense of a need for luxury Science becomes a means for making our lives easier and more pleasurable, not morally better

Rousseau Con’t Discourse on the Origin of Inequality For us to understand the state of nature, there can be no laws, property, understanding of threat, minimal language skills Natural man is isolated, timid, peaceful, mute and without the foresight to worry Humans have two principles – self interest, and empathy Humans forced to settle down, but roughly equal Series of events move us from the ‘noble savage’ Organize into temporary groups – hunting Very basic language - small families based on love If we stayed here, there would be no inequality But, agriculture and metallurgy change this Crucial point develops – we start to make comparisons to others –develop self image Things become valuable - Division of labour - Distinct social classes, workers, rulers Leads to invention of private property Unnatural, but education teaches us its legit Some people left out of property grab – see it as illegitimate Great Deception – rich convince the poor, private property needs to be protected All accepted their chains

Rousseau Con’t The Social Contract  Outlines how governments could exist to protect equality of citizens  Based on the well being of the whole, protects the rights of all individuals  Governments must enter a social contract with its people  People agree to give up some of their rights in exchange for government services If you have: lack of prosperity, no population growth, legislative body silent, disparity, religious faction – no social contract If the one is being sacrificed by the many – no social contract People have the right to remove the government if the contract is broken