The Enlightenment

The 18 th Century  Political History -  Political History - Reform  Intellectual History -  Intellectual History - Reason  Cultural History -  Cultural History - Individualism  Social History - -  Social History - Increased Literacy - Age of Aristocracy  Economic History -  Economic History - Mercantilism to Capitalism

John Locke ( )  Letter on Toleration, 1689  Two Treatises of Government, 1690  Some Thoughts Concerning Education, 1693  The Reasonableness of Christianity, 1695

John Locke’s Philosophy  The individual must become a “rational creature.”  Virtue can be learned and practiced.  Human beings possess free will. - they should be prepared for freedom. - obedience should be out of conviction, not out of fear.  Legislators and rulers owe their power to a contract with the people.  Royal power and wealth do not come from “divine power/authority”.

John Locke’s Philosophy  There are certain natural rights that are endowed by God to all human beings. - life, liberty, property!  The doctrine of the Divine Right of Kings was nonsense.  He favored a republic (leaders and representatives are elected by the people) as the best form of government.

Other people you want to research:

Immanuel Kant ( )  Critique of Pure Reason, 1781  “What is Enlightenment?”, 1784  Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science, 1786

Thomas Paine ( )  Common Sense, 1776  The Rights of Man, 1791

The American “Philosophes” John Adams ( ) Ben Franklin ( ) Thomas Jefferson ( ) Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…

Voltaire ( )  Essay on the Customs and Spirit of Nations, 1756  Candide, 1759  Philosophical Dictionary, 1764

Voltaire’s “Wisdom”  E Every man is guilty of all the good he didn’t do.  God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh.  If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him. t is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.  Love truth and pardon error.

Voltaire’s “Wisdom”  J Judge of a man by his questions rather than by his answers.  Men are equal; it is not birth, but virtue that makes the difference.  Prejudice is opinion without judgment.  The way to become boring is to say everything.  I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

The Baron de Montesquieu ( )  Persian Letters, 1721  On the Spirit of Laws, 1758

Montesquieu To prevent tyranny, there should be separation of powers in the government Greatly influenced the American form of government: three branches Executive Legislative Judicial "In a true state of nature, indeed, all men are born equal, but they cannot continue in this equality. Society makes them lose it, and they recover it only by the protection of laws."

Jean-Jacques Rousseau ( )  Discourse on the Arts & Sciences, 1751  Emile, 1762  The Social Contract, 1762

Rousseau Believed that total freedom is the natural condition of human beings, and that people enter into society (and into having social and political restrictions on their own freedom) voluntarily. Why do people do this? People trade natural liberty for civil liberty (liberty protected by the state/government) for the good of everyone – to benefit/promote the whole community. The appropriate form of government for any state depends on the character of the people. Government should be subject to review/be changed by its citizens

The Physiocrats: A Celebration of the Farmer  An economic theory which considered that the wealth of nations was derived solely from agriculture.  They strongly opposed mercantilism, because they pictured the peasant society as the economic foundation of a nation’s wealth.

Capitalism – New Economic Ideas  Adam Smith The Wealth of Nations What did Smith believe in?  Profit (making $) motivates people.  Division of labor.  Private ownership of property.  Law of Supply & Demand. aw of Competition (it’s a good thing).  Free trade.

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