Carol Rioux Kingwood High School Kingwood, Texas
Author of Leviathan Influenced by English Civil War Man naturally selfish and wicked State of nature – life was solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short Promoted idea of “social contract” between the people and their government Promoted the idea of an all powerful government to curb man’s brutish nature
Author of Two Treatises on Government Influenced by Glorious Revolution All men are born free with certain inalienable rights Duty of government to protect these rights Promoted social contract between the people and the government Failure of government to protect rights justified a rebellion about unjust rule Believed that all people are born “tabula rasa”
It is an orderly world!
1. Reason: applying logical thought to discern a truth; ridding your mind of intolerance, bigotry, prejudice 2. Nature: all ideas derived from nature are good & reasonable; referred frequently to nature 3. Happiness: believed if one lived by the laws of nature, happiness would follow
4. Progress: first time the idea of progress is introduced in Europe; believed that if people used logic & reason to overcome societal problems, man could be perfected 5. Liberty: believed that by applying reason to all aspects of society, man could be set free
An unorganized group that included literary people, professors, journalists, statesmen, economists, political scientists, and above all social reformers Believed that reason could be applied to all aspects of human life Formulated and popularized new ideas
Belief in Progress: supported abolition; social equality, improvements in education to create a better society Secular Outlook: world became more secular; idea of separation of church and state; religious toleration Importance of Individual: people began to look to themselves to judge what is right or wrong; role of individual in society grew in stature; suggested role of government was to protect the rights of the individual Ideas that shaped Western Civilization