1. The Enlightenment

2. Overview
Belief that…
Scientific Revolution proved that there were laws governing the operation of the universe.
Since human beings were part of the natural world, there should be laws that govern their behavior also.
Ideas grounded in tradition & faith should be challenged.
Scientific method could be used to discover these laws.
As a result, human life and society might be changed for the better.

3. Thomas Hobbes Wrote Leviathan Claimed human nature was essentially bad
People could not govern themselves
Therefore, people should enter into a social contract w/an absolute ruler who keeps order in exchange for peoples’ loyalty
This contract cannot be broken

4. John Locke Wrote Two Treatises on Gov’t
Claimed human nature was essentially good
People could govern themselves
Therefore, people should enter into a social contract w/elected gov’t to keep order and protect their rights
This contract can be broken if gov’t becomes a tyranny

5. Jean Jacques Rousseau Wrote The Social Contract
Claimed people should make a contract w/each other to govern themselves
All titles of nobility should be abolished

6. Baron Montesquieu Wrote Spirit of the Laws
Became concerned with how the power of gov’t could be limited
Believed power should be separated among different branches of gov’t
Each branch would have the power to check the other branches

7. Voltaire Wrote Candide
Criticized the intolerance of organized religion
Promoted separation of church and state
Argued for freedom of speech, press, religion, etc.
Believed in “Enlightened Monarchy”

8. The Impact of the Enlightenment
Enlightenment ideas profoundly impacted American, French, and Latin American Revolutions
The social sciences (psychology, political science, sociology, etc.) were an outgrowth of the Enlightenment
Assumptions about the proper role of gov’t, human rights, civil liberties, etc. held by most people in democratic societies today were shaped by the Enlightenment