1. Montesquieu and Rousseau While Montesquieu represents the typical philosophe in his examination of political systems, Rousseau came to quite different conclusions.

2. Montesquieu argued that climate, geography, and other nonpolitical elements affect the political system He was concerned with the rights of individuals and argued for a constitutional government to protect them – One in which the legislative, executive, and judicial powers are separated and can check each other Montesquieu was also typical in his belief that a strong aristocracy was necessary to prevent royal despotism His Persian Letters was typical in that the philosophes used foreigners as foils to point out the deficiencies of the European system. Like many philosophes, he admired the English system Montesquieu was a frequent visitor at the salons of Paris

3. Rousseau argued that reason was a chain, not a liberator, and that it would be better to trust one’s feelings and emotions. Civilization corrupted the innocence and basic goodness of humans Politically, he believed in popular sovereignty and radical democracy, aka the “general will” Rousseau lived in isolation from the other philosophes and was alienated from the world of the salons. He rejected the elitist attitudes and the belief in reason of the Enlightenment