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Lecture #3: Philosophers and

Thinkers of the Enlightenment

Updated 07/2007

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Objectives

S2C6POA-D: Explain how the

Enlightenment ideas influenced political

thought and social change

A. Deism

B. Role of Women

C. Political Thought

D. Social Change

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I. Enlightenment

A. Called “Age of Reason”

1.Emphasized use of reason

2. Late 1600s until late 1700s.

3. Relied on scientific method

4. Attacked tyranny, social injustice,

ignorance, and superstition.

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II. Key Ideas of the Enlightenment

Enlightenement

Scietific laws should be used

to understand the world

Laws of human society could

be understood by looking at

the sceintific method

Humanity could progress

Key ideas of the Enlightenment

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III. People of the Enlightenment

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A. Immanuel Kant

1724 – 1804

“Dare to Know”

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A. Immanuel Kant

1. German philosopher.

2. Came up with the motto that

represented the enlightenment:

“Dare to Know”.

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B. Thomas Hobbes

1588 – 1679

He was

concerned

with

political

theory.

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B. Thomas Hobbes

1. English Philosopher.

2. Believed: if people were left alone

without government, they would

constantly fight.

3. Argued: to escape the chaos, people

entered into a contract in which they

agreed to give up their freedom to a

ruler who guaranteed peace and order.

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Thomas Hobbes

4. Once people entered into such a

contract, they could not rebel, even

if they thought the person was a

tyrant (Someone who uses force to

keep power).

5. Supported the rule of absolute

monarchs.

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C. John Locke

1632 – 1704

His writings

strongly

influenced

Thomas

Jefferson.

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John Locke

1. English Philosopher.

2. Agreed with Hobbes that the purpose of government was to create order in society.

3. BUT Locke thought people were basically reasonable and would cooperate with one another.

4. He argued that rulers could stay in power only as long as they had the consent of those they governed.

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John Locke

5. If a ruler became a tyrant, the people then had the right to rebel!!

6. Locke was important in the development of democracy.

7. Believed people had natural rights, including the right to life, liberty, and property.

8. His ideas were very popular in France and America.

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C. Baron de Montesquieu

1688 – 1755

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C. Montesquieu

1. Born to a noble family.

2. Believed the government should

protect the liberty of the people by the

separation of power among three

branches of government:

– Legislative - Parliament/Congress

– Executive - King/President

– Judiciary - Courts

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Montesquieu

3. System of checks and balances.

4. No branch of government should

dominate the other.

5. Influenced the authors of the

Constitution of the United States.

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D. Jean Jacques Rousseau

1712 – 1778

Believed in

popular

sovereignty

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D. Rousseau

1. Came from a poor family.

2. All people were equal

3. Titles of rank and nobility should

be abolished.

4. Spokesman for the common people.

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E. Voltaire

1694 – 1778

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D. Voltaire

1. Pen name was Voltaire.

2. Came from a French middle class

family.

4. Known for his plays and novels

that attacked the evils in society.

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D. Voltaire

1. Argued for common sense, religious

toleration, and freedom of thought.

2. Favored an “enlightened monarch”.

– Studied the science of government

– Protected the basic rights of the

people.

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“I do not agree with a

word you say but I will

defend to the death

your right to say it.”

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IV. Impact of Hobbes & Locke

1. The ideas of

Hobbes and

Locke changed

the way people

viewed the

individual's role

in society.

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V. Deism

A. Idea came about during the

Enlightenment

B. Influenced many present/future political

leaders

C. Definition-religious orientation that

rejects divine revelation and holds that

the workings of nature alone reveal

God’s design for the universe.

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VI. Women and the Enlightenment

A. Spread the Enlightenment ideas

B. Held salons- informal gatherings where

writers, artists, musicians, etc. would

present their ideas.

C. Mainly seen as a wealthy adventure

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VII. Decline of the Enlightenment

1. Started with the French Revolution.

2. Discredits a lot of the Enlightenment

ideals.

3. Church declines

4. Growth of secularism (separation of

church and state).