Enlightenment Thinkers

• The Scientific Revolution prompted scholars and philosophers to reevaluate societal norms.
• Enlightenment thinkers sought new insights into government, religion, economics, and education.
• The Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, stressed reason, thought, and individual problem-solving.
• The Enlightenment reached its peak in the mid-1700s and significantly impacted Western civilization.

Thomas Hobbes

• Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, 1600s English political thinkers, jumpstarted the Enlightenment.
• Political turmoil in England influenced both, yet they drew contrasting conclusions about government and human nature.
• Hobbes expressed his views in Leviathan (1651).
• Hobbes believed humans were naturally selfish and wicked due to the horrors of the English Civil War.
• Hobbes stated that without government, life would be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."
• Hobbes advocated handing over rights to a strong ruler for law and order.
• Hobbes called this agreement the social contract.
• In Hobbes' view, people acting in self-interest means a strict ruler is needed to control citizens.
• Hobbes favored absolute monarchy as the best government to impose order and demand obedience.

John Locke

• John Locke held a more optimistic view of human nature.
• Locke thought people could learn from experience and improve themselves.
• Locke believed people had the natural ability to govern themselves and care for society.
• Locke criticized absolute monarchy and advocated for self-government.
• Locke stated all people are born free and equal, with natural rights to life, liberty, and property.
• Locke held that the purpose of government is to protect these rights.
• According to Locke, citizens have a right to overthrow a government that fails to protect their rights.
• Locke's theory deeply influenced modern political thought.
• Locke's belief in government by popular consent is a foundation of modern democracy.
• Locke's ideas about popular consent and the right to rebel inspired liberty struggles in Europe and the Americas.

The Philosophes

• The Enlightenment reached its height in France in the mid-1700s.
• Paris became a hub for discussing politics and ideas.
• Social critics in France during this period were known as philosophes.
• Philosophes believed reason could be applied to all aspects of life.
• Five core concepts central to the beliefs of the philosophes: reason, nature, happiness, progress, and liberty.
• Enlightened thinkers believed truth could be discovered through reason or logical thinking.
• Philosophes believed that what was natural was good and reasonable.
• Philosophes rejected the medieval idea of only finding joy in the afterlife, instead urging people to seek well-being on earth.
• Philosophes emphasized that society and humankind could improve.
• Philosophes advocated for the liberties won by the English people in their Glorious Revolution and Bill of Rights.

Voltaire

• François Marie Arouet, known as Voltaire, was a prominent and influential philosophe.
• Voltaire published over 70 books of political essays, philosophy, and drama.
• Voltaire frequently used satire against his opponents, including the clergy, aristocracy, and government.
• Voltaire made enemies at the French court and was imprisoned twice.
• Voltaire was exiled to England for more than two years.
• Voltaire tirelessly fought for tolerance, reason, religious belief, and freedom of speech.
• Voltaire used his writing as a weapon against intolerance, prejudice, and superstition.
• Voltaire is famous for his quote: "I do not agree with a word you say but will defend to the death your right to say it."

Baron de Montesquieu

• Another influential French writer was Baron de Montesquieu.
• Montesquieu focused his studies on political liberty.
• Montesquieu believed Britain was the best-governed and most politically balanced country.
• Montesquieu recognized the British king and his ministers as holding executive power.
• Montesquieu identified members of Parliament as holding legislative power.
• According to Montesquieu, judges of the English courts held judicial power.
• Montesquieu called the division of power among different branches separation of powers.
• Montesquieu's idea of power should act as a check to power was later called checks and balances.
• Montesquieu's ideas on separation of powers and checks and balances influenced the United States Constitution.

Jean Jacques Rousseau

• Jean-Jacques Rousseau passionately advocated for individual freedom.
• Rousseau disagreed with other Enlightenment thinkers.
• Rousseau argued civilization corrupted people's natural goodness.
• Rousseau argued the only good government was freely formed by the people, guided by the general will of society.
• Rousseau writes about his political philosophy in his book called The Social Contract (1762).
• Rousseau saw the social contract as an agreement among free individuals to create a society and a government.
• Rousseau argued that legitimate government came from the consent of the governed.
• Rousseau supported a broader democracy, believing all people were equal and that titles of nobility should be abolished.
• Rousseau's ideas inspired leaders of the French Revolution.