Insights into the Enlightenment Thinkers: Philosophers of Change
The Enlightenment era marked a shift towards reason and enlightenment, with thinkers like Locke, Hobbes, Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Voltaire advocating for progress, natural law, and individual rights. Each philosopher contributed unique ideas to reshape societal structures, challenging traditional beliefs and advocating for liberty, equality, and the pursuit of truth through reason and observation.
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The Enlightenment believing that every natural phenomenon had a cause and effect a belief that truth is arrived at by reason believing that natural law governed the universe progress would always take place
People of the Enlightenment -1600s & 1700s Name From Wrote Main Ideas Locke Hobbes Montesquieu Rousseau Voltaire
People of the Enlightenment -1600s & 1700s -Observation: gov t exists to preserve life, liberty, & property -Hypothesis: people should be sovereign (rule) -Hypothesis: monarchs not chosen by God Locke From: England Wrote: Two Treatises on Government
People of the Enlightenment -1600s & 1700s -Observation: Life without gov tis solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, & short. -Hypothesis: Absolute gov t needed to control evil behavior (but not divine right) Hobbes From: England Wrote: Leviathan
People of the Enlightenment -1600s & 1700s -Observation: When the legislature & executive are united in the same person, there is no liberty (freedom) -Hypothesis: Gov t must have Separation of Powers -- 3 branches Montesquieu From: France Wrote: The Spirit of Laws
People of the Enlightenment -1600s & 1700s -Observation: man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains. -Hypothesis: Gov t is contract between people & rulers. People can break it (rebel) Rousseau From: France Wrote: The Social Contract
People of the Enlightenment -1600s & 1700s -Observation: Life is better with liberty -Hypothesis: Freedom of speech & religion, separation of church & state - I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. Voltaire From: France
Major Enlightenment Philosophers Montesquieu Father of Liberalism Voltaire People delegate total power to the monarch Locke Checks and Balances Hobbes Father of the Enlightenment and social reformer Rousseau "The Social Contract"
Political Spectrum 1. Moderate 2. Radical . 3. Liberal .. 4. Conservative . 5. Reactionary A. Does not want to change existing conditions Extremist who wants to turn back the clock Wants far reaching changes Sides with one side or the other Stresses individual rights B. C. D. E.
Constitutionalism Monarchy with Limits to Power of Ruler (Reform) Parliamentary Governments Formed Great Britain English Civil War Oliver Cromwell Restoration Charles I Glorious Revolution William and Mary Hanovers institute use of ministers and prime minister By 1800 had developed principle of ministerial responsibility
State of Nature Hobbes The "natural condition of mankind" is what would exist if there were no government, no civilization, no laws, and no common power to restrain human nature. The state of nature is a "war of all against all," in which human beings constantly seek to destroy each other in an incessant pursuit for power. Life in the state of nature is "nasty, brutish and short." Locke people first lived in a state of anarchy in order to maintain stability they made a social contract in which they KEPT natural rights
Revolutions in the Americas American Revolution Ending Colonial Ties to Great Britain Forms Republic Constitution Haitian Revolution Slave Revolt Toussaint L Ouverture Latin American Independence Creole Rebellion Simon Bolivar, Pedro I, Hidalgo, Morelos
Classic Revolutions Haitian Revolution-August 22, 1791 - 1804 Mexican Revolution -September 16, 1810 1821 2nd Revolution 1908 Greek Revolution - 1821 - 1829 French Revolution -1789-1799 American Revolution 1775-1781 (how was this revolution different) Russian Revolution 1917-1921 Chinese Revolution 1911 1921 2nd Revolution and civil war 1949
POPULATION GROWTH Population growth American foods improved European nutrition, diets Increased resistance to epidemics after 1650s Life spans increased Infant deaths decrease Population growth American food crops improved Europeans' nutrition and diets Increased resistance to epidemic diseases after the mid-seventeenth century European population increased from 81 million in 1500 to 180 million in 1800 Urbanization Rapid growth of major cities: Paris from 130,000 in 1550 to 500,000 in 1650 Cities increasingly important as administrative and commercial centers Most dramatic in Ireland, England, Poland, France, Netherlands Urbanization Rapid growth of major cities For example, Paris from 130,000 (1550) to 500,000 (1650) London, Amsterdam, St. Petersburg, Berlin, Lyons Cities increasingly important: administrative, commercial, intellectual centers
SOCIAL CHANGE, SOCIAL PROTEST Rise of urban, rural working class Referred to as proletariat Paid low wages in horrible conditions At mercy of price revolutions Many peasants reduced to paid wages Population growth Urbanization increased tensions Growth increased poverty Social Tensions Peasant revolts especially during Reformation In France, Germany rose against landlords Many sought more radical forms of Protestantism Urban citizens also tended towards Protestantism Persecution of witches Elite and Mass Culture Prior to Reformation, there were two cultures, elite and common Two rarely intermixed or cooperated Mass culture such as entertainment Faith often became elite culture The nuclear family strengthened by capitalism Families more independent economically, socially, and emotionally Love between men and women Parents and children became more important
SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTIONS The reconception of the universe The Ptolemaic universe A motionless earth surrounded by nine spheres Could not account for observable movement of the planets Compatible with Christian conception of creation The Copernican universe Copernicus suggested sun was center of universe, 1543 Implied that the earth was just another planet The Scientific Revolution Science becomes the new authority and challenges faith for control Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) demonstrated planetary orbits elliptical Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) With a telescope saw sunspots, moons of Jupiter, mountains of the moon Theory of velocity, falling bodies anticipated modern law of inertia Tried by Inquisition as his ideas challenged Papal infallibility Isaac Newton (1642-1727) Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy in 1686 Mathematical explanations of laws govern movements of bodies Newton's work symbolized the scientific revolution Direct observation Mathematical reasoning
ENLIGHTENMENT Enlightenment Thinkers called philosophes Sought natural laws that governed human society Center of Enlightenment was France Theory of progress was ideology of philosophes Apply reason/science to society, government, law Voltaire (1694-1778) Champion of religious liberty and individual freedom Prolific writer; father of Enlightenment John Locke All human knowledge comes from sense perceptions Life, Liberty and Property; 1689 English Bill of Rights Allowed persons to revolt against an oppressive ruler Adam Smith: laws of supply and demand determine price Montesquieu: checks, balances, balanced government Deism Popular among thinkers of Enlightenment Accepted existence of a god Denied supernatural teachings of Christianity God the Clockmaker Ordered the universe according to rational and natural laws Impact of Enlightenment Weakened the influence of organized religion Encouraged secular values based on reason rather than revelation Subjected society to rational analysis, promoted progress and prosperity Enlightenment applied science to every day life and made science practical
