Chapter 6 Section 2 the Enlightenment in Europe

Chapter 6 Section 2 the Enlightenment in Europe

·  The Enlightenment was a new intellectual movement that stressed reason, logic, and the power of thought to solve problems.

·  This idea was inspired by the Skeptic philosophers and the scientific breakthroughs of the time, but it was now being applied to other ideas like, how governments should function.

·  Thomas Hobbs in his 1651 book called Leviathan reasoned that humans were by nature selfish and wicked creatures.

·  Hobbs believed that without government humanity would tear itself to shreds.

·  Hobbs also argued that governments were formed for the specific purpose of escaping the bleak reality that we are selfish wicked creatures that would tear each other to pieces out.

·  Government according to Hobbs functioned as a social contract, in which out of a desire for survival we traded some of our freedom for safety. Hobbs advocated that the best governments were those who were absolute monarchies.

·  John Locke had a completely different philosophy on government and human nature.

·  Locke believed that people were fundamentally good.

·  Locke believed that people could learn from experience and improve themselves, and believed that people should be allowed to govern themselves.

·  He believed that people were born free and equal, and that the only purpose of government was to protect the rights of people to exercise freedom. If a government fails to do so, Lock believed that people had the right and obligation to abolish the government.

·  Others in France participated in the philosophe of the enlightenment. They were called philosophes. They believed that people could apply reason to all aspects of life.

o  Reason

o  Nature

o  Happiness

o  Progress

o  Liberty

·  Voltaire was one of the philosophes who frequently used satire against his opponents. He targeted the clergy, the aristocracy, and the government.

·  Voltaire was sent to prison twice for his outspokenness. He fought for tolerance, reason freedom of religion and freedom of speech.

·  One of his most famous quotes was “I do not agree with a word you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it.”

·  Montesquieu was another influential French writer of the time. As a Frenchman he noted that England had the best government of its time in that it separated its powers between the monarchy and parliament.

·  Montesquieu’s beliefs and writings about the necessity for governments separation of powers is the basis for our state and federal governments in America today.

·  Jean Jacques Rousseau did not believe in many of the ideas of other thinkers who suggested that reason, art and science would improve life for all people.

·  Rousseau believed that civilization corrupted people’s natural goodness

·  He also believed that government should be guided by the will of the people.

·  Italian Philosopher Bonesena Beccaria wrote about the ideal nature of the justice system, and criticized the prevalent judicial system of the time.

·  Baccaria’s model is very similar to our own.

·  For perhaps the first time in history the idea of women’s rights was considered by free thinkers.

·  Mary Wollstonecraft was perhaps the most persuasive female free thinker of her time, and argued that women had the same right to an education as men. She argued that their quest for the virtues of the enlightenment was as critical and important as that of men.

·  The enlightenment brought about a more secular(human centered) view of the world.

·  The enlightenment emphasized the importance of individuality and applied these principals to economics as well as science and philosophy

·  Adam Smith said that the ability for people to act in their own best interest made it possible for a society to progress economically. This is the foundation of our capitalist system.