Enlightenment-A change in outlook among many educated Europeans that began during the 1600s.

This was a time when reason was a key part of progress. They used observation and logic to understand the world instead of errors and superstitions? Of the past.

In France these thinkers were known as philosophes French for Philosophers.

These thinkers gathered in informal meeting places called salons.

Enlightenments form of thinking grew out of the Scientific Revolution. Using science, observation, and reason. Although they all had the same goal they did not always agree with each other. The Enlightenment had roots in the RenaissanThece & the Reformation. Humanists of the Renaissance questioned accepted beliefs while also celebrating the dignity and worth of the individual person. In the Reformation protestants rebelled against the Church they put their own conscience ahead of the Church authority. While what the humanists and protestants did was extreme at the time the Enlightenment thinkers went even farther by rejecting authority and upholding the freedom of individuals to think for themselves.

Philosophers started to questioned Christian belief also preferring ration understanding to faith. They said humans were perfectly able to discover truth for themselves instead of just believing the Bible. Although, most still believed in God. Eventually philosophers started to question the basis of everything religion, morality, and government were some. Some believed in natural religion based on reason. Enlightenment thinkers also criticized accepted ideas about government. They wondered of the long held belief of the divine right of kings to rule was correct.

The Enlightenment had roots in many different eras.

They questioned Christian beliefs.

Five influential Enlightenment thinkers

Thomas Hobbes was born in England in 1588. He wrote about many subjects such as politics and government. He tried to give a rational basis for absolute rule by kings. Hobbes was son of a clergyman he also studied at Oxford University. As he grew older he began to travel to other European countries while on the way meeting writers, scientists, and philosophers. He learned mathematics, science, government, and history. These subjects inspired him to use a scientific approach to problems of society. His ideas of society were mostly inspired by the power struggle between king and Parliament in England going on in the 1600s. Eventually there was a war and people were choosing a side Hobbes sided with the monarch. Hobbes saw all humans beings as being naturally cruel, self, and greedy. Based on that he published a book in 1651 called Leviathan. In his book he wrote that people are driven by a never ending desire for power. Without laws or other social controls people would never end the conflicts. If this was allowed life would be nasty, brutish and short.?Governments were created to protect people from their selves. Because of human nature they should not be trusted to make decisions for the whole society said Hobbes. Eventually, other thinkers came to different conclusions and human nature and the best possible form of government. Hobbes was important though because he was one of the first to apply this sort of thinking to problems in politics.

John Locke, born in 1632. The idea he had is that both government and people's right had a major impact on the Enlightenment, and also government should be constitutional monarchy, which meant that the monarch's power is limited by a basic set of laws; this idea is going against Thomas Hobbes' king having absolute power. His idea reflected for a tradition in England.

Over time, Parliament became mainly checking on the king's power. John Locke's father, in 1640's civil supported on the side of Parliament, which influence the young John Locke a lot. Also, Parliament passed a boll of rights, which strength the power of the Parliament that representative the people.

John had published Two Treatises of Government, that justified Parliament's action.

The overall idea of this book is that the purpose of the government is to protect people's natural rights, including the right to life, liberty, and property.

Baron de Montesquieu, which real name is Charles-Louis de Secondat, was born in 1689. Montesquieu went to a Catholic school when his young, later then became a lawyer. He became a president of the local parliament.

Montesquieu's most famous book was The Spirit of Laws, published in 1748. He talks about some ideas of how government should be organized. Similar to John Locke, Montesquieu was also protecting the public rather than strengthening the government. He argued and divided the government into 3 branches; legislative, executive, and judicial. Each branch had it's own work, and Montesquieu named it the Separation of Powers.

Francois-Marie Arouet, born in 1694, with a pen name of Voltaire, was the most celebrated writers of the Enlightenment. Voltaire attended to a Catholic college, and had walked on a career in literature. He believed the passionateness of human happiness and justice. When facing a error, or oppression, he would attack the French court and the power of the Catholic clergy.

One of his most famous book is Candide, the basic idea is that the world made by God must be the best of all possible worlds. With this beliefs, Voltaire believed that it would prevent people from fighting the evils in the world.

Though with his strong beliefs, he criticized intolerance and oppression wherever he saw them, the outspoken ways often led into conflicts with the publics.

A great sponsor of salons, she helped people plan meetings in her house to talk about the latest ideas. Also she gave support to Encyclopedists, who wrote the first encyclopedias. Princes , politicians, artists, writers, and philosophers exchanged latest ideas that time.

Once a daughter of a butcher, with poor education, she still became a writer and a social reformer. She argued for the rights of women and equality with men. French revolutionaries laughed at her ideas, later on in 1793 she was sent to the guillotine because of speaking out of the bloodshed of the revolution.

Olympe de Gouges

Abigail Adams was married to John Adams, a leader of the American Revolution. She supported the independence from England. During Revolution she reminded Adams to remember about women’s rights and told him that women would start a rebellion if not.

Abigail Adams

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