The Enlightenment

• Scientific Revolution led the way, if scientists could challenge theories on the world…

• Thinkers begin to develop new ideas

• Natural laws – unchanging principles, discovered through reason, that govern all human conduct.

Immanuel Kant• German Philosopher

• Instead of accepting the norms of society, thinkers used the scientific method to study human behavior.

• Kant came up with the term “enlightenment” to describe this period.

• Turning away from absolutism and towards democracy and individual right.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsgAsw4XGvU

Thomas Hobbes• English thinker in 1600s

• Wrote Leviathan, argued people were naturally cruel, greedy an selfish

• To solve this, people enter into a social contract, where people agree to give up freedom for organized society.

• He thought only absolutism could solve this.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i4jb5XBX5s

John Locke• Wrote Two Treatises on

Government

• He though humans were basically reasonable and moral.

• Natural rights – rights that belonged to all humans from birth.

• Governments are formed to protect the natural rights.

• If government doesn’t protect natural rights, people have right overthrow it.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZiWZJgJT7I

French Philosophes

• French for philosophers

• Nothing beyond the reach of human reason

• Called for reforms to protect people’s natural rights.

• Montesquieu, Voltaire, Diderot and Rousseau

Montesquieu• Studied tons of

governments

• Criticized absolute monarchy

• Decided best format would be to use three branches:

1. Legislative

2. Judicial

3. Executive

• Each branch would check and balance each others power.

Voltaire• “My trade is to say what I

think”

• Outspoken against: inequality, injustice, superstition, slavery, religious prejudice

• Arrested, prisoned, exiled, books burned.

• Definition of freedom of speech

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAzKGkTIKpg

Diderot

• Wrote the Encyclopedia

• Collection of all the philosophes writings

• Church fought this hard, threatened anyone who bought it

Rousseau

• Most controversial philosophe

• Wrote The Social Contract

1. People are naturally good

2. Society places too many limits on people

3. Put his faith in the “general will”

• People are corrupted by the evils of society

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81KfDXTTtXE