Enlightenment Philosophes

Thomas Hobbes  Political philosopher  “In the natural world only the strong survive, unless order is created by a great and powerful ruler”

Thomas Hobbes  Wrote Leviathon in 1651  “In the beginning there was anarchy to stop violence and danger people chose a leader to rule them and created a social contract”  The Social Contract was based on the exchange of individual liberty for group safety and social order.

John Locke  Accepted the idea of a social contract, but believed that people had only given up some of their individual rights.  People should keep the right to live, enjoy liberty, and to own property.  Rulers should protect those rights.

John Locke cont.  He wrote Two Treatises of Government  He argued that individual rights were superior to laws and governments.  Governments existed to protect those rights.  A ruler who denied people their fundamental rights was a tyrant and could be overthrown by the people

Free Write Locke vs Hobbes  Which one of these two political philosophers do you support and why? Explain why you feel that the argument chose is better using at least two specific example based on the information we have covered in class this year.

Enlightenment  1700’s  The belief that truth can be determined solely by logical thinking was called rationalism.  The belief of natural law.  God did not interfere in human affairs  They believed there should be a separation of church and the government.

Denis Diderot  The Encyclopedia- a handbook describing the ideas of the Enlightenment  Helped spread the ideas of the Enlightenment  It criticized many things in society such as the church, the government, the slave trade, torture, taxes and war.  Diderot imprisoned for The Encyclopedia

Political Criticism  Baron de Montesquieu  French  Adopted ideas of John Locke  Wrote The Spirit of the Laws  He described the perfect government  That government should be divided into three branches  He believed that the balance between the three branches would provide checks to political power.

Baron de Montesquieu- contributed to the U.S. Constitution

Voltaire (pen name)  Francois-Marie Arouet (Voltaire)  French  Wrote satires making fun of the French monarchy, the nobility, and the religious controls of the church.  Imprisoned twice and exiled to Britain

Voltaire cont.  Freedom of Speech  He wrote, “I may disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”  Wrote Philosophical Letters  Believed Great Britain had the best form of government.  Wrote Candide- where he made fun of prejudice, bigotry and oppressive governments. Believed in Freedom of Religion (read pg. 516)

Voltaire

Jean Jacques Rousseau  French  Published the Social Contract  He wrote that people are born good, but that it is their environment, education and the laws of the land that corrupt them.  He believed that people needed to be able to choose their own government based on popular sovereignty.  That government must be created and controlled by the people.

Jean Jacques Rousseau

Mary Wollstonecraft  English  Wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Women  She believed in equality of the sexes.  Wanted personal freedom and economic independence  Education for women so that women could be better mothers.  Women should have a say in the government.

Mary Wollstonecraft

Enlightened Despotism  This is a government where an absolute monarch would govern, but according to the principles of the enlightenment (Catherine the Great, Joseph II, Frederick II)  There must be government AND individual freedom