Chapter 22 Section 2 Study Guide The Enlightenment in Europe
Influence of the Scientific Revolution ► Thinkers began trying to apply reason and the Scientific Method to Government Economics Crime & punishment Education
Thomas Hobbes ► All people are naturally selfish and wicked ► People need strong gov't to be □ 'ed away ► We give up our individual freedoms in return for security aka the "social contract" e.g. we pay taxes ► The best gov't is an absolute monarchy Efficient, promotes order
John Locke ► People aren't that bad We can learn from mistakes ► a + view of human nature ► Locke in three steps People are born with "natural rights" ► "life, liberty, and property" The purpose of gov't is to protect these rights If gov't doesn't protect these rights, the people may change or overthrow it ► The "consent of the governed"
Baron de Montesquieu ► French nobleman ► "Power should be a check to power" Separation of powers ► "checks and balances" Opposed to absolute monarchy
Cesare Bonesana Beccaria ► Believed laws existed to preserve order in society NOT to get revenge for crimes ► He opposed torture, cruel punishments, capital punishment U.S. Constitution protects us against "cruel and unusual" punishment
Voltaire (Francois Marie Arouet) ► Uses satire to poke fun at government, law and Church in France ► Fights for: Tolerance Reason Freedom of Religion Freedom of Speech ► Opposed to intolerance, superstition, prejudice
Jean Jacques Rousseau ► Individual freedom ► Civilization corrupts man's natural goodness “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains” ► Freedom destroyed when strongest force laws (civilization) on everyone else
Mary Wollstonecraft ► "A Vindication of the Rights of Women" ► Argued in favor of women getting an education
Impact of the Enlightenment ► Western civilization (which includes the U.S.) changed as a result: A belief in progress as a possible thing, a positive thing, an inevitable thing A secular outlook on life A belief in the value of the individual