1. “Intellectual Revolution”
Age of Reason
Question human society. Challenged traditional authority
People can think for themselves
Philosophers wrote books
They condemned oppressive governments & social injustice of the church and government
Natural laws
things could be learned through observation, reason, & logic
Natural Rights
God given inalienable rights:
Life, Liberty, Property
(freedom of speech & religion are natural rights as well)
During this time there was an explosion of scientific inquiry
Scientific Revolution
The Enlightenment
(Age of Reason)
Shaped many revolutions
(English, American, French, Latin American)
Social Contract
Individuals choose to enter a contact with one another, thus voluntarily giving up some rights in return for protection
Social Contract
but with a Monarch
Hobbes
Natural Rights, Social Contract (if broken, people have the right to overthrow) & Popular sovereignty
Locke
Separation of powers (3 branches) & rights of minorities
Montesquieu
Father of the French Rev
‘direct democracy’ vs ‘elected aristocracy’
Rousseau
Voltaire
Tolerance, freedom of speech & religion
Women’s rights: women have the right o an education and should be able to fill any job
Wollstonecraft
Philosophers believed that the world could be understood through logic and scientific reasoning.
Many constitutions around the world are based on the principles of Natural Rights & the social contract. Ex: US, France, Japan