1. Enlightenment in Europe
Aim: How do ideas of the Enlightenment philosophers compare to ideas of Absolutism?

2. Enlightenment
A new intellectual movement that stressed reason and thought and the power of individuals to solve problems.
Took place after...
- The Renaissance
- Scientific Revolution
Started during the end of absolutism

3. Relationship of Renaissance and Enlightenment
Humanism: glorified human achievement
Secularism: absence of religion
Enlightenment took these ideas further.

4. Thomas Hobbes
He believed that all humans naturally born evil and selfish.
The govt needs to keep order in the state
To escape a bleak life, people has to hand over their rights to a strong ruler. In exchange, they gained law and order. Hobbs called this agreement by which people created govt is called social contract.

5. John Locke
Humans have the natural ability to govern their own affairs.
Self government ( criticize absolute monarchy)
All people are born with free natural rights

6. Other important philosophers
Rousseau: passionate about individual freedom and that govt should be guided by the individual
Voltaire: he fought for tolerance, reason and freedom of religious belief and freedom of speech
Montesquieu: believed in separation of powers
Wollstonecraft: women should be educated equally to men

7. Major Ideas of the Enlightenment
Natural Rights-life, liberty, and prosper
Freedom of thought and expression
Religious freedom
Women's Equality

8. The Enlightenment philosophers were radical thinkers- in their countries they had no control so they could only state their ideas. This brings countries to not want an absolute monarchy, even though there was no way around it.