Enlightenment

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What is the Enlightenment?

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An intellectual movement that stressed reason and thought and the power of individuals to solve problems. Known as the Age of Reason, it reached its height in the mid-1700s.

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What are the five core beliefs of Enlightenment philosophers?

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Reason, Nature, Happiness, Progress, Liberty.

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What big questions did Enlightenment thinkers strive to answer?

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What is human nature? What is the best form of government?

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Who was Thomas Hobbes and what did he believe?

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Thomas Hobbes was an Enlightenment thinker who wrote 'Leviathan'. He believed a ruler was designed to control citizens, and in the state of nature, humans are fairly equal but selfish and will war for power and resources. He advocated for a social contract where people give up liberty and rights for government in exchange for law and order, favoring an absolute monarch.

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Who was John Locke and what were his beliefs?

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John Locke was an Enlightenment thinker who wrote 'Two Treatises of Government'. He believed government must protect rights (life, liberty, and property) and that people were rational beings who could govern themselves. He supported a social contract where people create government together and can overthrow it if it doesn’t protect natural rights, favoring a representative democracy.

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How did Rousseau view government and society?

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Rousseau believed government is an agreement among free individuals to create a society and order. He thought people are born good but society corrupts them. His social contract suggested people experience true freedom by living in a civil society that protects rights and well-being, advocating for direct democracy.

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What did Montesquieu contribute to Enlightenment thought?

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Montesquieu wrote 'The Spirit of the Laws' and believed in the separation of power within government, inspiring the three branches of government.

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What were Voltaire's contributions to Enlightenment thought?

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Voltaire often used satire to attack the church and fought for tolerance, reason, freedom of religious belief, and freedom of speech.

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What was Beccaria's stance on laws and punishment?

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Beccaria advocated for the abolishment of torture pertaining to laws, influencing the 8th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution (cruel and unusual punishment).

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What did Mary Wollstonecraft argue in 'A Vindication of the Rights of Women'?

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Mary Wollstonecraft argued that women are not naturally inferior to men and should have equal rights in all areas of life.