The Enlightenment
Ch. 17, Sect. 2
Religious
Tolerance
LaissezFaire
Deism
Natural
Law
Major Ideas Of
the
Enlightenment
Separation
Of Power
Progress
Social
Contract
Reason
Philosophy & Reason
• Rene Descartes
• “I think, therefore I am
– Doubt dominates our thoughts
– Because “the mind cannot be doubted but the body and
material world can, the two must be radically different”
• Father of rationalism
• Rationalism– -reason is the chief source of knowledge
John Locke
(England)
• Everyone is born with a blank mind.
– Molded by experiences.
• Natural Rights – “Life, Liberty, & Property”
• Government should protect these rights
The Philosophes
• “French” for philosophers
– Believed people could apply reason to all aspects
of life
– If natural laws apply to physical world, they
could also apply to human society
Montesquieu (French Noble)
• Studied Gov’ts
• Influenced U.S. Constitution.
• Used scientific method on politics
• Believed in Separation of Powers (checks and
balances)
• Each branch has power over the other
– “Power should be a check to power”
– Example: British/U.S. gov’t
Montesquieu
• 3 types:
– Republics
• Small states – voice of the people
– Despotism
• Large states - absolute power
– Monarchies
• Moderate sized states – power dispersed
Three Branches of government
• Executive
• Legislative
• Judicial
Voltaire (France)
• Fought for tolerance, reason, freedom of religious belief, & freedom of
speech
– (Bill of Rights)
• Deism –religious philosophy based on reason & natural law (Clock)
– God (Clockmaker) lets universe run by itself
1. Criticized the church
2. Criticized the French Government
Denis Diderot (France)
• Writer of the Encyclopedia
– Classified Dictionary of Sciences, Arts, and
Trades (28 volumes)
– Challenged the general way of thinking
• Called for many social, political, legal, and religious
reforms
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• Social Contract…
– an entire society agrees to be governed by its general will
• Everyone does what’s best for the whole.
– Emotion and reason are important to human development.
•
“Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains”
Adam Smith
• Writes The Wealth of Nations
• Laissez Faire Economics:
– To let alone/hands off
– Government stays away from business
– Basis of capitalism
– State should not regulate the economy
Critical Thinking (550)
1.) According to Adam Smith, why do people produce and sell
products?
– Personal Gain
2.) What do you think Smith means by “an invisible hand?”
– economic factors are not visible to participants, they
guide participants to act to benefit society
Mary Wollstonecraft (England)
• Fought for Women’s rights
– Argued that power over women was just as
wrong as the power monarchs had over
their subjects
• “Let women share the right and she will
emulate the virtues of men, for she must grow
more perfect when emancipated”