Enlightenment
Philosopher:
Thomas Hobbes
Lived during a time of upheaval in
England:
Fled England after
the beheading of
Charles I.
Born on the day the
English defeated the
Spanish Armada.
He wrote
Leviathan
 People are by nature
cruel, greedy,
selfish…
 Without law man is
by nature brutal…
 In a social contract,
people give up their
freedom for an
organized society….
Hobbes in Leviathan:
The ideal
government
is a strong,
absolute
monarch
who can control
the people.
E
“Force and fraud in war the
two cardinal virtues.”
“As a draft-animal is yoked
in a wagon, even so the
spirit is yoked in this
body.”
“Curiosity is the lust of
the mind.”
F
“Leisure is the mother of
philosophy.”
o
I am about to take my last
voyage, a great leap in the
dark.”
“
Thomas Hobbes
English Philosopher
Author of Leviathan
Believed man was by nature
selfish
Developed theory of Social
Contract
Believed in Absolute Monarchy
John Locke
John Locke
English
Philosopher
People have
natural rights:
Life
Liberty
Property
John Locke (1632-1704)
 Influenced by the Glorious Revolution in England.
 Poor monarch replaced by better one.
Right of Revolution
 Locke argued that people have a right to
overthrow unjust king.
Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson
used Locke’s Ideas
Life
Liberty
PropertyPursuit of
Happiness
American Revolution based on
Locke’s Ideas
Writings of Locke
Two Treatises of
Government
Essay on the
Laws on Nature
Letters on
Religious
Toleration
“Logic is the anatomy of thought.”
“There is frequently more to be learned
from the unexpected questions of a
child than the discoursed of men.”
“Every man has a property in his own
person. This nobody has a right to,
but himself.”
“To love our neighbor as ourselves is
such a truth for regulating human
society, that by that alone one might
determine all the cases in social
morality.”
“The actions of men are the best
interpreters of their thoughts.”
“Reading furnishes the mind only with
materials of knowledge; it is thinking
that makes what we read ours.”
John Locke  English
Philosopher
 Wrote Two
Treatises of
Government
 His ideas are used
to
Justify
revolutions
Create
democracy
 United States
Montesquieu
French
Nobleman
Lived 1689-1755
Lived life of
luxury
Studied Law
Attended
gatherings at
Parisian salons
Views on Humanity
Religion taught man to be
intolerant; reason liberates
them from prejudice.
Author of:
Spirit of Laws
Persian Letters
Spirit of Laws
Democracies
need:
Branches of
Government
System of
checks &
balances to
prevent
corruption
“ The love of democracy is
that of equality.“
“ The spirit of moderation should
be the spirit of the lawgiver .“
“ Lunch kills half of Paris,
supper the other half.“
“ Success in the majority of
circumstances depends on knowing
how long it takes to succeed.“
“ I have never known any distress that
an hour’s reading did not relieve.“
Montesquieu
 French
Philosopher
 Wrote Spirit of
Laws’
 Man is intolerant
 U. S. Constitution
based on his
ideas of sharing
power: Checks &
Balances
Voltaire
Voltaire (1694-1778)
► French
►
►
►
►
Playwright &
Humorist
Candide, 1759
Marriage of
Figaro
Erasez L’infame!
(Crush
injustice!)
Used satire, wit,
& wisdom
Viewpoints
Pessimistic view of
mankind
“Barbarism has
lasted for
centuries.”
Against Absolutism
and aristocracy
All people are
equal
 “Every man is guilty of
all the good he did not
do.”
 “God gave us the gift of
life , it is up to us to
give ourselves the gift of
living well.”
 “I may disagree with
what you say, but I shall
defend to the death your
right to say it.”
 “The ear is the avenue
to the heart.”
Jean Jacques
Rousseau v.
Mary
Wollstonecraft
Rousseau
Wollstonecraft
French
English
Wrote Social
Contract
Wrote Vindication of
the Rights of Women
Nature of Man
Rousseau
 Noble Savage
 “All men are born free
but everywhere they
are in shackles.”
 Civilization had
corrupted man
 Evils of contemporary
politics and Society
Wollstonecraft
 Men and women are
equal
 “Let women share
the rights and she
will emulate the
virtues of man; for
she must grow more
perfect when
emancipated.
On Government
Rousseau
 Government should
be based on the
general will of the
people.
 Laws made from the
general will should
be obeyed
 Individuals should
be loyal to the
community
Wollstonecraft
Men and women
should have a
voice in
government.
Women will
protect the
common good.
Opposing Views on Women
Rousseau
 Women are inferior
to men
 They live in
separate spheres
 All women should
breast feed their
infants
 The only education
women need is how
to please men.
Wollstonecraft
 Education strengthens
the mind, body, and
soul.
 To deny women an
equal education is to
keep them enslaved.
 Society will never
achieve perfection,
until women are
educated.