A philosophy of human values and
change
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30 Years War: 1618-1648: German writers
began to criticize nationalism and war
Hugo Grotius and John Comenius were two
early Enlightenment thinkers
Studies began in science, particularly
astronomy
Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei
Rene Descartes and Francis Bacon revised the
scientific method and physics with Isaac
Newton
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Based on observation of the world and testing
its validity
This caused scientist to be criticized and
scorned
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Studied the world by defining ideas their own
way, based on science
Perceived the universe as a machine governed
by fixed laws
Believed in progress, or the idea that the world
and its people could be improved
Philosophical, scientific, artistic and political
revolution were valued
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Spread new ideas, supporters of the political
ideas of John Locke and scientific methods of
Isaac Newton
Disapproved superstitions about new scientific
endeavors
Believed in both freedom of speech and
individual liberty
France was the center of these ideas in the
1600-1700s
Gathered in salons held in individual homes
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Questioned whether human society could be
improved by reason and denied the ability of
rational thought to reveal universal truths
Believed that the perceived world is relative to
the beholder and no one can be certain about
truth
Immanuel Kant argued that man could not
know observed objects or metaphysical
concepts
The experience of these things depends on the
psyche of the observer
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Due to competing ideas such as Romanticism,
Skepticism
French Revolution
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Thomas Hobbes main concern was social and
political order
Believed that we should give our obedience to an
unaccountable sovereign otherwise the “state of
nature” would be war
Wanted to avoid insecurity
Leviathan, 1651
Felt that by nature, people were self-serving and
preoccupied with gathering limited resources
Need a single absolute ruler to control these urges
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Man earns ownership and right to property
when he labors for it
Government should be limited to securing the
life and property of its citizens and is only
needed in an ideal state
Believed in the right of conscience and religion,
except when religion is intolerant
Two Treatises of Government,1690—promoted
representative type of government
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Spirit of Laws explains separation of powers and
checks and balances
Every government has 3 sorts of power:
legislative, executive and judicial
Executive enacts laws and makes peace or war
Judicial punishes criminals and settles disputes
Political liberty arises from tranquil living and
feeling of safety
If the legislature and executive are the same
person, then there is no liberty, but tyranny
If judiciary cannot be separate, then there cannot
be any fairness is punishment
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“Man is born free, but he is everywhere in chains”
Repressed physical freedom
Political authority comes from a social contract
between the political power and the people under
it
Sovereign (collective people) are one people and
expresses public concerns for the good of all
Rousseau recommends a mediator between the
government and people because they are always in
conflict
Wrote The Social Contract, 1762 that favored a
government based on small direct democracy,
focused on the people
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Tolerance of religions and ethnicities
“It does not require great art, or magnificently
trained eloquence, to prove that Christians should
tolerate each other. I, however, am going further: I
say that we should regard all men as our brothers.
What? The Turk my brother? The Chinaman my
brother? The Jew? The Siam? Yes, without doubt;
are we not all children of the same father and
creatures of the same God?”
Voltaire wanted to bring social and political
change through the use of satire and criticism. He
wrote Candide
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Salon: intellectual gatherings
Classicism: ideas that centered on Greek and
Roman ideas
Philosophes: new ideas such as Locke’s political
philosophy and Newton’s scientific method that
believed in freedom to question, prove and
supported freedom and individual rights.
Enlightened Despots: rulers who sought
Enlightenment principles while still having royal
powers
Metaphysics: branch of philosophy that is
concerned with spiritual ideas
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Romanticism: a cultural movement that celebrated emotion
and the individual ending the Age of Enlightenment
Natural Law: a universal moral law that is understood by
using reason
Natural Rights: rights belonging to all people from the time
they are born
Deism: the belief in God, but not recognizing organized
religion, declaring that it exploits people. Religion is based
on reason and natural law
Scientific Method: developed by Francis Bacon in which the
scientist begins with an observation of facts and images,
then finds a hypothesis to explain them. Through the use of
experimentation, the scientist tests the hypothesis to see if it
is true. If proven true, it becomes scientific law through
reason.
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World History: The Human Experience, The
Modern Era by Mounir A. Farah and Andrea B.
Karls, Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, New York, New
York, 2001.