Name:____________________________________________
Block:____________
Enlightenment Thinkers
Introduction
The Enlightenment took place in Europe and America during the eighteenth century. The main ideas
were centered on reason as the basis of authority. Many of the main characters of the Enlightenment
wrote works that were used in the creation of governments and governmental documents.
Enlightenment thinkers wrote about politics, church and state issues, natural philosophy, ethics, logic,
and science.
Task
The students will use the resources provided in order to learn about the Enlightenment thinkers. Each
individual will be assigned one Enlightenment thinker. The students will be responsible for researching
the background, accomplishments, quotes, outcomes, and influences of their assigned Enlightenment
thinker. Students will then create a research paper and brief power point presentation on the
information they have learned.
Process
1.) Students will be assigned one of the Enlightened thinkers to research. They will be responsible
for conducting research in class, and at home. Students will be required to make and submit at
least 20 note cards and an outline on their research:
 John Locke
 Thomas Hobbes
 Algernon Sidney
 Jean Jacques Rousseau,
 Edward Coke
 Montesquieu
 Machiavelli
 Denis Diderot
 Rene Descartes
 Galileo Galilee
 Copernicus
 Sir Isaac Newton
 Voltaire
2) The student should follow these questions while conducting his or her research:
I. Introduction
A. Which Enlightened thinker will you be researching
B. What are they most known for?
C. How are they an example of an “Enlightened thinker?”
II. Define the Enlightenment
A. What is it?
B. When did it occur?
III. Brief Biography of your thinker
A. When was the person born, when did they die?
B. What type of family did they come from?
C. What type of schooling did they have?
D. Who influenced them?
IV. What is your Enlightened Thinker known for?
A. What contribution did they make for the Enlightenment?
V. What lasting effect did your thinker’s work have on society/government/ science
VI. Conclusion
3) Students will use their information, note cards, and outline to create research paper of their thinker.
4) Students must add a works-cited page to list all sources of information provided in their papers, and
submit at least 20 note cards and an outline with their final paper.
Resources:
John Locke
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http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/enlightenment/
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke/
http://mind.ucsd.edu/syllabi/99_00/Empiricism/Readings/Encyc_Phil/Locke.html
http://www.victorianweb.org/philosophy/locke1.html
http://users.ox.ac.uk/~worc0337/authors/john.locke.html
http://www.philosophypages.com/ph/lock.htm
Thomas Hobbes
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http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/enlightenment/
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hobbes-moral/
http://www.iep.utm.edu/hobmoral/
http://www.philosophypages.com/hy/3x.htm
http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/h/hobbes/thomas/h68l/
http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/philosophers/hobbes.html
Algernon Sidney
 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/enlightenment/
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http://www.republicandemocracy.us/SydneyHistory.htm
http://history.wisc.edu/sommerville/367/sidney%20speech.htm
http://www.nndb.com/people/363/000102057/
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/algernon_sidney.html
http://www.constitution.org/as/dcg_000.htm
Jean – Jacques Rousseau
 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/enlightenment/
 http://www.iep.utm.edu/rousseau/
 http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ENLIGHT/ROUSSEAU.HTM
 http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/510932/Jean-Jacques-Rousseau
 http://www.c18th.com/author-works.aspx?id=4
Edward Coke
 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/enlightenment/
 http://www.laughtergenealogy.com/bin/histprof/misc/coke.html
 http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/Bios/EdwardCoke.htm
 http://thinkexist.com/quotes/edward_coke/
 http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=226&Itemid=270
Montesquieu
 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/enlightenment/
 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/montesquieu/
 http://www.constitution.org/cm/sol-02.htm
 http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/philosophers/montesquieu.html
 http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/c/charles_de_montesquieu.html
 http://www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/montesquieu/montesquieu-bio.html
Machiavelli
 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/enlightenment/
 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/machiavelli/
 http://marxists.org/reference/archive/machiavelli/
 http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/n/niccolo_machiavelli.html
 http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/philosophers/machaivelli.html
 http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/REN/MACHIAV.HTM
Denis Diderot
 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/enlightenment/
 http://dromo.info/diderotbio.htm
 http://www.c18th.com/author-works.aspx?id=219
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http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/d/denis_diderot.html
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/diderot.htm
http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1261
Rene Descartes
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http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/enlightenment/
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/descartes-works/
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Quotations/Descartes.html
http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/f_descarte.html
http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96mar/descartes.html
Voltaire
 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/enlightenment/
 http://history.hanover.edu/texts/voltaire/volindex.html
 http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/voltaire.htm
 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/voltaire/
 http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_2/voltaire.html
 http://www.visitvoltaire.com/voltaire_bio.htm
Galileo Galilee
 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/enlightenment/
 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/galileo/
 http://www.biography.com/people/galileo-9305220#awesm=~oEeXjSqM5t6jAb
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/galilei_galileo.shtml
 http://galileo.rice.edu/
Copernicus
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http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/enlightenment/
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/copernicus/
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/hawking/cosmostar/html/cstars_coper.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/copernicus.shtml
Sir Isaac Newton
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http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/enlightenment/
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/newton/
http://web.clas.ufl.edu/users/ufhatch/pages/01-courses/current-courses/08sr-newton.htm
http://www.math.wichita.edu/history/men/newton.html
http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/history/newton3laws.html