The Age of Enlightenment

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The Age of Enlightenment

• 1700s-1800s

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The Age of Enlightenment

• The Enlightenment, a philosophical movement
  beginning in France that advocated Reason and
  logic as the basis of authority and all decisions
  and using reason and logic to solve social
  problems

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The Age of Enlightenment

• Many of the United States' Founding Fathers were
  heavily influenced by Enlightenment-era
  ideas(1600s-1800s)
• particularly in the religious sphere (separation
  of church and state)
• And in the political sphere (a major influence on
  the U.S. Bill of Rights

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The Age of Enlightenment

• Heavily influenced by the Scientific Revolution
  in Europe during the 1600s

• Scientific Revolution the time period where
  scientists in Europe began to observe,
  hypothesize, and experiment to reach conclusions
  about the natural world

• Challenged prevailing religious beliefs and the
  Catholic Churchs authority on all things
  relating to the natural world
• Ex Galileo was excommunicated from the Church for
  arguing that the Earth revolved around the sun
  (Helio-centered universe) instead of other way
  around

• Developed the Scientific Method

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Philosophes

• believed in using the scientific method to solve
  social problems

• Enlightenment philosophers who met to discuss
  reason, logic, rationale, and how to solve social
  problems

• were against Divine Right and believed the people
  are the source of governments power

• met in underground clubs called Salons

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Who Were the Philosophes So Mad at?

• King Louis XIV of
  France (r.
  1643- 1715
• The Sun King

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King Louis XIV (The Sun King)

• Ruled France as an absolute monarch in control
  of every aspect of every French citizens life
• Believed his entire kingdom revolved solely
  around him called himself The Sun King

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King Louis XIV (The Sun King)

• Lived a lavish life funded by heavy taxes on most
  of his subjects
• Most of his subjects lived in poverty with barely
  enough to eat

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King Louis XIV (The Sun King)

• Believed in Divine Right Believed God anointed
  him king so he was only responsible to answer to
  God, not to his subjects

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Palace of Versailles

• Became the French
  capital
• 12 miles outside of
  Paris
• Really angered the Philosophes
• Built 1671-1682 by
• King Louis XIV
• Shows how out of touch and
• insincere King Louis XIV was
• towards his subjects

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Thomas Hobbes

• ? 1588-1679
• ? British Philosopher
• ? Believed humans were naturally wicked

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Thomas Hobbes

• Believed human beings could not be trusted to
  make decisions to benefit all, only to benefit
  themselves
• Believed an absolute monarch was necessary to
  protect human beings from each other (Humans not
  capable of self rule)

• Believed human beings were naturally wicked

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Hobbes Leviathan and Social Contract

• Argued that the only way to avoid war, chaos,
  disarray was a strong central ruler

• Wrote Leviathan 1651

• Argued that the people and the leader had a
  Social Contract

• Hobbes Social Contract people give up their
  rights to an absolute ruler in exchange for
  protection, law, and order. People do not have
  the right to rebel

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Jean Jacque Rousseau

• ? Swiss Philosopher
• ? 1712-1778
• ? Also had a Social
  Contract
• ? Wrote The Social
  Contract
• Book in 1762
• 
  

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Rousseau

• Believed humans were naturally good and corrupted
  by society, not the other way around (as Hobbes
  believed)
• Believed society forces people to compete
  bringing out the worst in people
• Believed government forces people to distrust
  each other and takes freedoms away

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Rousseau

• Believed modern technology made people too
  dependent on one another
• Believed dependency created inequality, social
  classes, division

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Rousseaus Social Contract

• The Social Contract published 1762

• Believed that the people are the source of
  government powers

• Believed governments job was to help people be
  happy and needs cared for

• Believed if government did not do its job people
  had the right to remove leaders, rebel

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Hobbes Rousseau's Social Contracts

• Hobbes
• People are naturally wicked
• People need to surrender their independence to an
  absolute leader in exchange for law and order
• People do not have the right to rebel

• Rousseau
• People start out good and become corrupted by
  society
• People are the source of governments power
• Government needs to help people
• People can rebel if leaders fail to do their job

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Baron Montesquieu

• 1689-1755
• French Philosopher
• Believed governments
• power needs to be checked

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Baron Montesquieu

• Believed in 3 types of governments
• ? Monarchies ruled by a king/queen guided by
  honor
• ? Republics ruled by elected officials guided by
  virtue
• ? Despotisms ruled by absolute dictators guided
  by fear

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Baron Montesquieu

• Separation of Powers
• Believed power in government had to be divided
  amongst different branches
• Believed checks and balances are necessary to
  keep one branch from becoming too powerful
• Believed the people needed safeguards from
  government becoming too powerful

• Heavily influenced Americas founding fathers
  1770s-1780s
• 3 Branches of Govt included in US Constitution

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Separation of Powers (Checks and Balances)
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John Locke

• 1632-1704
• British Philosopher
• Believed all people were
• born with 3 natural rights
• (Life, Liberty, Property)

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John Locke

• Believed people are born with minds as a blank
  slate to be filled up not naturally good or bad
• Believed it was human nature to want to figure
  things out and to want to make sense of the world
  around you
• Disagreed with Hobbes that people are naturally
  wicked
• Believed humans were reasonable creatures capable
  of figuring out anything

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Lockes 3 Natural Rights

• Locke believed all people born with 3 Natural
  Rights Life, Liberty, and Property
• Lockes Natural Rights heavily influenced
  Americas founders
• Natural Rights included in US Declaration of
  Independence (Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of
  Happiness)

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Voltaire 1694-1778

• French Philosopher
• Staunch supporter
• of individual
• liberties

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Voltaire

• Known for his wit and nonconformity

• Believed that organized formal religion was too
  constricting

• Was opposed to organized religions criticizing
  other faiths and practitioners

• But did believe in freedom of religion

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Voltaire

• Staunch supporter of right to a fair trial
• 
  
• 
  Heavily influenced
• 
  leaders of the French
• Revolution
• Was opposed to censorship "I disapprove of what
  you say, but I will defend, to the death, your
  right to say it."

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Mary Wollstonecraft

• 1759-1797
• British philosopher,
• author, and feminist

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Mary Wollstonecraft

• 1792 wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Women
• Argued women are not naturally
• inferior to men they just suffer
• from lack of educational
• opportunities

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Mary Wollstonecraft

• Argued that men and women should be treated as
  equal beings
• Argued that social order should be determined by
  reason (usefulness) not by gender, race, wealth,
  etc.

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Mary Wollstonecraft

• Argued that society trains women to be weak and
  more concerned with their superficial looks than
  contributions to society

• Argued that women should receive the same type
  and quality of education as men

• Argued it was a problem that men were so
  comfortable with treating women as inferiors

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Mary Wollstonecraft

• Argued that proper education for women will solve
  their problems

• Argued women must be given the opportunity to
  participate in the public sphere as much as the
  private sphere

• Most Enlightenment Philosophes did not agree with
  her about the roles of women and education for
  women

• She was a feminist long before it was acceptable
• She inspired numerous later generations of
  feminists in numerous countries

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Queen Elizabeth I (The Virgin Queen)

• 1533-1603
• Was Queen of
• England
• Most powerful Queen in
• European History
• Believed in Divine Right

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Queen Elizabeth I (The Virgin Queen)

• Believed in Divine Right but believed her
  subjects were like her children and she had to
  take care of them
• Never got married or had children challenged the
  popular belief that women had to marry

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Queen Elizabeth I (The Virgin Queen)

• Even though she believed in Divine Right she
  still saw the need to rule with reason

• She settled decades-long religious tension in
  England (Catholics vs. Protestants)

• The Philosophes saw her as an inspiration to
  other monarchs be an Enlightened ruler

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Assignment

• Rank all 8 characters of the Enlightenment from
  1-8. Explain why each character helped or hurt
  the formation of democracy. Two sentence minimum
  for each character.