• Meaning of Enlightenment
• Background of enlightenment
• Social, economic and political reformation
Review: Renaissance and Scientific Revolution
• Before Enlightenment, the What was the Renaissance?
Renaissance occurred. It led →Golden Age of arts and
to the Scientific Revolution. literature in Western Europe
All of these time periods are →Rebirth of classical learning
defined by a sense of inquiry,
What was the Scientific
or questioning the established
order to find better ways of Revolution?
doing things. →Scientists begin to question
traditional beliefs
→Use of logic and reason
The Enlightenment…
• Also known as Age of Reason,
the Enlightenment grew out of
the Scientific Revolution of the
1500s & 1600s.
• Reason could be used to discover
natural laws which shape the
human experience.
Natural Laws- unchanged
principles, discovered through
reason, that govern all human
conduct
The Enlightenment: Key Aspects
• Using methods of modern science, reformers set out to
study human behavior and solve the political, social and
economic problems of society using reason.
• Enlightened thinkers were concerned with the
relationship between government and the people, and
their ideas were used by many modern nations in the
creation of government.
• Resulted in the move away from absolutism and divine
right (religion) and toward democracy and individual
rights (secularism)
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Ideas that originated during the
Enlightenment
➢Right to happiness
➢Science should be practical
➢Discrimination is wrong
➢Separation of church and state
➢Right to privacy
➢Governments should not be all-
powerful
➢Freedom of speech
➢Education reforms
➢Seeds of democracy
18th century Enlightenment-The Age of Reason
➢Revolution in philosophy
➢Philosophers, inspired by scientists, started
questioning God and God’s role in society
➢Particular emphasis was placed on criticizing
government and the church
➢Philosophers wrote the words that inspired
revolutions
John Locke
• Believed that people are basically moral
and reasonable.
• All people are born free & equal with
three natural rights-life, liberty, and
property.
• Government exists at the consent of the
governed to protect their rights.
• Wrote Two Treatises of Government
stressing the best governments had
limited power—not an absolute
monarchy.
Montesquieu
• Criticized absolute monarchies—admired
Britain's limited monarchy and said it
protected people’s rights.
• Believed having 3 branches in
government would prevent oppression.
• Having a separation of powers would
prevent any one branch from gaining
too much power over the other two.
“In order to have…liberty, it is necessary
that government be set up so that one
man need not be afraid of another.”
Montesquieu
Believed gov’t should be split into
these three branches, and that
each branch should be able to
serve as a check on the other
two:
-Executive (enforces laws)
-Legislative (makes the laws)
-Judicial (applies laws)
Voltaire
“I do not agree
• Believed in the freedom of press and used it
to expose the abuses of corrupt political with a word
and church leaders. you say, but I
will defend to
• Fought for civil liberties- rights/freedoms of
the death your
citizens
right to say it.”
• Freedom of Speech
• Freedom of Religion
• Separation of Church and State
• Believed that humanity’s worst enemies
were intolerance, prejudice & superstition
Jacques Rousseau
• Believed that people are naturally good,
but are corrupted by society.
• Unequal distribution of property is a
great evil of society.
• Stressed the importance of the general
will- the will of the people as a whole.
• Believed the good of the community
should be placed above individual
interests- common good.
• Hated all forms of political and economic
oppression.
Rousseau’s Social Contract
Remember— a social contract
• Rousseau wrote The Social Contract is an arrangement where
where he lays out his ideas of people give up their rights to be
government and society. protected by the government
• Society places too many limits on
peoples’ behavior- some controls are
necessary but should be minimal.
• Only governments that had been
freely elected should impose law.
• Sovereignty should be in the hands of
the people, and therefore the only
good government is a direct
democracy.
New Economic Ideas
• Thinkers attempted to solve Mercantilism required
the economic problems of the government regulation of
day as others tried to solve the economy to achieve a
political problems. favorable trade balance.
• Rejected mercantilism and
promoted laissez faire
economic practices.
• In a laissez faire economy, the
government does not interfere
Laissez Faire =
with the operations of
Hands Off
business.
Adam Smith
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• Smith in The Wealth of Nations, argues
for a free market without government
interference.
• Believed that the forces of supply and
demand should run the market—
whenever there was a demand for goods
or services, suppliers would try to meet
that demand in order to gain profits.
• Though Smith believed the government
should stay out of the economy, he
believed that it had a duty to protect
society, administer justice, and provide
public works.
Enlightenment for Women
➢Natural Rights were for men only.
➢Some women were exposed to enlightened philosophy.
➢Prominent and wealthy women would host informal parties
where enlightened thinkers could gather and discuss literature,
the arts, science, philosophy and politics.
The Spread of Enlightenment
.
Before After
-Absolute monarchs rule by divine -Government should work to
right protect the people
-Church has authority -Flexible social classes- all people
have rights
-Strict separation between nobles and
peasants -Happiness on earth
-Suffer in life and be rewarded in
heaven
The Results of the Enlightenment
Reason is used to justify different forms of
government.
Stimulated religious tolerance
Progress is encouraged
Helps spark Industrial Revolution
Inspired revolutions in the United States, France,
and Latin America
Citizens questioning the role of government
