Turning Point - The Enlightenment
Another result of the Scientific Revolution was the Enlightenment. Before the 1700s, almost every government around the world was a tyranny – a harsh, abusive government. This was completely normal. Rulers often believed that God had chosen them because they were superior to common citizens, and that the rulers had a right to dominate every aspect of the people’s lives. As for the people’s rights, they usually didn’t exist. Their purpose was to serve the government. This system was widely accepted, because no one knew there was another way. Then came the Enlightenment.
The Enlightenment changed the way people lived as political and social scholars began to question the workings of society and government, while rejecting traditional ideas. While the Scientific Revolution focused on the physical world, the Enlightenment attempted to explain the purpose of government, and describe the best form of it. The most influential Enlightenment thinkers were Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Voltaire, Baron de Montesquieu, and Jean Jacques Rousseau.
The Enlightenment was a period of time in Europe and America during the 1700s in which influential philosophers and authors helped prove the power of thought, reason and investigation. No longer would ignorance, superstition and tyranny rule. Enlightenment ideas helped to stimulate people's sense of individualism and the basic belief in equal rights. This in turn led to the Glorious Revolution in Britain, the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the Latin American revolutions. Some of these revolutions resulted in new governments based upon the ideas of the Enlightenment.
- France = center of Enlightenment
- Philosophes = (different than philosophers) social critics who based their ideas on reason
- Deists = believe in rational Newtonian (based upon Isaac Newton's philosophy) God
- Atheists = do NOT believe in God
Rene Descartes
Descartes established philosophy based on human reason. He argued that rational thought was the best way to learn. He is known for saying; "I think therefore I am".
Jean Jacques Rousseau
Rousseau wrote a book called, The Social Contract, where he stated that people were basically good, and that society, and its unequal distribution of wealth, were the cause of most problems. Rousseau believed that government should be run according to the will of the majority, which he called the General Will. He claimed the General Will would always act in the best interest of the people. He believed all men are equal and that society should be governed by the "General Will" of the people (all people fall subject to it). This means that the people are protected by the community. (Ex:) You stop at a stop sign and accidents are prevented because all people know to do the same.
The Social Contract
The social contract says that governments are formed to meet the social and economic needs of the people, not by divine right. Basically, it is the understood agreement to by the people to abide by laws for the common good of society. Most philosophers believed that the individual's rights (natural rights) took precedence over the government's rights.
The social contract is an implied agreement between citizens and their government. It is the idea that people sacrifice some degree of freedom in exchange for the safety and order of society. The social contract is the foundation for the idea that government derives its power from the consent of the governed, which means that any government is invalid (faulty, illegitimate, not valid) without the blessing and support of its people. Two classic examples are speed limits and no-smoking laws in hospitals. Think about how in each case, individuals give up certain freedoms because doing so will benefit or protect others. Almost everyone agrees to these two social contracts every day.
Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes based his theories on government on his belief that man was basically greedy, selfish, and cruel. In his book, Leviathan, Hobbes states that life would be a state of constant warfare without a strong government to control man's natural impulses. He believed people would enter into a Social Contract to escape from this. In the Social Contract, people would exchange most of their freedoms for the safety of organized society. Once people entered into this contract, there was no release. Hobbes did not believe in revolutions, and supported the idea of absolute monarchs. One of his sayings was that "life is nasty, brutish, and short".
Hobbes Summary
- Wrote Leviathan
- Believed in Absolute Monarchy as best form of government
- Did not believe in Revolutions
- Did not believe in Natural Rights
- Rights only came from the government
- People were evil and needed to be controlled by an Absolute Monarch.
- The monarch should follow the social contract.
John Locke
Locke also based his theories on his assessment of human nature. However, Locke believed that people could be reasonable and moral. In his book, Two Treatises of Government, Locke explained that all men have Natural Rights, which are Life, Liberty, and Property, and that the purpose of government was to protect these rights. Furthermore, Locke states that if government did not protect these rights, and became abusive, then the people had a right to revolution. Locke supported a limited government that protected people's natural rights.
Locke Summary
- Wrote Two Treatises of Government
- Believed in Natural Rights that come from nature or God
- Those rights include: Life, Liberty (freedom), and Property
- Believed in Limited Government that protected peoples Natural Rights
Baron de Montesquieu
Baron de Montesquieu was an Enlightenment thinker from France who wrote a book called, The Spirit of the Laws in 1748. In his book, Montesquieu describes what he considers to be the best government. He states that government should divide itself according to its powers, creating a Judicial, Legislative, and Executive branch. Montesquieu explained that under this system each branch would Check and Balance the others, which would help protect the people's liberty. The ideas of Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances can be seen in the government of the United States.
Voltaire
Voltaire was a French intellectual who wrote and lectured about freedom of speech. Voltaire is best known for saying, "I do not agree with a word that you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." He believed that freedom of speech was the best weapon against bad government. He also spoke out against the corruption of the French government, and the intolerance of the Catholic Church.
Results
Enlightenment ideas helped to stimulate people's sense of individualism, and the basic belief in equal rights. This in turn led to the Glorious Revolution is Britain, the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the Latin American Revolutions. Some of these revolutions resulted in government based upon the ideas of the Enlightenment such as, Great Britain and the United States.
Elsewhere, a few monarchs retained absolute control of their countries while also enacting reform based on Enlightenment ideas. These monarchs are called Enlightened Despots. In Austria, Maria Teresa and her son Joseph II both introduced reforms based on Enlightenment ideas. They reduced the tax load on the peasants, provided free education, and ended censorship in their empire. In Russia, Catherine the Great introduced similar reforms. She enacted laws for religious toleration and free education, and also sought the advice of nobles and peasants in the running of government. However, these reforms seldom outlived the monarchs who had enacted them.
