The Enlightenment Thinkers Ideas During The Enlightenment

During the Enlightenment, revolutionary thinkers called philosophes brought about new ideas as to how to better understand and improve their society. They were all modern thinkers and had the best interests of society in mind. Although each philosoph had his or her own ideas, they all centered around one main theme: equality and human freedom.

John Locke also believed that government should protect people's natural rights and people can revolt if the government fails or tries to take away peoples natural rights which were life, liberty and property. (doc5) Locke also wrote the 2 treaties of government where he argued that people form government to protect natural rights and the best kind of government had limited power and was accepted by all citizens. Montesquieu also believed that democracy was the best form of government and thought that the best way to protect liberty was to have the three branches of government legislative-creates laws, judicial-interprets laws and executive-enforces laws.(doc 6) He came up with the concept checks and balances which made sure that none of the branches of government had to much power, because they would watch over each other. In a book The Spirit of Laws he explained how he thought that this was the best government and how it was better than other governments throughout history and was a great way to protect liberty. Another ruler who believed that democracy was the best form of government as Rousseau. He believed that people in there natural state were mostly good. He put his faith in the "general will", and believed that the majority of the people should set forth their ideas about government. He put his ideas about society into the social contract.

Great Philosophers like Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean –Jacque Rousseau had been deeply concerned about the Social Contract Theories on the people. The main theories include safety, security, equal rights and have an organised society without any foreign interference. The use of non-violence and war against mankind. Society as a whole was the main priority for all these three philosophers. Both John Locke and Jean-Jacque Rousseau had different views when compared to Thomas Hobbes on Society. Each of these men had their own theories on how to protect the rights of human beings. John Locke and Jean-Jacque Rousseau have better ideas than Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes believed that only a true and clean government can rule the people and protect their

Throughout the Enlightenment, philosophes have made discoveries as well as have ideas that have revolutionized society as we know it today. The Enlightenment took place during the 17th and 18th century in Europe. During this period, philospohes, or philosophers, would discuss different questions and brought new, intellecutal ideas that brought out the Age of Reason. There is many different points of view of what the philosophes main idea was during the enlightenment. The main idea of the philosophes was greater individual freedom. This idea was a key part of their thinking in three areas: government, religion and women's rights.

Hobbes always found ways working for many affluent and elegant families. Hobbes joined together where activists of the king, members of the parliament and other rich landowners were discussed, and his knowledgeable aptitude brought him closer to power through that benefit (“John Locke: Biography.”) Without a strong government, Hobbes claims, the people will be left alone in a disorganized society (“John Locke: Biography.”) If an individual could do as they please it would lead to violence and conflict. To escape the idea of a chaotic nation, the people instead agreed to a social contract. Hobbes believed a society populated under a sovereign authority must be able to surrender their natural rights in exchange for protection. According to the Declaration of Independence, which states that all men have the right of liberty, life, and the pursuit of happiness. Hobbes thought life was the most importance and government should protect your well being. This is prebeavent to the constitution when it included the bill of rights. The bill of rights protected every individual’s freedom, the document contained ten amendments dedicated to preserving citizen’s

The Enlightenment era was a new intellectual movement that stressed reason and thought and the power of individuals to solve problems. Even though different philosophers approached their goal differently, they achieved it none the less. They all approached their goal differently due to their different upbringings, their different backgrounds, and most importantly their different environments. A few among the many enlightened thinkers were Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Baron Do Montesquieu, and Jean Jacques Rousseau. While some of their idea’s are not used in modern society, they were all instrumental to the modern society we live in today.

The Enlightenment Philosophers:What was Their Main Idea ? Background Essay Questions The late 17th and 18th century.

To begin, Philosophes of The Enlightenment were truly remarkable. They are constantly thinking of ways to better the sake of the world. Voltaire, John Locke, Adam Smith and Mary Wollstonecraft all had one purpose, to unite everyone. The main idea that they were trying to imply is that everyone should interact with each other to make the world a better place. Religion should not be separated, government all be ruled by one branch, women be inferior to men and lastly the people who are living in a bad government should have right to abolish the government and prevent it from going bad.Concurrently, you might ask, why his was their main idea? It's quite simple, These 4 profound Philosophes were alive in an era that wasn't the best. There was chaos among the people and government, which led to society to begin to tear up. The Philosophes wanted to change that they wanted to live in a world where you can pass past a religion with a friendly hello not, "cut one another’s throats out".This idea was a key part of their thinking in three areas: change in Government, Unity of religion , and natural rights. All three of these main ideas had such a big impact on how time played a role in society.

Have you ever been in a class where there were disagreements?In the late 17th and 18th century there was many changes that people did not always agree with and the people started questioning ways of living and knowing.They discussed the ideas of improving society,reason, natural laws,salon, and philosophers.What really was the major idea of the philosophes? The philosophes believed that greater individual freedom could improve society in several areas, these areas included: government,religion,economics and women.

Philosophes were enlightenment thinkers and philosophers that made it their career to use reason and apply it to human life. The place where the philosophes would discuss their new ideas were the French salons. However, these salons were not open to all of the population, only the

The formation of government is one of the central themes for both Hobbes and Locke. Whether or not men naturally form a government, or must form a government, is based on man’s basic nature. According to Hobbes, a government must be formed to preserve life and prevent loss of property. According to Locke, a government arises to protect life and property. Governments are born of inequality and formed to administer equality.

Many of the ideas in the Constitution emerged during the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment’s purpose was to challenge traditional ideas based on faith alone and to advance society by using philosophical ideas and scientific knowledge. People who were greatly influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment are Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Thomas Paine, and Benjamin Franklin, these ideas played a key role in writing the U.S. Constitution. Another Enlightenment thinker named Baron de Montesquieu had ideas found in the U.S. Constitution. His idea was that each branch of government we have was to be separated, to have independent powers. This Enlightenment idea turned out to be the Separation of Powers. Another important idea from the Enlightenment

John Locke wrote his theory around the same time as Hobbes in 16th century England. Locke, like Hobbes, views the state of nature as inherently unstable. People are under contrast threat of physical harm, unable to pursue any goals that required stability and widespread cooperation with other humans. Unlike Hobbes however, he view humanity as also willing to compromise if it suites them. Locke’s claim is that government arose in this context. Individuals, seeing the benefits which could be gained, decided to relinquish some of their rights to a central authority while retaining other rights. This took the form of a contract. In agreement for relinquishing certain rights, individuals would receive protection from physical harm, security for

In addition to the breakthroughs that monopolized the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, a new model of thought had emerged from the scientific revolution that would dominate the minds of eighteenth century thinkers. With the scientific revolution the world had officially become open for inquiry and it asserted that the only way to gain true knowledge was by becoming rational and objective. Using seventeenth century modes of thinking, primarily those of Descartes, Newton, and Locke, a new group of innovators emerged that would change the way people observed the world around them. At the core of this new movement were the French intellects known as the Philosophes. The French writer Voltaire, influenced

The ideas of enlightenment philosophes manifested themselves in a tangible way by influencing the initiation, propositions, and success of revolutionary and political documents of the eighteenth century. Actual revolutions were not just the product of angry founding fathers or bourgeoisie; rather centuries of progressive writers had set the stage for a radical transformation of the western political landscape by chipping away at the ideas that formed the foundation of the “despotism” being rebelled against. The difference between the writings of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau, and the writings of the American and French revolutions is action: the revolutions finally gave hands to the voices of the enlightenment: “To the philosophes, the role of philosophy was not just to discuss the world but to change it” (Duiker 461). The commencement, propagation, and evolution of enlightenment thought set the stage for the French and American Revolutions. The