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Voltaire, Denis Diderot, And Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Decent Essays

The Enlightenment was a period of mass introduction of new ideas, high in intellect, for the purpose of social growth. People’s views on issues were greatly influenced by the philosophes of that time. People started believing that all men were equal, and thus deserved equal treatment. Some of the philosophes who greatly influenced this period were Voltaire, Denis Diderot, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. These men were critical thinkers who analyzed how society was run, and proposed better ways in which the world could operate. Though these men were high on intellect, they had similar world changing views, and all believed that man was free and this freedom should not be taken away. They still had some ideas that differed, but never diminished their …show more content…

Though questioning the authority at this time was deemed forbidden, he still argued against authority and status quo. He said “No man has received from nature the right to command his fellow human beings.” His propositions exploited principles such as freedom of press, trade, toleration, reason, and education. His ideas were revolutionary. For example, he made some very famous quotes like: “Power acquired by violence is only usurpation, and lasts only as long as the force of him who commands prevails over that of those who obey,” and “Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.” Diderot rose up against the doctrine that stated the right of a prince to hold power over others because it was God’s will. His lifework, the Encyclopedia was a powerful weapon against ecclesiastical and governmental institutions. He urged people to liberate themselves through reason. His views were in line with those of Rousseau and Voltaire, only that he was extremely humanitarian and expressed support for social and political reforms. In all his dealings, he placed knowledge above the dogmas of the church, thus concurring with Voltaire and Rousseau on the note of

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