The Enlightenment1700 - 1800

Focus Question

• What effects did Enlightenment philosophers have on government and society?

Do Now:

Find your name and take a seat.

Take out your binder and open to a new page.

Answer: What are some negatives of having an absolute ruler?

Do Now: What does it mean to be “enlightened”?

• Free from ignorance, prejudice, or superstition

• Philosophers emphasized political goals like:– Individual freedom– Limited government– Education– Economic freedoms

• (Laissez-faire “Hands off”- government not interfere with business and the marketplace

• Their goal = REFORM!

Scientific Revolution Sparks the Enlightenment

• During the 1500s & 1600s, scientists changed the way people looked at the world.

• Their success convinced educated Europeans of the power of human reason.– Led to natural law (rules discovered by reason)

• Natural law could be used to solve social, political, & economic problems.

Thomas Hobbes vs. John Locke

human nature & the role of government

- People = cruel, greedy, & selfish- Need absolute monarchy- Social contract (people give up freedom for an organized society)

- People = reasonable & moral-Limited gov that people can overthrow- Natural rights (life, liberty, & property)

Writers Face Censorship

• Not everyone liked the new ideas of Enlightenment thinkers.– Most government & church leaders felt they had

to defend the old, traditional views.

• Censorship - banned & burned books and put writers in prison– To get around this, writers hid their ideas in fiction

Ideas Spread in Salons

Salons – informal social gatherings where writers, artists, philosophers, and others exchange ideas

Do we have anything comparable to salons today?

Baron Montesquieu

-Government should be divided:

executive, legislative, &

judicial branches

-Checks & Balances

Voltaire-Used humor

to expose problems of

his time in his writings

-Spoke out against

injustice, inequality,

superstition

Denis Diderot-Wrote

Encylopedia-Wanted to change the

general way of thinking

-Denounced slavery,

promoted education

-Banned by church and

government!

Jean-Jaques Rousseau

-Wrote “The Social Contract”

-Government control should

be minimal-Governments

should be elected

Mary Wollstonecraft

“free and equal”

Vindication of the Rights of

Women

Equal education for girls and

boys

New Economic Thinking• Laissez Faire replaces

mercantilism– Businesses should operate

with little to no gov. interference

• Adam Smith– Wrote The Wealth of Nations– Free market should control

business activity– All parts of economy were

linked to laws of supply & demand

Enlightened Despots• Philosophes tried to convince absolute monarchs that reform

was necessary – some accepted new ideas

Catherine the Great(Russia)

- abolished torture- religious tolerance

However, in the end, they simply wanted more power for themselves.

Lives of the Masses Change Slowly

• Most Europeans were untouched by the Enlightenment.

• Serfdom still existed in some places.

• The lives of villagers changed slowly.

• In 1800s, things would change.

Montesquieu• Study many governments

throughout time

• Wrote The Spirit of the Laws– Gov. should be divided by

functions & powers– Three branches of legislative,

executive, & judicial– Checks & balances

Voltaire• Most famous philosophe

• Used wit & humor to expose the abuses of his time– Spoke out against inequality,

injustice, & superstition– Hated the slave trade &

religious prejudice

“My trade is to say what I think.”

Diderot• Produced a 28-volume set of

books called the Encyclopedia

• Wanted “to change the way of general thinking” on topics like gov., philosophy, & religion

• Articles denounced slavery, praised freedom of expression, & encouraged education for all

• French gov. & Catholic Church tried to ban it or excommunicate people who read it

Rousseau• Like Locke, he believed

people were basically good

• Wrote The Social Contract– Society placed too many

controls on people’s behavior– Some controls were necessary

but should be minimal

• Only governments that were freely elected should impose these controls

Women Challenge the Philosophes

• Enlightenment slogan was “free & equal”– This did not apply to woman– Their rights were limited to the home & family

• Some women protested this view– Germaine de Stael of France– Mary Wollstonecraft• A Vindication for the Rights of Women (equal education for girls & boys)

Laissez-faire Economy

• Laissez-faire economists argue that society would be better off if the government did not interfere with business and the marketplace.

• What role should the government play in a nation’s economy?

Enlightenment Ideas Spread

• Educated people read Diderot’s Encyclopedia

• Small, cheaper pamphlets on various topics also spread throughout Europe