The+Enlightenment

The Enlightenment: Page Created By: Noah Goff, Trenton Newcomb, and Ben Fox

The Enlightenment: A new intellectual movement that stressed reasons and thought and the power of individuals to solve problems. The most common way to spread infromation during this time is through writing books.

Thomas Hobbes: English political thinker who was convinced that humans are natrually selfish and wicked. without governments to keep order he said that "War... of every man against man," and that life would be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Claimed that to escape such a bleak life people had to hand over their rights to a strong ruler. In exchange citizens will gain rule of law and and order. He also said that All of these ideas came out of his time in the English Civil War.

Hobbes

Leviathan: A book written by Thomas Hobbes that presented his ideas. In this book he likened how a ruler should be to a leviathan (A massive sea creature) in the fact that they should be very strong and powerful. Social Contract: An agreement by which people define and limit their individual rights.

John Locke: A Philosopher that had more positive views on human nature. He believed that people could learn from experience and improve themselves.

Locke Democracy: A form of government that relies on self government and freedom. If a government is not doing a good job, it is the responsibility to change or overthrow it. The government also is required to protect the rights of the citizens.

Republic: Defined by Rousseau as any nation that is governed by laws, regardless of it's administrative structure (form of government)

Philosophes: it’s the French word for Philosophers. They believed that people could apply reason to all aspects of life.

Voltaire: Francois Marie Arouet published more than 70 books of political essays, philosophy, and drama. He never stopped fighting for what he thought was right.

Voltaire Baron de Montesquieu: Montesquieu was one of the great political philosophers of the Enlightenment. He constructed a naturalistic account of the various forms of government, and of the causes that made them what they were and that advanced or constrained their development.

On the spirit of laws: The most famous book by Montesquieu. He wrote that separation of powers would prevent any one faction from gaining complete power over the government and people. It is now called checks and balances. Checks and balances are an integral part of the United States' government

Jean Jacques Rousseau:

Remains an important figure in the history of philosophy, because of his contributions to political philosophy.

The Social Contract: A famous book written by Jean Jacques Rousseau on a different view on the social contract from that of Hobbes. Rousseau wrote that it was an agreement among free individuals. His view is similar to that of John Locke's in the way that he thinks that the power of a government comes from the consent of the people, however he envisioned a much broader democracy than what Locke said.

Ceasare Bonesana Beccaria: An Italian Philosophe who wrote much about the criminal justice system. he believed that laws existed to preserve social order, not bring revenge for crimes. He said that the degree of the crime should dictate the punishment and that capitol punishment should be abolished.

Mary Astel: An English female writer. wrote A Serious Proposal to the ladies. Her book addressed a lack of educational opportunities for women. In later books she used enlightenment arguments to criticize inequality for women.

A Serious Proposal to the Ladies: A book by Mary Astel, wrote about education for women.

Mary Wollstonecraft: She wanted women to be able to do more things and do stuff that men can also do she basically wanted men and women to be equal and have more education and opportunely for the future

A Vindication of the Rights of Women: A work by Mary Wollstonecraft that disagreed with Rousseau arguing that education should be equal for men and women. She also encouraged women to enter medicine and politics.

Emilie du Châtelet: Received an education in the sciences, and translated Newton's work into French. She helped stimulate interest in science there.

Questions:
 * 1) How did the Enlightenment start? What were some key ideas?
 * 2) Who were the main people behind then enlightenment idea?
 * 3) What was the main way to express ideas during enlightenment?
 * 4) What was John Locke’s view on the human nature?
 * 5) What did Philosophes believe that people could apply to aspects of life?
 * 6) What are natural rights that people have when they are born according to John Locke?
 * 7) How did Mary Wollstonecraft have an impact during this time?
 * 8) Why were Women important during the enlightenment?
 * 9) Why was Voltaire and the Prussian king not get along?
 * 10) How did Montesquieu view his government?