The Enlightenment Flashcards
Thomas Hobbes: (7)
- Wrote Leviathan
- Pessimistic view of people
- people were naturally cruel
- without laws to control people, life would be ‘nasty, brutish and short’
- Influenced by English Civil war
- was proponent of absolute rule
Hobbes and the social contract:
people enter into a contract with a strong government
people give up some of their natural rights in order to ensure an orderly society.
DIDNT WRITE SOCIAL CONTRACT
John Locke (5)
- Opposed Hobbes
- Strong influence on founding fathers
- argued against the belief that human beings are born with certain ideas in their minds.
- Tabula Rasa: clean slate
- Governments depend on the consent of the governed.
- LIFE LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS
Montesquieu: (3)
- emphasized separation of powers in his book The Spirit of Laws.
- Thought protected against tyranny
- checks and balances.
Philosophes:
18th century France stressed use of human reason Five concepts: 1.Reason 2. Nature 3. Happiness 4. Progress 5. Liberty
Voltaire:
- French
- Satire of clergy, aristocracy, and governments.
- continues to speak for religious tolerance, reason, freedom of religious belief, and freedom of speech while in jail.
- I do not agree with a word you say, but i will defend to the death your right to say it.
Rousseau:
- Believed that in a state of nature people are good, but they are corrupted by social institutions.
- Wrote social contract
- General Will- the good of the whole community over the individual.
- Despised all forms of political and economic oppression.
Mary Wollstonecraft:
- Argued that women were excluded from the social contract.
- stressed equal education for boys and girls.
- Daughter wrote frankenstein.
Laissez Faire:
- focused on economic reforms.
- “hands off”
- businesses should be able to operate with little governmental interference.
Beccaria:
- Italian philosophe turned thoughts into justice system.
- laws existed to preserve social order, not avenge crimes.
- No torture
- Standard punishment
Who wrote the Leviathan?
Thomas Hobbes
Who had a pessimistic view of people?
Thomas hobbes
Who argued against the belief that human beings are born with ideas in their minds?
John Locke
Who was associated with Tabula Rasa?
John Locke
Who emphasized checks and balances?
Montesquieu
Who wrote the social contract?
Rousseau
Who prioritized the good of the community over that of the individual?
rousseasu
Who argued that women were excluded from the social contract?
Mary Wollsonecraft
Who held the belief that business should be able to operate without government interference?
Laissez Faire
Who believed laws existed to preserve social order, not to avenge crimes?
Beccaria
What were salons?
social gatherings organized by women where philosophers, writers, artists, scientists, and other intellects met and discussed ideas.
Marie-Therese Geoffrin
Funded Denis Diderot to create the Encyclopedia.
Denis Diderot
created the encyclopedia
What happened to the middle class during the enlightenment?
they could afford to buy books, funding the authors
