The Enlightenment took place during the 17th and 18th Century in Europe. It was a time in which philosophes questioned social norms and found their voice. These three philosophes argued that all individuals both men and women should have more freedom. The Enlightenment was a time period in which people questioned the government, religion, and gender. John Locke, one of the four philosophes was a huge figure in the Enlightenment as he questioned the ways of the government and how it run. For example Locke, argued that people should be allowed to choose their own government, as it will have a greater chance of not failing. Locke said, “The people are at liberty to provide for themselves, by erecting a new legislative,... for the society can never,... lose the native and original right it has to preserve itself, which can only be a done by a settled legislative and a fair and impartial execution of the laws made by it” (Document A). John is stating that it shouldn't be the government who makes all the decisions but the people as it is their right to do so. John Locke was just one of the four figures in the enlightenment that made an impact. …show more content…
He said, “If one religion only were allowed in England, the government would very possibly become arbitrary; if there were two, the people would cut one another’s throats; but as there are such a multitude, they all live happy and in peace,” (Document B). Voltaire believed that it was important to have a multitude of religions so that people would have more than one option to choose from, giving them a chance to have a voice and be heard. Religion is an very important and sensitive topic, and having the ability to choose whether you are a part of a religion or not is a choice in which everyone should be able to make, it’s an characteristic of
The Enlightenment philosophers, why are they so famous for their thoughts, writings? The Enlightenment philosophers, wrote about everything life. Nothing really interesting. The Enlightenment philosophers wasn’t really that revolutionary.
Voltaire wrote poems, novels, essays, plays, and more than 20,000 personal letters. Voltaire's idea of a better society, was freedom in religion. The Royal Exchange in London was where the representatives of all nations meet and try to profess the same religion. But Volaire states that “if there is one religion, then it would be a arbitrary, and if there was two, people would kill one and others, but if there was a multitude of religions, there would be peace and happiness”(Doc 2). Voltaire's idea is similar to John Locke's idea.
The late 17th and 18th century was an important period filled with important people known as the Philosophers, this time is known as the Enlightenment or Age of Reason. These people came up with ideas used to make a perfect society and help West Europe become a better place to live. Mary Wollstonecraft, John Locke, Voltaire, and Adam Smith, all shared the same concept that every person should formulate and accomplish their own choices when it comes to Government, Economics, Social Rights, and Religion. Mary Wollstonecraft supported and strongly believed in the thought of equality. Wollstonecraft once wrote, “Men and women must be educated, in a great degree, by the opinions and manners of the society they live in.”
During the 17th-18th century, a movement referred to as The Enlightenment arose in the efforts by philosophers to reassemble European politics, beliefs, science, and communications. The purpose was to solve problems in the world with reason. An example of philosophers can be seen in Baron de Montesquieu’s view on wanting a separation of powers; Adam Smith’s thought of laissez-faire where the government allows business to operate with little or no government interference; and John Locke’s idea that everyone has the right to life, liberty, and property. John Locke influenced the foundation for people believing in natural rights. This stimulated an outbreak of revolutions such as The Revolutionary War, French Revolution, and The Saint Domingo
Enlightenment The enlightenment was a time in which leaders and philosophers promoted ideas during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that influenced people's thoughts concerning politics, social justice, human progress and religion forever. As said by Philosopher Immanuel Kant, “Enlightenment is defined as the upset of the established order/the awakening of one’s mind/forsaking society’s imposed mindset and establishing one for yourself.” (Document 12) These scientists like Issac Newton and writers like John Locke were challenging the old ways and because of that people became socially aware.
He aimed for religious tolerance for the country, much like Akbar of the Mughal Empire. Voltaire presents us with a scenario that could be hypothesized by future generations and viewed by those of the present in the 1726 work, Letters Concerning the English Nation. He argues that “If one religion only were allowed in England, the government would very possibly become arbitrary [unrestrained]; if there were but two, the people would cut one another’s throats; but as there are such a multitude, they all live happy and in peace.” Voltaire expresses that humanity is at peace because of such diversity, tolerance and freedom; if not for diversity, the government would control religion, and competing religions would wage war on one another. However, while the discussion of religion was important, many people had issues with Europe's economic
"How Ideologies Can Cause a Revolution in the Enlightenment" Revolt, power, despotism, government, and equality are words that can be used against each other and for each other, but all of them can be described in relation to a revolution. Revolution is a revolt against a higher power for a change in the economy, social structure, or government. The Enlightenment was a time period in which new ideas and intellectual movements arose to change society. Ideologies of the Enlightenment can cause a revolution because of the changes they bring to the economy, social structure, and government. "Economy is a huge part of a revolution.
Voltaire certainly believed in freedom of religious expression, which he actually found pivotal to the propagation of religion and its very realm of existence. He did not believe in circumscribing the way that individuals expressed their religious conviction. More importantly, perhaps, Voltaire also held firm in the conviction that there should be a distinction between church and state. This notion has proved fairly controversial throughout the course of Westernization; one of the reasons that Voltaire maintained this conviction was because he was aware of the tendency of ecclesiastical powers to surmount reason in governing due to the unrestrained sort of influence the church could
As mentioned previously, let's start off with understanding what Enlightenment is, in order to understand what this whole topic is about. The Enlightenment was a European movement, which was based on finding new things by logic and reason(mostly science), this made up the other name for Enlightenment therefore called The Age Of Reason. It was amazingly influenced by the 17th century philosophers. The Enlightenment started either in the middle of the 17th century or at the commencement of the 18th century.
The Enlightenment has made people think of ideas far beyond their capability. The Enlightenment is an academic movement of thinking or otherwise known as the ¨Age of Reason¨. Many people have led to the start of the Enlightenment. This began a chain reaction of new ideas and changed the way people think. Before this time period people only believed what was told to them and didn't think for themselves. The historical context, causes, and effects of this issue have a powerful impact on the world today.
The Era of Enlightenment was a cultural movement in Europe that favored reason in place of belief. It challenged the accepted views of the time which, in turn, endangered the power of absolute rulers and their system of government. This era influenced a majority of the European population, however, the monarchs of the time did not exemplify those same ideals. Catherine II of Russia’s views on serfs and peasants are a great example of a ruler defying the enlightenment movement. In her “Decree on Serfs” she states that “serfs and peasants...owe their landlords proper submission and absolute obedience in all matters” , essentially saying that serfs of the time should be completely obedient to their masters (Doc. 6).
The Enlightenment was a time period during the 16th century through the 18th century. During this time period Enlightenment philosophers came up with new ideas about peoples’ natural rights and the way they should be governed. The Enlightenment took place in France and produced many new books, essays and inventions. It was also referred to as the Age Of Reason. The American Revolution took place during the Enlightenment around the 18th century.
The Enlightenment was a time during the 17th and 18th century in Europe when the ideas of philosophers about an ideal government and human nature in society were being developed. Although women did not have equal rights as men, women did have the power to influence ideas during the Enlightenment. This is because they took on several roles as leaders, where they had chances and opportunities to act as philosophers and share their new ideas on the society of France. In Salons, high class parties during the Enlightenment that was a place for nobles, and their intellectuals to share their opinions and have conversations with one another was where both men and women were invited to participate and exchange ideas.
In his letter “Letters Concerning the English Nation”, he gives a satire example of a trade exchange at the Royal Exchange. If there were traders of all different religions ready to trade their good, it won’t really matter how they worship their god, it only matters about the money at the moment. Voltaire believed that if there was only one religion in all of England, “the government would very possibly become arbitrary”. (Doc B) This means that if there was only one religion everything would be under only one person’s control, all the laws would only please their personal whim.
Three social issues that concerned the Enlightenment thinkers during the 18th century are equality between men and women, equal education and job opportunities, and equal protection under law. Although these issues did not impact ALL of the Enlightenment thinkers directly, they all were associated in a sub-topic in each of the issues. Equality was an issue because women were not getting the same opportunities in the workforce, in government say, and even anything in law. For example, under the law, women had little protection, they could not retain a lawyer, inherit property, vote, or even have rights over their own children. One of the Enlightenment thinkers discusses these problems rather well.