Adam smith: Ideas Behind the Enlightenment and Natural Laws of Economics. Enlightened thinkers of the 17th and 18th century have radically changed the way people think. They have opened the eyes to many by asking questions, and seeking answers that have yet been answered. This caused people to study the world around them, think for themselves, and ask whether the appearance of things masked the principles of a more profound natural order. These incredible men were Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, John Locke, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Adam smith. There are many other men who influenced the enlightenment period Europe and the world. This caused many books, inventions, laws and wars to up rise through their discoveries. Adam smith however, has inspired books in recent year that seek to influence economists …show more content…
In the book, The American Promise, the various authors explain how many educated colonists became deism, which is belief in a God who created the world but has since remained indifferent to it. What the enlightenment did for the American colonies is it, “encouraged people to study the world around them, to think for themselves. And to ask whether the disorderly appearance of thing masked the principles of a deeper, more profound natural order.” (…) major people who influenced the enlightenment period were Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson who sought out to understand the nature of life and was to improve society. (…) due to their many ideas, it lead along many 18th century colonist to begin thinking for themselves, and because of their radical ideas it shifted peoples focus to living in the moment rather than the afterlife and heaven. (…) Although Adam Smith was not a major figure in the American Enlightenment, he still served a greater influence in America with his ideologies of