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Positive and negative impacts of the enlightenment
Essay on the enlightenment thinkers
Positive and negative impacts of the enlightenment
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Throughout the American Revolution the colonists in America wrote many documents to declare their independence and establish the United States as a sovereign country. Despite the fact that they are all great, the US Constitution is the most influenced by the Enlightenment. The Constitution had countless ideas that express this. For instance in the first three articles (I- Legislative, II-Executive, III-Judiciary) the Founding Fathers made sure that the new government had separation of powers.
Two particular enlightenment thinkers were Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Paine’s main focus in his works was that self-government is possible. He really spoke to the colonists in a way they could understand because he was just like them, meaning he was not well-educated but was able to express his thoughts in a persuasive way that impacted the colonists daily lives. The most important pamphlet he ever wrote was called Common Sense and was read by many people, and was even referenced at the Second Continental Congress. Thomas Jefferson was greatly influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment while he was writing the Declaration of Independence, along with many other of the Founding Fathers as well.
The Enlightenment served as an empowering movement and emancipated the colonists to embrace their beliefs in equality. John Locke set a standard on the basis of people having “personal” rights (privacy), which lead to a social contract that declared that as the government protected the people's natural rights, the people would allow the government to rule. Along with that declaration, Locke also said that if the government failed to abide, the people are allowed to revolt. All in all, because the colonists believed the British government had ignored their natural rights, the assumption was that the British had violated their promise in the contract which resulted in the American Revolution. After the colonial victory at the Battle of Saratoga
The Enlightenment was a period in which scientist, philosopher, and politics argued and questioned the authority and how people could improve throughout logical changes. The enlightenment influenced to the American revolution in differents ways.there are three events in which did more impact. I would say that one of them was the publication of the book common sense by Thomas Paine. Also the first continental congress had big effect on it. And lastly it would be the changes in the government.
The Enlightenment had a big impact on the creation of the U.S. Constitution in view of the Social Contract, Montesquieu’s idea to have a separation of powers, and Locke’s idea of natural rights. The Social Contract had a big effect on the U.S. Constitution because it gave citizens more freedom. Citizens had the right to criticize or even rebel, (protest, remove, vote out of office) against the government if it was not living up to its end of the contract. The deal of the contract was that people give up some of their freedom to the government and the government protects them and guarantees their rights. Ideas from the Social Contract can be seen in the first Amendment of the Constitution, the rules about Habeas Corpus and the 14th Amendment.
The Enlightenment was a way of thinking about certain topics, and also a specific attitude towards man and how they interacted with the world. It was not so much a movement to gather people to join in but as a group of thinkers who based their ideas and beliefs on reason. The Enlightenment philosophy mainly stressed the idea that liberty and equality were natural human rights. John Locke had a major influence in the manifesting of the Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson. In the document as a whole, the English colonies are stating their reasons as to why they want to separate from Britain under the ruler of King George III.
The ideas of the Enlightenment influenced the American Revolution and the formation of the American Government. Firstly, The Enlightenment was a philosophical evolution that emphasized the aged ideas of the Greeks and Romans. In addition, the major philosophers of this time period were Voltaire, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Rousseau, Adam Smith and Isaac Newton. Their ideals include having an absolute monarch as a government (T.H), the separation of powers (Mont.), the government should not interfere with a free market economy (A.S), the freedom of speech (Volt.), the government could be overruled (J.L), and the government should rule according to the will of the people. Nevertheless, these ideals are important because they shaped the government that we have today.
One of his most famous works was Candide. It was written thirty years after his exile to England and inspired by influential people at the time, including Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift, and Isaac Newton. In this novel, Voltaire expresses his disliking of optimism and how it is merely “false hope.” He believed that although we are sometimes put into bad situations, they would not always result in a greater good. The world is naturally evil, and evil is bound to exist in the universe one way or another.
Voltaire or François-Marie Arouet , mostly known as the author of the satirical novel Candide , is widely cosidered as one of France 's superior Enlightenment writers in the eighteenth century . He was born in 1964 in Paris , he started as one of the leading writers of the enlightenment even though he was also a poet , a philosopher and a pamphlest . Voltaire went to prison twice and spent many years in exile . he was a man of ideas not an admirer of systems , his legacy has been huge as his emphasis was on justice and reason . Voltaire’s philosophical attitudes were strict , he attacked many concepts like colonisation , religion and he also attacked the idea of treating women in an incompetent way as it was popular and most common
During the Enlightenment new ideas were created that greatly impacted society. The new ideas created during the Enlightenment impacted society so much that many of the ideas were utilized when forming the government of the United States. Three European men Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Rousseau each had their own unique views of what would be best for society. Each philosopher had ideas that would make today 's society more ideal and with hard work are possible to achieve.
Enlightenment was created by the English philosopher John Locke. The ideas that were influenced by enlightenment were life, liberty, and property. This also gave to the idea of natural right. Enlightenment influenced the way people finally realized that divine right wasn’t right and start to doubt it. Throughout time enlightenment has influenced a lot of important events in history.
They were substantial contributors because the ideas of the Enlightenment were the complete opposite compared to the views of absolute rulers. For example, John Locke’s ideas about natural rights were very influential during the Enlightenment. He believed that everyone is born with natural rights; “Natural rights were life, liberty, and property, and that all people automatically earned these by simply being born”(Locke, John. " Natural rights." Moral Reasoning: A Philosophic Approach to Applied Ethics, Dryden Press, London (1990): 133-5.).
The intellectual and cultural climate of the Enlightenment era influenced Voltaire's ideas. His logical and analytical attitude to social concerns was informed by philosophical discussions and contacts he had with other Enlightenment intellectuals. In addition, his encounters with societal injustices and disagreements with the system influenced his ideals and made him a vociferous supporter of justice and
Through the protagonist Candide one can deduce Voltaire’s negative outlook on human nature. He believes every word that Pangloss says, in the same way that people of the day believed everything that the Church would say. At the beginning of the text he blindly worships Optimism and by the end of it he worships the Turk’s philosophy of labour. “I also know… that we must cultivate our garden” (Voltaire 99). However it does appear that Candide has gained more knowledge and wisdom and has therefore made a more informed decision.
Voltaire “was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher. Despite the strict censorship laws and harsh penalties of the period, he was an outspoken supporter of social reform and defender of civil liberties. A prolific writer, Voltaire produced works in almost every literary form, including plays, poetry, novels, essays, and historical works. Throughout his life, Voltaire wrote over 20,000 letters and more than 2,000 books and pamphlets. Voltaire used his satirical works to criticize intolerance, religious dogma, and the French institutions of his day as he advocated for freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and separation of church and state.
