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Similarities Between Bossuet And John Locke

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Absolute monarchy is rule by one person, usually a King or Queen, who obtains absolute power of authority with no repercussions for what he or she does. Bishop Bossuet held strongly to the argument of absolute monarchy, whereas John Locke opposed on the basis of man's natural rights. Bossuet and Locke have different views on the government’s source of power and their ideas about the rights of the people, but agreed that their chosen theories are in the best interest of the people and held their country's unity in high regard.
The first thing we can look at when comparing the two philosophers ideas, is their differences of opinions on the government's source of power. Bossuet believes that the king’s source of power comes directly from God. …show more content…

Bishop Bossuet believed that the Prince of the nation was held accountable to no man, stating that no man has power near equal to his. This means he was judge, jury, and executioner for the people. There was no fair trial; it was simply, whether or not the king found you innocent. Then there is Locke’s viewpoint; Locke viewed everyman born equally, with the same rights and privileges as any man beside him. This is to say that Locke believed it was wrong for a nation to be ruled by one man based on his bloodline or privilege of class. Both of these arguments are basically over the idea of being born into privilege or into service. While one puts heavy emphasis on one man being inherently “good”, the other emphasizes our ability to have free will.
Although Bossuet and Locke have their differences in what ruling a monarchy should look like, they still have some ideas that are represented in both of their theories. First, we must understand that while these two philosophers were on opposing spectrums of the political debate of the time, they both still had the nation's best interests at heart. Believing that their way would bring about the best chance for peace and prosperity to their people. While their ways of getting to that peace may vary in structure, they shared this common

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