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The Enlightenment Ideas In The Age Of The Enlightenment

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France became a part of a huge advancement in techonology and knowledge in the age of the Enlightenment. Throughout Europe, new ideas were being spread and the Church was fading from power. People called philosophes were starting to become popular with their ideas that were proved by reasoning and facts, other than ideas by the Church that were proved by faith. Some of these important philosophes were people like John Locke, Hobbes, Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Rousseau.
John Locke was a philosophe who started the ideas of the Enlightenment. He set forth the ideal of human nature that humans were moral and reasonable. Locke stated that the people needed natural rights, or rights of life, liberty, and property. Locke rejected the absolute monarchy governments and called for a democracy to give the people more freedom and equality. His beliefs influenced many countries in the present and the future, including the United States. …show more content…

His ideas contrasted with Locke’s though because he believed in a strong government and absolute monarchy. Hobbes opposed Locke and said his idea would create chaos, because people are naturally selfish and greedy. Thomas believed that a strong government was needed to enforce order in society. In Hobbes “social contract”, people sacrifice their freedom for the greater good to have a better society.
Next, Baron de Montesquieu was a philosophe who studied the governments of Europe. He criticized absolute monarchy and his ideas lead to new forms of government. Montesquieu created the three branches government, because he believed the best way to keep the people’s liberty was to split up power among the government. He made three branches, legislative, executive, and judicial, which all had separate functions and jobs to do. This system later became known as checks and balances, and it framed the United States

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He favored representative government and a rule of law so people can have a say and their opinions matter. Locke condemned tyranny and said that when the government violates individual rights, people have the right to rebel. Locke’s writings and views inspired the libertarian ideals of the American Revolution and this inspired people throughout different continents. Thomas Jefferson had similar thinking. Thomas Jefferson used natural rights ideas to justify declaring independence from England.

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The American Enlightenment and the Great Awakening were two very important motivators that changed the colonial society in America through religious beliefs, educational values, and the right to live one’s life according to each individual’s preference. The Great Awakening and the American Enlightenment movements were two events in history that signaled a grand distinction to the teachings among religious believers. New beliefs of how a person should worship in order to be considered in “God’s good graces” soon became an enormous discussion among colonists across the land. “Men of the cloth,” such as George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards were well respected and closely followed when preaching about the love of God and damnation.

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The Enlightenment was a period in the 18th century that marked the push for self-discovery, growth and the recognition of rationalism. This period developed several influential thinkers, many of whom are celebrated today. Among these thinkers are Thomas Jefferson and Baron Montesquieu, two of the Enlightenment's most notable pioneers. The Enlightenment Movement brought forth thinkers throughout the world, and the environmental differences between Jefferson and Montesquieu shaped their crucial, but contrasting ideas. Although Thomas Jefferson and Baron Montesquieu were revolutionary philosophers with differentiating ideals, it is undeniable that when conjoined, their ideas are the foundation of our world today.

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The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement created by many philosophers of the 18th century aimed to change their governments. These philosophers wished for more rights for the people and more representation in a constitutional government instead of the monarchy. Philosophers like Voltaire called for tolerance, reason as the primary source of authority, freedom of religious belief, and freedom of speech and expression. In addition he promoted the separation of religious and state, in order to mark a distance between any organized religion and the nation state. The political philosopher Montesquieu introduced the idea of a separation of powers in a government.

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Locke believed that humans were fair and good, which contradicted Thomas Hobbes’s beliefs on human nature. John Locke also believed that a government should be present to control society. Locke stated that a government is morally just and was welcomed. Proof of Thomas Hobbes’s beliefs can be clearly seen today.

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