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Age of Enlightenment Social Studies D146 (Important Enlightenment figures,…
Age of Enlightenment Social Studies D146
The age of Enlightenment was an 18th century cultural movement in Europe
I was most popular in France, where its leaders included philosophers like Voltaire and Denis Diderot
Diderot helped spread the Enlightenment's ideas by writing Encyclopedie, the firs t big encyclopedia that was available to everyone
The Enlightenment grew partly out of the earlier scientific revolution and the ideas of René Descartes
Enlightenment ideas
The Enlightenment's most important idea was that all people can reason and think for themselves
Because of this, people should not automatically believe what an authority says
People do not even have to believe what churches teach or what priests say
This was a very new idea at the time
Another important idea was that a society is best when everyone works together to create it
Even people with very little power or money should have the same rights as the rich and powerful to help create the society they live in
The nobility should not have special rights or privileges any more
There were very new ideas at the time
They were also dangerous thoughts for the people in power
Many Enlightenment philosophers were put in prison or were forced to leave their home countries
Effects
Many of the Founding Fathers of the United States believed the Enlightenment's ideas
For example, the idea that a government's job is to benefit all of a country's people - not just the people in power - was very important to them
They made this idea about a government "for the people" one of the most important parts of the new United States Constitution and the new American government they created
The Enlightenment's ideas were also important to the people who fought in the French Revolution of 1789
In some countries, kings and queens took some of the Enlightenment's ideas and made changes to their governments
However, they still kept power for themselves
These kings and queens were called "enlightened despots."
Examples include Catherine the Great if Russia, Frederick the Great of Prussia, and Gustav III of Sweden
During the Age of Enlightenment, as more and more people began to use reason, some began to disagree with the idea the God created the world
This caused conflicts - and, later, war
Many ideas that are important today were created during the Enlightenment Examples of these ideas include:
Freedom, democracy, and reason should be the most important things in a society
Everybody is a society should have the same rights. Every government should have a contract which promises that people will have these rights
People should solve problems with rationalism and the scientific method, instead of looking for answers from religion
Writers and philosophers should be free to look for the truth, even if they disagreed with the ideas of people in power such as aristocracy
Nobody should have to follow a certain religion. There should be a freedom of religion, and people should accept other who follow different religions
Important Enlightenment figures
English
John Locke (1632-1704): An English philosopher known as the Father of Modern Empiricism and the Father of Liberalism
His ideas were very important to Thomas Jefferson and the Founding Fathers when they wrote the United States Declaration of Independance
Thomas Paine (1737-1809): A writer, Deist, radical republican, and polemicist
He is famous for writing a pamphlet called
Common Sense
, where said that England should not be allowed to control the colonies in America
Paine also wrote
The Age of Reason
, a criticism of the Bible, and
The Rights of Man
, which defended the French Revolution
French
Voltaire (born François-Marie Arouet) (1694-1778): A philosopher, writer playwright, and Deist
He argued with the Catholic church and the French government
Because of this, he was put in prison and exiled from France
He wrote many different book about philosophy, play, and histories
His ideas were important in the French Revolution
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1779): A swiss-born French philosopher, writer and teacher
His criticism of the French State were some of the most powerful of his time
In his book Emile, or On Education, he wrote about many of his opinions of education
He was also a figure of the Counter-Enlightenment
Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755): A political thinkier
He is famous for his writings about the separation of powers
Today, this idea was very common and is a part of many constitutions all over the world
Denis Diderot (1713-1786): He wrote the Encyclopédie, which included 28 different books. In these books, he wrote about all different kinds of learning.
American
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826): A statesman, political philosopher, and Deist
He was a Patriot, fighting against England, during the American Revolution
He helped write the United States Declaration of Independence (1776) and the United States Constitution (1787)
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790): A statesman, author, scientist, and poet
He was also a Patriot during the American Revolution and helped write the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution
Franklin was the first person to understand lightning, and worked as a civil servant in Philadelphia
German
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804): A Prussian (German) philosopher, writer, and physicist
He was one of the most important people of the German Enlightenment
Between 1781 and 1790, Kant wrote three important books in the history of philosophy:
Critique of Pure Reason
Critique of Practical Reason
Critique of Judgement
Gottfried Leibniz (1646-1716): A philosopher and mathematician who created calculus
He was another leader of the German Enlightenment
Christian Wolff (1679–1754): A philosopher who continued Leibniz's work
Scottish
David Hume (1711–1776): A Scottish historian, philosopher, and economist
His ideas were important to Immanuel Kant Adam Smith
Adam Smith (1723-1790): An economist and philosopher
he wrote
The Wealth of Nations
^In this famous book, he argued that wealth was not money; instead, it cam from capital and labour
He sometimes thought to have created the laissez-faire economic theory
His book brought many changes to the Western world
Swedish
Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772): A natural philosopher and theologian who tried to figure out how the soul worked in the body