THE ENLIGHTENMENT:

The Age of Reason, Human Rights, and Government

UNIT SUMMARY:

After the Middle Ages, the Renaissance began in Europe and led to great changes in thinking that resulted in spectacular advancements in art, science, engineering, exploration, and government. This period is considered to be the beginning of modern times and forever altered the way we look at the world.

The Enlightenment was part of this expansion of human knowledge and advancement. Instead of focusing on art, religion, or science, Enlightenment thinkers spent much of their time considering the rights of human beings and the role of government in society. This period is important to us because many of the ideas that were developed by the thinkers we will study are the foundation of the government and rights we have in the United States today. Ideas like freedom of speech and religion, natural rights, and the social contract are relatively new in history and help ensure that our government allows us to live free and make our own choices. These amazing concepts were pushed during the Enlightenment and help us live freer today than anytime in recorded history.

During this unit you will focus on three different aspects of the Enlightenment and use the information you gather to help prepare for the unit assessment at the end. Our focus will include:

• An understanding of the roots and reasons for the Enlightenment..

• Learning about four important Enlightenment thinkers and their ideas.

• Explaining how Enlightenment ideas have affected the world the last several centuries and how they influence your life today.

The Enlightenment

How have the ideas of the Enlightenment influenced modern government?

Introduction

During the late 1600s, a new outlook put great emphasis on reason as the key to human progress. This period of new thinking among many educated Europeans is called the Enlightenment, and by the 1700s, it had become widespread throughout Europe.

Enlightenment thinkers were inspired by the example of scientists, such as Galileo, Bacon, and Newton. Scientists used observation and logic to understand the physical world, and their methods rapidly overturned old beliefs. Now, believing a new age of reason was dawning, thinkers wanted to take a similar approach to the problems of human life and forget the teachings of the past. In this new age, governments and social institutions would be based on rational understanding, not on errors and superstitions of earlier times.

A Frenchman, Bernard de Fontenelle, expressed this optimistic faith in reason and progress. In 1702, he wrote that the new century “will become more enlightened day by day, so that all previous centuries will be lost in darkness by comparison.”

In France, philosophes (philosophers) championed these new ideas. These thinkers often gathered in private homes for informal meetings, called salons, which were often organized by women. There they exchanged and debated ideas and helped shape and spread the ideas of the Enlightenment.

In this lesson, you will learn about the roots of the Enlightenment. You will meet four philosophers whose ideas greatly influenced the Enlightenment and see how their works led to new ideas about government and individual rights. Finally, you will meet several women who played important roles in the Enlightenment.

The Roots of the Enlightenment

Enlightenment thinkers wanted to examine human life in the light of reason. Rational understanding, they felt, would lead to great progress in government and society.

These thinkers believed they were making a major break with the past. Like everyone, however, they were influenced by what had come before them. In this section, we will first examine the roots of the Enlightenment and then ways in which the new ideas clashed with old beliefs.

The Scientific Revolution:

Enlightenment thinking grew out of the Scientific Revolution. In science, observation and reason were revealing natural laws that applied throughout the physical world.The thinkers of the Enlightenment wanted to apply this approach to human life and experience. They asked questions such as: Are there natural laws that tell us how to live? How well do our current institutions follow natural laws? Do natural laws give all people certain rights? What is the best form of government?

Philosophers did not always agree about the answers to these questions, but they all thought about these questions in a similar way. Like scientists, they placed their trust in reason and observation as the best sources of understanding and progress.

The Renaissance and the Reformation:

The Enlightenment also had roots in the Renaissance and the Reformation. The humanists of the Renaissance questioned accepted beliefs and celebrated the dignity and worth of the individual. During the Reformation, Protestants rebelled against the Catholic Church by putting individual conscience ahead of religious tradition and authority. Enlightenment thinkers went even further in rejecting authority and upholding the freedom of individuals to think for themselves.

Classical and Christian Influences:

Like the humanists of the Renaissance, many Enlightenment thinkers were inspired by classical culture. Trust in reason, for example, goes all the way back to the ancient Greeks, as does the idea that people should have a voice in their government. Philosophers who argued for this idea could point to the democracy of ancient Athens or to the republic of ancient Rome.

Christian ideas also influenced Enlightenment thinking.Enlightenment philosophers preferred rational thought to faith based on the Bible, but most of them continued to believe in God. They saw the laws of nature as the work of an intelligent Creator and human progress as a sign of God's goodness. Often, their approach to moral problems reflected Christian values, such as respect for others and for a moral law.

New Ideas Versus Old Beliefs:

The thinkers of the Enlightenment prized reason over authority; questioned the foundations of religion, morality, and government; and believed that everything must be re-examined in the light of reason. This outlook led to many clashes with accepted beliefs and the ruling powers who upheld them.

Christian faith, for example, was based largely on trust in the Bible as God's word. However, Enlightenment thinkers believed that humans were perfectly capable of discovering truth for themselves. Some even questioned the existence of God, while others sought a “natural religion” based on reason. These thinkers believed the order in the universe was proof enough of an intelligent Creator and that there was no need to base belief in God on revelations in holy books. Similarly, they maintained that ideas about right and wrong should be based on rational insight, not on the teachings of religious authorities.

Enlightenment thinkers also criticized accepted ideas about government. Some questioned the long-held belief that God gave monarchs the right to rule, and many insisted that governments must respect individual rights. Toward the end of the 18th century, these ideas played a major role in revolutions in both the American colonies and France.

Thomas Hobbes: Absolute Rule by Kings

Thomas Hobbes was born in England in 1588. He wrote about many subjects, including politics and government, and tried to give a rational basis for absolute, or unlimited, rule by kings.

The son of a clergyman, Hobbes studied at Oxford University. As an adult, he traveled to other European countries, where he met many writers, scientists, and philosophers. In addition to studying history and government, Hobbes studied mathematics and science, which inspired him to take a scientific approach to problems of human society.

Hobbes's thinking about society was greatly influenced by events in England in the mid-1600s. King Charles I was struggling for power with Parliament, England's law making body, and civil war erupted between the monarch's supporters and Parliament in 1642. Hobbes sided with the king.

In 1649, the king was beheaded. For the next several years, England was ruled by Parliament's House of Commons, but disorder and discontent continued. Finally, in 1660, the monarchy was restored.

The chaos of these years had a powerful impact on Hobbes. What, he asked, is the basis of social order? To answer this question, he tried to reason from his observations of human nature.

In Hobbes's view, human beings were naturally cruel, selfish, and greedy. In 1651, he published a book called Leviathan, in which he wrote that people are driven by a restless desire for power. Without laws or other social controls, people would always be in conflict, and in such a “state of nature,” life would be “nasty, brutish and short.”

Governments, Hobbes believed, were created to protect people from their own selfishness. Because people were selfish by nature, they could not be trusted to make decisions that were good for society as a whole. Only a government that has a ruler with absolute authority could maintain an orderly society.

Later Enlightenment thinkers came to quite different conclusions about human nature and the best form of government. Hobbes was important, however, because he was one of the first thinkers to apply the tools of the Scientific Revolution to problems of politics. During the Enlightenment and the years that followed, many European countries moved away from absolute monarchy.

John Locke: Natural Rights

John Locke was born in England in 1632. His thinking about government and people's rights had a major impact on the Enlightenment.

Whereas Thomas Hobbes had argued that kings should have absolute power, Locke favored constitutional monarchy. In this type of government, a basic set of laws limits the ruler's power.

Locke's ideas reflected a tradition of limitations on the English monarchy dating back to 1215, when English nobles forced King John to sign Magna Carta, or the “Great Charter.” Magna Carta established the idea that even monarchs had to obey English laws and respect certain individual rights.

Over time, Parliament became the main check on the monarch's power. During the civil war of the 1640s, Locke's father fought on the side of Parliament. The young Locke was greatly influenced by his father's beliefs.

In the 1680s, another crisis developed. The new king, James II, was Catholic. James's enemies in Protestant England feared that he wanted to put Catholics in power and forced him to flee the country in 1688.

In 1689, Parliament gave the crown to James's Protestant daughter Mary and her husband, William. Parliament also passed a bill of rights, which strengthened the power of Parliament as the representative of the people. For example, the English Bill of Rights forbade the monarch from keeping a standing army in peacetime or levying taxes without Parliament's consent. It also listed individual rights, including protection in court cases from excessive fines and “cruel and unusual punishment.”

Locke approved of these changes in England. In 1690, he published Two Treatises of Government, in which he offered a theory of government that justified Parliament's actions.

Locke denied the divine right of monarchs to rule and argued that the true basis of government was a social contract, or agreement, among free people. Under this agreement, the purpose of government was to protect people's natural rights, including the right to life, liberty, and property. The people are the sole source of power and must agree to give power to the government to rule on their behalf. Therefore, according to Locke's social contract, a government's authority was based on the consent of the governed. If the government failed to respect people's rights, it broke the contract and could be overthrown.

Locke's view of government had a wide influence. In 1776, his ideas would be echoed in the American Declaration of Independence.

Montesquieu: Separation of Powers

Charles-Louis de Secondat was born in France in 1689. He is better known by his title, the Baron de Montesquieu (MON-tuh-skyoo).

In his youth, Montesquieu attended a Catholic school. Later he became a lawyer. When his uncle died in 1716, Montesquieu inherited the title of baron along with his uncle's fortune, and he also became president of the local parliament.

In 1721, Montesquieu achieved fame as a writer with a book called Persian Letters, which described French society as seen by fictional travelers from Persia. It used humor to criticize French institutions, including the king's court and the Catholic Church. It quickly became very popular, and Montesquieu became an admired guest in the salons of Paris.

Montesquieu's most famous book was The Spirit of Laws, published in 1748. In this book, he described his theory of how governments should be organized.

Like John Locke, Montesquieu was concerned with how to protect political liberty. The best way to do this, he argued, was to divide power among three branches of government. In such a system, the legislative branch made the laws, the executive branch enforced the laws, and the judicial branch interpreted the laws. This concept, which Montesquieu called the separation of powers, would ensure that no one branch would become too powerful.

Montesquieu's theory reflected his admiration for the English government. In England, Parliament made the laws, the monarch enforced them, and courts interpreted them. Each branch of government checked, or limited, the power of the others. When powers were not separated in this way, Montesquieu warned, liberty was soon lost. Too much power in the hands of any one person is called despotism.

Montesquieu's ideas had a powerful impact on later thinkers, including the men who wrote the U.S. Constitution. They made the separation of powers a key part of the U.S. system of government.

Voltaire: Religious Tolerance and Free Speech

Francois-Marie Arouet was born in France in 1694. Under the pen name Voltaire, he became one of the most celebrated writers of the Enlightenment.

As a young man, Voltaire attended a Catholic college in Paris before settling on a career in literature. He soon earned fame as a writer and as a witty participant in Paris salons.

Voltaire believed passionately in reforming society in the name of justice and human happiness. He warned against what he saw as superstition, error, and oppression. With biting humor, he attacked the French court and the power of the Catholic clergy.

Like Montesquieu, Voltaire admired England's constitutional monarchy and separation of powers. In his view, the English were governed by law, not by the arbitrary wishes of a single ruler. To be governed by law, he said, was “man's most cherished right.”

Voltaire was especially concerned with freedom of thought and expression. He championed religious tolerance, or allowing people to practice religion in their own ways. Voltaire thought religious conflict was one of the main sources of evil in the world. He argued that no single religion possessed all the truth but instead held that there was a core of truth in all religions. This core was the “natural religion” that reason made available to everyone.

Voltaire also spoke out for the right of free speech. Once he wrote a letter to a man whose views he strongly opposed and said that he would give his life so that his opponent could continue to write. A later writer expressed Voltaire's feeling in the words, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

Throughout his life, Voltaire criticized intolerance and oppression wherever he saw them. His outspokenness often led to conflicts with authorities, causing him to spend time in prison twice and to flee to another city or country on several occasions.

Voltaire's ideas about religious tolerance and free speech greatly influenced colonial American political thinkers, such as Thomas Jefferson. They demanded that freedom of religion and free speech be included in the U.S. Bill of Rights.

The Impact of the Enlightenment on Government

Enlightenment thinkers proposed new ideas about human nature and the best forms of government. Let's take a look at the influence of these ideas in Europe and America.

Enlightened Rule:

A few European absolute monarchs tried to apply Enlightenment ideas in the 1700s. These rulers, including Frederick the Great of Prussia, Catherine the Great of Russia, and Joseph II of Austria, became known as “enlightened despots” or “benevolent despots.” Benevolent means “to be kind; to do good for others.”

Enlightened monarchs founded universities and scientific societies and introduced reforms, such as greater religious tolerance and an end to torture and capital punishment. However, these rulers pushed change only so far. They wanted to maintain their own power and avoid angering the noble classes, whose support they needed.

The American and French Revolutions:

The ideas of the Enlightenment greatly influenced leaders of the American Revolution. Many people in the American colonies shared the traditions of Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights, as John Locke had. When the colonists rebelled in 1775, they pointed to the abuse of their rights by the English king. The Declaration of Independence echoed Locke's ideas on natural rights and the social contract.

The U.S. Constitution also contains ideas from the Enlightenment. The Constitution includes Montesquieu's idea of separation of powers. The Bill of Rights protects the freedoms of religion and speech championed by Voltaire, as well as some of the rights promoted by Beccaria, such as the right to a speedy trial.

In 1789, a revolution broke out in France, and the absolute monarchy there was overthrown. France's National Assembly produced the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, a document that proclaimed liberty and equality. It upheld the rights to own property and to resist oppression and guaranteed freedom of speech and religion. All these ideas grew out of the Enlightenment.

Women of the Enlightenment

The women of the 1700s did not enjoy the same rights or status as men, and yet a number of women played an important role in the Enlightenment. Some helped spread Enlightenment thinking through their published writing or by hosting salons. Others extended ideas about rights and equality to women.

Madame Geoffrin:

One of the most prominent sponsors of salons was Madame Marie Thérèse Rodet Geoffrin (jhef-FRANH).Beginning in the mid-1700s, the brightest minds in Europe met in her home for lively talks about the latest ideas. Madame Geoffrin also gave financial support to the Encyclopedists, a group of men who put together the first encyclopedia.

At Madame Geoffrin's salons, princes and politicians mingled with artists, writers, and philosophers. Geoffrin led these gatherings with a firm hand. She reserved Mondays for artists and Wednesdays for writers and philosophers.

Abigail Adams:

Abigail Adams firmly supported the American colonies' struggle for independence from England. She was married to John Adams, a leader of the American Revolution and the second U.S. president. During the war, she reminded John not to forget women's rights in the new American government. She wrote, “If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies, we are determined to foment [start] a Rebellion.” Women, she went on, “will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice.” Abigail also spoke out for a woman's right to education.

Olympe de Gouges:

French Olympe de Gouges was the daughter of a butcher. Despite having little education, she became an important writer and social reformer. In 1791, she published the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen, her answer to the National Assembly's Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. De Gouges argued for women's equality in every aspect of public and private life. She believed that women should have the right to vote, hold office, own property, and serve in the military and that they should have equal power with men in family life and in the church.

Mary Wollstonecraft:

English writer Mary Wollstonecraft was another early leader in the struggle to gain equal rights for women. In an essay published in 1792, she argued that women deserve the same rights and opportunities as men. “Let woman share the rights,” she wrote, “and she will emulate [imitate] the virtues of men, for she must grow more perfect when emancipated [freed].”