The Enlightenment,What Was the Enlightenment?,The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement in Europe during the 17th and 18th century that led to a whole new world view.,According to the 18th- century philosopher Immanuel Kant, the “motto” of the Enlightenment was “Sapere aude! Have courage to use your own intelligence!” (Kant, “What Is Enlightenment?” 1784),Immanuel Kant,Key Vocabulary,Enlightenment: a period during the 1600s and 1700s in which educated Europeans changed their outlook on life by seeing reason as the key to human progress. Age of Reason: another name for the Enlightenment Salons: in France, a simple meeting of philosophers to discuss ideas during the Enlightenment Philosopher: a scholar or thinker Reason: Using logical thinking, not superstition,Roots of the Enlightenment,The Enlightenment grew out of the Renaissance, Reformation, and the Scientific Revolution. Whats the same?: Like all of these other movements, much Enlightenment thinking challenged accepted beliefs. Whats new?: Enlightenment philosophers wanted to use the ideas and reason of the Scientific Revolution for problems in government and society.,The Scientific Revolution,The Enlightenment grew largely out of the new methods and discoveries achieved in the Scientific Revolution,The equatorial armillary, used for navigation on ships,Light out of the Darkness,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.”,Enlightenment Principles,Religion, tradition, and superstition limited independent thought Accept knowledge based on observation, logic, and reason, not on faith Scientific and academic thought should be secular,A meeting of French Enlightenment thinkers,The Salons,In France, thinkers called philosophes (French for “philosophers”) championed the idea of reason in government. Philosophers often gathered in informal meetings, called salons. There they exchanged and debated ideas for hours. Many salons were organized by women. Gatherings like these helped to shape and spread the ideas of the Enlightenment.,Enlightenment and Government,Enlightenment thinkers criticized accepted ideas about government. Some questioned the medieval belief in the divine right of kings the idea that God chose a countrys king, and that the king got his authority from God. Many Enlightenment thinkers stressed individual rights that governments must respect. Enlightenment thinkers also felt that people should have a say in their government.,Enlightenment and Religion,Enlightenment thinkers believed humans were capable of discovering truth for themselves. Many believed in an all powerful deity (or God), but not in a specific church or holy book. Some called themselves Deists Dee-ists. Right and Wrong should be based on rational insight.,Enlightenment Thinkers,Thomas Hobbes,Hobbes believed people are naturally selfish, cruel, and greedy. In 1651, he published a book called Leviathan. In this book, he wrote that people are driven by a restless desire for power. Without laws, people would always be in conflict. In such a “state of nature”, life would be “nasty, brutish, and short.” His idea: Governments were created to protect people from their own selfishness.,Hobbes continued.,Later Enlightenment thinkers might not have agreed with Hobbes But, he was important because he was one of the first thinkers to apply reason to the problem of politics His ideas may sound harsh, but it was based on his own observations of human nature and reasoning.,John Locke: Social Contract and Natural Rights,He wrote Two Treatises of Government in 1690. He believed the purpose of government was to protect peoples natural rights. He said government should protect,” his life, liberty, and propertyagainst the injuries and attempts of other men.” His idea: The true basis of government was a social contract between people and their government. If the government didnt respect peoples rights, it could be overthrown.,John Locke: Social Contract and Natural Rights,In exchange protection, people gave government the power to rule on their behalf. We call this idea the “consent of the governed.” Lasting Impact: the idea that government could be overthrown if it failed to respect peoples rights had wide influence and was ultimately echoed in the American Declaration of Independence.,Lockes ideas in England,Locke was in favor of constitutional monarchies. This meant laws or a constitution limited the power of the monarchs (or kings). In 1689, the English set down a new set of rules called the English Bill of Rights. This strengthened the power of the people and their representatives in Parliament (an English congress.),Montesquieu: Separation of Powers,Like Locke, Montesquieu was concerned with how to protect liberty from a bad government. He Wrote The Spirit of Laws in 1748. In th