The Enlightenment
The 1700s are also known as the Age of Enlightenment, as many thinkers began to question the authority of absolute governments and other accepted traditions, and to focus question the authority of absolute governments and other accepted traditions, and to focus on the rights of individuals. The Enlightenment was a result of the many changes brought about by the Renaissance, the Scientific Revolution, and the Protestant Reformation, all of which had swept through Western Europe between 1450 and 1750. The most basic feature of Enlightenment thought began in France and quickly spread to Germany, England, and other parts Europe.
Thinkers of the Enlightenment insisted on the public use of reason, meaning that past authorities had made the assertions without and merely expected others to follow. All thought now was to be subjected to public scrutiny, and there would be no repository of mysterious wisdom, such as the Church. Eventually, the widespread questioning of nearly all aspects of life that began in this period would lead to revolutions against many governments in European and the United States.
Thinkers of the Enlightenment insisted on the public use of reason, meaning that past authorities had made the assertions without and merely expected others to follow. All thought now was to be subjected to public scrutiny, and there would be no repository of mysterious wisdom, such as the Church. Eventually, the widespread questioning of nearly all aspects of life that began in this period would lead to revolutions against many governments in European and the United States.
John LockeJohn Locke, was an English philosopher who wrote the Two Treatises of Government, Locke developed a natural rights theory of government, according to which the laws of government and of society were embedded in nature itself. Locke insisted that according to nature itself, humans had the right to life, liberty, and property, and that these rights were to be respected and protected by their governments. He also wrote that when the government did not respect the natural rights of man, people had the and even duty to rebel
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VoltaireVoltaire was a prolific French writer and political activist who played an important role in the Enlightenment. He wrote many satiric plays, stories, and poems that were philosophical and political nature. Voltaire was influenced by the ideas of John Locke, who believed that a ruler's authority should be based on the will of the people. His big idea was the separation between church and state.
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MontesquieuThe Baron de Montesquieu, applied the scientific methodology of the 17th century to the idea of natural laws. In The Spirit of Laws, Montesquieu dissected various kinds of government, and in particular focused on the parliamentary system in England and its checks and balances. Montesquieu believed that England's government allowed the greatest amount
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