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The enlightenment philosophers dbq
Influence of enlightenment thinkers
The influence of the Enlightenment
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Enlightenment thinkers have a large influence on society and government. Enlightenment thinker’s ideas have caused revolutions and the birth of governments. Many societies have these thinkers to thank for all of the rights they now have. Without these thinkers putting the ideas of the rights of the people in the heads of the people suffering from tyranny, there may not have been change in people’s rights. Locke has greatly influenced society and government. He is the one who thought up the idea of natural rights. Locke believed the everyone deserved the right to life, liberty, and property. All but one of these natural rights are stated in the Declaration of Independence. These natural rights were changed to life, liberty and the pursuit
One of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers was John Locke, an English philosopher and physician. His work and ideas had a incomputable impact on modern day society. He was known as “Father of Liberalism” due to his opinions of freedoms and liberty. According to Locke, the people were entitled to have control over themselves as long as it adheres to the law. The Second Treatise on Civil Government by John Voltaire went to prison twice and spent multiple years in exile.
John Locke, as one example, is an enlightenment age thinker and his ideas influenced the Founding Fathers, the ideas of democracy, liberty and free will. The French Revolution is also important, a period of political upheaval that affected France, which sparked the decline of powerful monarchies and churches, and the rise of democracy and nationalism.... ... middle of paper ... ... Between 1450 and 1750, political, economic, and artistic changes affected Western Europe.
The Enlightenment was a major turning point in history. Multiple ideas that were established during the Enlightenment were eventually utilized in many government systems. Although some people known as “Enlightened Despots” did not accept the ideas developed by people such as John Locke, Baron de Montesquieu, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Ultimately, the Enlightenment ideas showed that they were more powerful and were more significant than the power of the army.
John Locke’s ideas on creating a government by the people and Voltaire’s ideas on practicing any religion shows how many enlightenment philosophers wanted people to live peacefully with others and the society. The ideas of many philosophers helped shape the capitalist, democratic world in which we live today. Today's government was created with a legislative and executive branch, like what Locke suggested and women have more rights, such as getting education and jobs that are same as those of men. Enlightenment philosophers main ideas on increasing human rights and equality helped create a better society during the Enlightenment period and
John Locke strongly believed in more rights for the people and was against oppression. In his book, Second Treatise on Civil Government, Locke stated, “(W)e must consider, what state all men are naturally in, and that is, a state of perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose [manage] of their possessions. . .” (Document A). Locke means every man is naturally equal, no one was created better and he has certain guaranteed rights. This helps society because it would deny a monarch to strip a person of their guaranteed rights and it would make the monarch less powerful and his/her power would be given to the people.
John Locke was an English philosopher who lived during 1632-1704. In political theory he was equally influential. Contradicting Hobbes, Locke maintained that the original state of nature was happy and characterized by reason and tolerance; all human beings were equal and free to pursue "life, health, liberty, and possessions." The state formed by the social contract was guided by the natural law, which guaranteed those inalienable rights. He set down the policy of checks and balances later followed in the U.S. Constitution; formulated the doctrine that revolution in some circumstances is not only a right but an obligation; and argued for broad religious freedom.
John Locke published his Two Treatises of Government in 1690. In his writing Locke argued that individuals had the natural rights of life, liberty and property that the state could never be taken away because these rights were “inalienable.” The natural rights of individuals limited the power of the king. The king did not hold absolute power, but acted only to enforce and protect the natural rights of the people.
Locke believed that all people had the same god given rights: Life, Liberty and Property. The only reason the government was still in place, without being overthrown, was to protect these three rights. Locke also thought that if it was right the people could overthrow the government and form a new government of their own if they didn’t agree with the way that the officials were running the government. People like John Locke are the reason why America has succeeded, through trial and error, to become the magnificent country that it has become to this very
...wo systems that our government has today with the three different branches of government, each of which has some power over the others to create balance. John Locke influenced the American Revolution, and many other American governmental leaders who were crucial in outlining our country’s government. He gave Thomas Paine the inspiration to bring a nation to its feet, and he also influenced James Madison who drew up the principles of liberty and government (John Locke). John Locke’s Natural Rights are the basis for our Declaration’s “unalienable rights”. John Locke’s emphasis on constitutionalism and human understanding influenced our government with the ideas of limited government, balance of power, and a representative ruling body. With his written views he has shaped our country’s executive and legislative governmental power to this day (John Locke).
In conclusion I would like to say that John Locke was one of the most important and influential persons of the Enlightenment period. And that he would later be an important figure to our founding fathers when making our constitution and the Bill of Rights. John Locke was a pioneer in ideas and philosophy allowing for thinkers after him to build upon his ideas. He contributed many things and we see his influences today. As man of great thought and ideology John Locke will forever remain in our history books as the inspiration of our government, the advocate of religious toleration and the thinker of human understanding.
Locke used the arguments that a government is nothing if it is not supported by the power of its citizens. He argued that the citizens of the government were not well represented in the government so it was justified to be overthrown. This is what he thought about the overthrowing of King James of England in 1688. Locke argued that if the people in a country were to dissolve then the government in that country will also dissolve. He saw a country as a big group of people with similar views. He talks about how society decides to act as a whole group. When they split apart is when society becomes different groups and the government then falls. Many colonists were from England and witnessed or knew about the Glorious revolution and felt like they were mistreated the same way the people of England did at that time. Locke’s ideas played a major role in influencing the colonists to realize they were not being treated fairly and they had a right to fight for freedom to create their own
The Government can take and give to us in many ways. What would you say that the government is in regarding the Enlightenment , in my opinion I would say that the government is revolutionary because he would take all the power away from men and they end up being immature, and have that lack of determination to fight back for what is theirs. Men give up everything they have to the society and the government decides if he likes them or not and if he doesn't like them he just takes all the powers away.
The Enlightenment is held to be the source of many modern ideas, such as the primary values of freedom and reason. The views of philosophers such as Voltaire are considered to be the source of many essential changes in countries such as America and France. His views on religion, government, and freedom are what people remember most because they have not died out in today’s society.
The Enlightenment was a time of new concepts and theories that caused the people to think about the condition of their society. There were many events such as the American Revolution that promoted and encouraged the French Revolution. However, the ideas of the philosophers and scholars of the enlightenment proved to have made the biggest influence on the French Revolution. The ideas of the Enlightenment revealed to the people of France the corruption of the monarchy, new political leaders, and the poverty of the commoners to bring about beneficial changes and the French Revolution.
The enlightenment was an intellectual movement, which beginnings of were marked by the Glorious Revolution in Britain. (Kramnick, 1995). The enlightenment movement continued evolving over the following centuries. The main aim of the enlightenment was to make the world more focused on the individual rather than the authority of one person. The individual was not longer under the control of a government that had been given authority from God. Kant (1995) described it as a “man’s release from his self-incurred tutelage.” (p.1). This is talking about the individuals right to use their own judgment and reasoning not just accepting what others say and whet they are told. Kramnick (1995) stated that enlightenment intellectuals believed “human reason, not faith or tradition was the principle to human conduct.” (Kramnick, 1995, p.xi). This focus on the individual is summed up by Kant (1995, p.1) said “Have courage to use your own reason.” This in other worlds is telling people to think for themselves. With the enlightenment movement being for the individual, the individual had to learn that there were now responsibilities for each individual to take on if society was to function properly. The focus of the enlightenment of the rights of the individual allowed people to be more free, as stated by Kant (1995) “if only freedom is granted, enlightenment is almost sure to follow” (p.2). The individual was set fee in three...