"Enlightenment thinkers... questioned traditional authority and embraced the notion that humanity could be improved through rational change" (Enlightenment). The Enlightenment has been built upon the foundation of questioning and reasoning. The only way to improve the world is to raise questions about the problems that society faces everyday. The answers that these Enlightenment thinkers come up with can be tested and put into action to improve people’s everyday lives. The Enlightenment thinkers main focus was to help people, even those that are different and that have distanced themselves because of their differences. The Enlightenment has not only transformed people. The Enlightenment thinkers reflect the changing values and ideas circulating …show more content…
in Europe by presenting the ideas of reason, separation of powers, and self-government. Although there were several influential contributors in the Enlightenment, John Locke was the most influential because he wanted people to be born with life, liberty, property and he also gave the people more control over their lives. The Enlightenment era was a movement that stressed the importance of reason and individualism which the liberals favored. The Enlightenment ideas had more influence on the liberals rather than conservatives in Britain. Europe was very often overlooked by others, but the Enlightenment had brought Europe into the spotlight. This era had helped Europe flourish into the country they’re today throughout the ideas of reason. Reason is an individual having the ability to think, understand, or form judgments about a situation or topic. Though reason has improved the world, it “has disappeared from the public sphere and been substituted by 'fear, superstition, ideology, deception, intolerance, and obsessive secrecy'" (Rasmussen). People don't use reason anymore, the world has started to be based on fear of the unknown and the known, deceiving others, intolerance, and the concealment of valuable information. Reason helped turn this world around during the 18th century along with easing people's minds because they no longer had to fear the unknown because the facts and truth were made known to the public. The government or scientists didn't keep anything from the people, any new information discovered from the scientific method, the citizens were informed about and this is the foundation for creating a strong democracy. Reason has transformed from logical thinking to deception, "Instead of informing the public of the underlying science behind the phenomenon, the televised media take steps to present "balance" in their coverage" (Rasmussen). Citizens are being deceived by the media seen on television because all they care about is getting coverage, how many people are watching or talking about their channel. With the news only broadcasting to get coverage information is being withheld from the public which may result in the public becoming frantic and fearing what's to come because of the false accusations being made. Thus, the Enlightenment was created in order for the people to know the truth and grow together as a society even though that idea is fading from view. Thomas Jefferson reflects the fundamental ideas of reason and his goal was to improve the life of people. Jefferson had strongly believed reason and that “applied reason could lead to human progress and that such questions were of paramount importance” (Randall). Questioning problems are essential to answering all the unsolved problems in the world, once the potential answers are put into action, progress will be seen. The only way to know the facts is to apply reason and to question the situation or problem being observed and from this, a hypothesis can be formed. People will be able to improve their lives and the environment that they’re living in. Once people’s lives are improved they will be able to search for happiness which Jefferson believes that everyone should have the right to do. Jefferson believes that people should have “rights such as 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (Granato). Thomas Jefferson believes that everyone should have the right to life, liberty, and happiness. The main point is the pursuit of happiness, people can’t improve themselves or others without searching for the good in life. People will not try to improve their lives, especially if they don’t see anything positive at the end of the tunnel. For example, someone may not search for a job because they believe they won’t get hired, resulting in poverty. People that think negatively are less likely to improve their lives. Thus, the Enlightenment thinker, Thomas Jefferson's, main goal was to improve people’s lives through the fundamental idea of reason. Once power is centralized in one individual's hands, everything around them comes crumbling down.
The person that has all the power never thinks of those around them even if they are severely hurting. The Enlightenment thinker, “Baron De Montesquieu declared that power should not be concentrated in the hands of any one individual” (The Impact of Enlightenment in Europe). Montesquieu believed that power should be separated within the government and not all in the hands of one individual because the power will go to their head. He advised that the power should be separated among the three judicial branches, including legislative, executive, and judicial. This process that he had declared is known as the separation of powers. Montesquieu believed that when there are multiple people taking into consideration the problems of the city that an outcome that will benefit all parties will arise. When the power is separated among the different branches, the citizen's lives and environment have been taken into consideration, rather than an individual that will only worry about what will only benefit themselves. Thus, the separation of powers between the judicial branches is more likely to benefit the …show more content…
people. No one wants to be controlled by a small group of individuals, people want a say about what’s going on around them. Jean-Jacques Rousseau agrees with the people that they shouldn’t be controlled by a government. He believes, along with the Declaration of Independence"that society should be ruled by the "general will" of the people" (The Impact of Enlightenment in Europe). Rousseau believed that people should govern themselves rather than a group of people controlling them. People know what they want for themselves and what will improve their lives, a government just wants to control people's lives whether it's improving them or not. The government will show more improvement when the people are in control rather than one individual. The government may only make decisions to improve their lives and not the public’s, that’s why "the public spirit seeking the common good of liberty and equality" (Enlightenment) is in favor. If the people govern themselves, they will seek and protect the liberty of everyone. People would make decisions in the best interests of themselves, loved ones, friends, etc. Everyone will be treated equally because they are equal, there wouldn't be a higher position controlling the people. Thus, the people should be given the right to govern themselves rather than the government having full control. People shouldn’t just be born with just the hair on their heads and their beating heart, they should have more. America is most known for giving rights to individuals as soon as they’re born, this is what attracts people to this country. The most influential Enlightenment thinker, John Locke believed that individuals should have "rights to life, liberty, and property" (Granato) which is known as natural rights. When people are born no one is to try and take away their life, their freedom, or their possessions or property. These natural rights that John Locke claimed has changed things for millions across the country. On the other hand, people believe that some individuals don’t deserve these rights because they’re evil. Technically, the individuals aren’t born evil, the environment in which they grew up in made them evil. Everyone is born good and deserve natural rights. It’s the state's job to ensure that people's rights aren't infringed upon and “the state's failure to secure them gave men the right to revolution" (Granato). If people's rights are being taken away from them unlawfully they have the right to rebel or start a revolution to get those rights back or to gain more security for their rights. Citizens also have the right to replace their government if they feel that their government isn’t protecting their rights. With John Locke’s idea of natural rights, people have more control over something in their lives, without natural rights the government would have complete control. Thus, John Locke’s natural rights have impacted individuals significantly, making him the most influential Enlightenment thinker. With all things being considered, the ideas that had stemmed from the Enlightenment were from individuals that cared about the majority.
All of the philosophers had their different ideas to improve people’s lives, whether that was through the use of reason, separation of powers, giving people more power, or giving people natural rights. All these ideas have transformed people into happy human beings. With having more control over their lives and having natural rights, people became happier about life. Although John Locke is the most influential, Thomas Jefferson, Baron Montesquieu, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau had played a significant role in transforming the way people thought in this time
era. Works Cited Applebaum, Anne. “Europe: A History.” New Statesman, 1 Nov. 1996, pp. 46-+. General Reference Center Gold, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=nysl_sc_ahs&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA18914340&it=r&asid=37d26fee74a0031aa13ec745a341b2a9. Accessed 26 Feb. 2017. Bousquet, Francois. “The enlightenment, the foundation of modern Europe.” International Review of Mission, Summer-Fall 2006, pp. 237-+. General Reference Center Gold, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=nysl_sc_ahs&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA164635894&it=r&asid=0cef81d4473bf2fc0f918cf366ec0c0f. Accessed 26 Feb. 2017. “Enlightenment.” Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 5 Aug. 2015. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/Enlightenment/32680. Accessed 2 Mar. 2017. “Enlightenment.” History, A+E Networks, 2009, www.history.com/topics/enlightenment. Accessed 6 Mar. 2017. Granato, Matt J. “Is culture a barrier to human rights? (Inter-American Viewpoint).” Americas, Jan.-Feb. 2003, pp. 56-+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=nysl_sc_ahs&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA96454677&it=r&asid=53315427884d89ba23fff18dff4f4595. Accessed 25 Feb. 2017. Gray, John. “Beyond reasonable doubt: Nostalgia for Enlightenment values such as rationality and progress has become a rallying cry for sections of both right and left. But it was in the name of these principles that some of the worst crimes of the 20th century were committed.” New Statesman, 31 May 2004, pp. 48-+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=nysl_sc_ahs&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA118379793&it=r&asid=693d5a6f1740200a6479269f51244103. Accessed 16 Feb. 2017. “The Impact of Enlightenment in Europe.” U.S History Pre-Columbian to the New Millennium, 2008, www.ushistory.org/us/7a.asp. Accessed 3 Mar. 2017. Randall, Willard Sterne. “Thomas Jefferson takes a vacation.” American Heritage, July-Aug. 1996, p. 74+. General Reference Center GOLD, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=nysl_sc_ahs&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA18419980&it=r&asid=02acd310c2820c0312d0a2503191065e. Accessed 8 Mar. 2017 Rasmussen, Christopher. “The Assault on Reason.” The Humanist, Sept.-Oct. 2007, pp. 44-+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=nysl_sc_ahs&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA168293213&it=r&asid=9924384c757a5757c88d52f50b7b63e7. Accessed 15 Feb. 2017. Sudo, Phil. “Values in America.” Scholastic Update, 22 Feb. 1999, p. 2. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=nysl_sc_ahs&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA54062676&it=r&asid=d5ea10b3ebd48cf4c5557a399867e9ce. Accessed 24 Feb. 2017.
The Enlightenment challenged what was previously thought to be the way of life. Prior to the Enlightenment whatever you were born into that was it, you were stuck and had no say in if you could receive power or money, you were the king’s subject, but the Enlightenment changed the role of the people from subject to citizen. This switch gave the people abilities that were never seen before 1450. It became a change and with the movement from subject to citizen, questions started surfacing and with those questions came action, and with that action came a new era for human rights. Human rights were improved across the board, from African Americans to women to the citizen. Without the Enlightenment some powers that needed to be changed like that of slavery may never had been
The Enlightenment was a great upheaval in the culture of the colonies- an intellectual movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries which emphasized logic and reason over tradition. Enlightenment thinkers believed that men and women could move civilization to ever greater heights through the power of their own reason. The Enlightenment encouraged men and women to look to themselves, instead of God, for guidance as to how to live their lives and shape society. It also evoked a new appreciation and
During the Enlightenment, it was a time when educated intellectuals came together to discuss political, religious, economic, and social questions. From these discussions some people questioned the types of monarchies and which would be better for the society. These people were revolutionary thinkers that became known as philosophes, or philosophers, who brought new ideas on how to better understand and improve their society. They were all modern thinkers who had the best interest in society. Although each philosopher had their own individual ideas, they all focused on one common theme, which was equality and human rights.
Notable philosophers include John Locke, Voltaire, Adam Smith, and Mary Wollstonecraft, along with many others. The Enlightenment philosophy worked to advance society and improve life for people. Although many philosophies worked to improve the conditions of the people, they sought to do this by different means. John Locke worked to stabilize the political aspects of Europe. John Locke, an English philosopher, like many other philosophers of his time, worked to improve society by advocating for the individual rights of people.
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
During the Age of enlightenment people began to reform society using reason, challenge ideas of tyranny and of the Roman Catholic Curch. People for the first time started advancing knowledge through the use of the scientific method. Enlightenment type thinking has had a huge impact on the culture, politics, and g...
The church’s robust grip on religious expression shattered as medieval society transitioned into a period known as the Reformation. Characterized by the rejection of common ideology, the Reformation sparked religious curiosity. Reformers such as John Calvin and Martin Luther offered interpretations of the Bible in direct opposition to the Catholic Church’s teachings, forcing Europeans to examine and formulate their own beliefs. This style of thinking was foreign to European society because up to this point in history Europeans were passive absorbers of Catholic Church ideology. Hence, it was natural that an era considered the Age of Enlightenment followed the period of rejection and questioning known as the Reformation. The Age of Enlightenment did not merely confine itself to religious expression, but spread throughout natural and social science. Thus, the Age of Enlightenment marked the beginning of academic and religious philosophy and allowed great minds to think free from restriction and condemnation of established institution. As the perception of natural
The Age of Enlightenment saw many great changes in Western Europe. It was an age of reason and philosophes. During this age, changes the likes of which had not been seen since ancient times took place. Such change affected evert pore of Western European society. Many might argue that the Enlightenment really did not bring any real change, however, there exists and overwhelming amount of facts which prove, without question, that the spirit of the Enlightenment was one of change-specifically change which went against the previous teachings of the Catholic Church. Such change is apparent in the ideas, questions, and philosophies of the time, in the study of science, and throughout the monarchial system.
Enlightenment had an enormous impact on educated, well to do people in Europe and America. It supplied them with a common vocabulary and a unified view of the world, one that insisted that the enlightened 18th century was better, and wiser, than all previous ages. It joined them in a common endeavor, the effort to make sense of God's orderly creation. Thus
The Enlightenment is a unique time in European history characterized by revolutions in science, philosophy, society, and politics. These revolutions put Europe in a transition from the medieval world-view to the modern western world. The traditional hierarchical political and social orders from the French monarchy and Catholic Church were destroyed and replaced by a political and social order from the Enlightenment ideals of freedom and equality(Bristow, 1). Many historians, such as Henry Steele Commager, Peter Gay, have studied the Enlightenment over the years and created their own views and opinions.
"The Enlightenment" is used to characterize many new ideas and advancements in 18th century philosophy, science, and medicine. The principal trait of Enlightenment philosophy is the belief that people create a better environment in which to live. Pangloss, the...
The Enlightenment had its roots in the scientific and philosophical movements of the 17th century. It was, in large part, a rejection of the faith-based medieval world view for a way of thought based on structured inquiry and scientific understanding. It stressed individualism, and it rejected the church's control of the secular activities of men. Among the movement's luminaries were Descartes, Newton, and Locke. They, among others, stressed the individual's use of reason to explain and understand the world about himself in all of its aspects. Important principles of the Enlightenment included the use of science to examine all aspects of life (this was labeled "reason"),...
The Enlightenment had a profound effect on European monarchs during the 18th century. Radical Enlightenment challenged the principle of the European monarchies. The 18th century states, kings, queens, and their state servants developed a theory and practice of enlightened absolutism. Enlightenment thinkers considered themselves progressive. Many of the Enlightenment thinkers were eager to harness the political power of royal absolutism to their reforming agenda. As a result, many monarchies were overthrown.
Enlightenment The enlightenment was the growth of European thought in the 1600’s. The spread of enlightenment was a result of the Scientific Revolution during the 1500’s and 1600’s. It resulted in a need to use reason to enforce human laws. It also came about from a need to solve social, political and economic problems.
Advancement from Enlightenment As the 1900's rolled around, many changes were to come. New leaders, government styles, and new ideas were just the start. The main focus of the Enlightenment era was based on reason, rationalism, and the idea of "Inevitable Progress. " Enlightenment was pushed forward by great people such as Kant, Bulgaria, Thomas Jefferson, Isaac Newton, Francois-Marie Ardouet de Voltaire, Thomas Hobbes, to name a few.