The Enlightenment was an intellectual period of the 17th and 18th century that changed how people viewed society. This period was based on the views of reason, scientific method, and progress (McKay, pg. 498). What molded the Enlightenment was a group of philosophers and their views on natural law. These philosophers and their beliefs on natural law would eventually shape how people thought and acted during the French Revolution.
Natural Law is a system of laws that are set on the basis of nature. This law served as a path for people to live their lives by. During the Enlightenment period, natural law was a base of many philosopher’s theories. Many of these theorist applied the idea of natural law to explain government. For example, one of
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The absence in the second phase had to do with a new political club called the Jacobins which was led by Maximilien Robespierre. The main of goal of the Jacobins was to continue the war against the autocracy (McKay, pg. 598). Driven by this goal, the Jacobins strongly believed that they had the general will of the people in their best interests. The Jacobins thought of themselves as an “instrument” to the general will in which they created an army, controlled production, limited speech, amongst many other things (Lecture, Week 5). While they thought they were doing what was best for the people, in reality they were actually limiting the people’s rights. To try and achieve their goal, the Jacobins set out their army to fight the opposing people. “Everywhere they went, French armies of occupation chased the princes, abolished feudalism, and found support among some peasants and middle-class people” (McKay, pg. 598). While fighting, the Jacobins took emergency measures that violated people’s rights. They felt they had the right to live off the people’s land, food, and supplies. This being said, the Jacobins turned their back on the Enlightenment ideas once again. By violating the people’s natural rights they created an economic and social crisis (Lecture, Week 5). In response, Robespierre created the Reign of Terror which eventually ended, like his leadership, in
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
Liberty, equality, and freedom are all essential parts to avoiding anarchy and maintaining tranquility even through the most treacherous of times. The Reign of Terror is well known as the eighteen month long French Revolution (1793-1794). In this period of time, a chief executive Maximilien Robespierre and a new French government executed gigantic numbers of people they thought to be enemies of the revolution; inside and outside of the country. The question is; were these acts of the new French government justified? Not only are the acts that occurred in the Reign of Terror not justified, they were barbaric and inhumane.
First, the Jacobin leader Robespierre’s tried to protect the revolution but this plan backfired. It backfired because immediately after the publication of this decree, all suspected persons within the territory
In this essay I shall try to find whether the Terror was inherent from the French revolutions outset or was it the product of exceptional circumstances. The French revolution is the dividing line between the Ancien Regime and the modern world. After France the hierarchy that societies of the time had been founded on began to change and they began to sweep away the intricate political structures of absolute monarchy, but however to achieve this was the Terror absolutely necessary? And was it planned/ or was it just the extraordinary circumstances, which the French had lead themselves into once they had deposed of Louis the sixteenth. Whatever way it is looked at, the political ideology of the rest of the world was going to change after the French revolution. The conflicting ideology's of the French revolution from socialism to nationalism would now be mainstream words and spearhead many political parties in years to come. The French revolution had been in high hopes that a peaceful transition could be made from absolutist to parliamentary monarchy, but what went wrong? Surely the terror could not have been in their minds at this time? Surely it was not inherent from the start.
While Robespierre and Napoleon violated the French Revolution’s ideal of liberty, both rulers preserved the ideal of equality. Neither Robespierre nor Napoleon led with freedom from absolutism, but both spread the nationalist zeal during or after the Reign of Terror. There are also other ideals of the revolution preserved and undermined by the two rulers, including will for a limited government, religious toleration, and protection of individual rights. Specifically, Robespierre preserved the ideal of equality during the Reign of Terror.
The Enlightenment was the time period that followed the Scientific Revolution and was characterized as the "Age of Reason". This was the time when man began to use his reason to discover the world around him rather than blindly follow what the previous authority, such as the Church and Classical Philosophers, stated to be true. The Enlightenment was a tremendously broad movement that dominated much of the European thinking during the 18th century, however, several core themes that epitomized the movement were the idea of progress, skepticism against the Church, and individualism.
The Enlightenment itself ignited the changes in perspective that were needed to provoke improvement in society and set new standards for our future. These standards spread rather rapidly across Europe and eventually to America and challenged the old order. These ideas of rational thinking over religion and authority delivered a vast political change throughout the world which can still be felt today. These revolutionary thoughts of rationalism brought on freedom of speech and the demand for equality in society. This was not only the igniter to the French revolution but was also, how many governments including the United States based their modern
A time period known as The Age of Reason or The Enlightenment was when philosophy, politics, science and social communications changed drastically. It helped shape the ideas of capitalism and democracy, which is the world we live in today. People joined together to discuss areas of high intellect and creative thoughts. The Enlightenment was a time period in which people discussed new ideas, and educated people, known as philosophers, all had a central idea of freedom of choice and the natural right of individuals. These philosophers include John Locke, Voltaire, Adam Smith, and Mary Wollstonecraft.
Natural law is a natural sense of what is right and wrong. Natural Law Theory states that laws are rational standards. Thomas Aquinas talked a lot about Natural Law Theory
Even though, the French Revolution saw the Terror as a sign to create peace and restore a new France, it was not justified because the extremities of the internal and external threats spun out of control and the methods of the period were over the top. As the Reign of Terror in France grew and invoked fear, the internal threats became more radical and deadly. The French Revolution began in 1789 as an attempt to create a new and fair government. (Doc A) As year four of freedom lurched, the thirst for power in Maximilien Robespierre stirred and the hunger for more blood provoked him, urging him to create the Reign of Terror.
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 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"),...
Before the revolution, life in France was still observing feudal rights. The monarch, nobles, and the clergy lived a life on the back of the people. It was a very dark time for the peasants with no light in sight. The large mass of peasants grew poorer and living in famine. Crime was the way of life for the peasants because food resources began to become scarce. Leading up to the revolution, the beginning of a middle class began develop. This new class would be the leading force for the revolution in France. After the revolution the French Revolution failed to establish a representative government or a constitutional monarchy. Before the revolution, France began with an absolute monarchy. They completely abolished the monarchy by cutting off the king’s and queen’s head and ended up with Napoleon Bonaparte. The French revolution did give the people a taste of liberty, equality, and power, but that was short lived. The co...
The Enlightenment period, also known as The Age of Reason, was a period of social, religious, and political revolution throughout the 18th century which changed the thoughts of man during this “awakening” time. It was a liberation of ignorant thoughts, ideas, and actions that had broken away from the ignorant perception of how society was to be kept and obeyed thus giving little room for new ideas about the world. Puritan society found these new ideas of thought to be extremely radical in comparison to what they believed which was a belief of strong rational religion and morality. Enlightened society believed that the use of reason would be a catalyst of social change and had a demand of political representation thus resulting in a time in history where individualism was widely accepted amongst the new world. Puritan society believed strongly in myth, magic, and religious superstitions that was immensely used by the Puritans before democracy, capitalism, and the scientific revolution gave rise from the Enlightenment period.
The age of Enlightenment was a progression of the cultural and intellectual changes in Europe that had resulted from the scientific revolution during the sixteenth and seventeenth century. The scientific revolution and the discoveries made about the natural world would ultimately challenge the way people perceived the world around them. Scientist found real answers, by questioning flawed ancient beliefs that were widely held and maintained by the church. Ultimately, these discoveries and scientific advancements would evolve and effect social, cultural, and political developments in Europe over the course of time. The scientific revolution had provided certainty about the natural world that had long been questioned. With these new developments came the progression and influence of thought, rationality, and individualism. These new ideas would be the hallmark for the Enlightenment movement that would shape most of Europe in the eighteenth century.