The Enlightenment

Enlightenment (Age of Reason)

Enlightenment thinkers believed that human progress was possible through:

• the application of scientific knowledge & reason to the issues of law & government

Enlightenment (Age of Reason)

The Enlightenment:

• Applied reason to the human world, not just natural world

• Stimulated religious tolerance

• Fueled democratic revolutions around the world

Enlightenment Thinkers & Ideas

Thomas Hobbes• Leviathan

Humans exist in a primitive “state of nature”

Humans consent to government for self-protection

The state must have central authority to manage behavior

Enlightenment Thinkers & Ideas John Locke

• Two Treatises on Government

People are sovereign

Monarchs are not chosen by God (“divine right”)

Social Contract Consent to government for protection of natural rights to life, liberty & property

Enlightenment Thinkers & Ideas

Montesquieu• The Spirit of Laws The best form of government includes a separation of powers

Enlightenment Thinkers & Ideas Jean-Jacques Rousseau

• The Social Contract Government is a contract between the rulers & the people

Enlightenment Thinkers & Ideas Voltaire

• Religious toleration should triumph over religious fanaticism

• Separation of church & state

Influence of the Enlightenment

Political philosophies of the Enlightenment fueled revolutions in the Americas & France

Enlightenment ideas influenced:• Declaration of Independence (T.

Jefferson)• US Constitution• Bill of Rights