The Enlightenment (1715-1789)

From Sci Rev to Enlightenment

In the 18th century, the foundations of the Scientific Revolution (skepticism, challenging of classical knowledge) were taken a step further
Thinkers known as philosophers took those same principles of question authority and know focused on human institutions (gov & society) rather than science
This was an era, especially in France, where absolutism reigned supreme: that god and monarch were the unquestionable authorities
Many European states had no fair trials, had censorship, laws were made by kings and nobles, and gentry struggled to protect what they had earned
The Enlightenment was essentially applying these principles of challenging authority to new ideas and reforms to government and religion

Knowledge

It all started in the 18th century quest for knowledge, and a man named Denis Diderot
Diderots goal was to use their knowledge of science and understanding and logging all of it into one single source known as The Encyclopedia
Diderot and other philosophers agreed not to include anything that could not be proven scientifically with evidence (observation or deduction)
However, a problem arose when they came to topics or religion: Christianity, nor any other religions, could not offer any scientific evidence

Challenging Religion

One of the key figures to first question & oppose the idea of religion all together was a Frenchman named Voltaire- Wrote Candide revealed a world of horrors and folly
Voltaire did not suggest God did not exist, but that religion, and all the rules traditions, regulations, etc, had no factual basis and were, essentially, ‘made up’
In fact, Voltaire also argued organized religion was actually a negative thing as it split groups of people and started hundreds of bloody conflicts (i.e. Euro, religious wars)
Voltaire and Diderot instead propounded Deism: the clockmaker theory
This believed that there was a perfect god who created a perfect universal system, but that he wasn’t involved in our world/lives
While most maintained God still existed, some, such as Baron d’Hollbach developed a whole new idea: atheism- that there was no God or great Creator

Social thought

Once philosophes had begun to question God and religion as an authority, this challenged the view that monarchs received their absolutist authority through God
To philosophes like Voltaire, religion was considered a personal, private issues-not one that should be involved with the public life / government
Now monarchs who ruled absolutely and unquestionably seemed selfish, evil or tyrannical as they made laws, jailed, killed, and censored people at will
The next step was to take ideas started by john locke and apply them to new ideas about natural rights, religion, and government

How Government Should Run

One of the themes shared by most philosophes was that governments should always include regular people / citizens
The idea that god worked through kings, or that nobles were entitled to rule because of their birth wasn’t fair and had no scientific basis
Enlightenment thinkers argued instead that not only should regular people be much more involved, but that no one person or group could be trusted
These ideas were spelled out in the Montesquieu’s book the spirit of laws which he argued for the separation powers
According to this system, law making, enforcing, and interpreting should be divided into three group, not held by just one or two
This way, no one person or group could control or misuse the government

U.S Checks and Balances

Legislative is made up of congress and house of representative and they make the laws, but if their law is veto they can either re write it to suit the president, or throw it away, or can veto the veto which is really hard to do

Executive is made up of the president and the vice president and the cabinet(the presidents advisors) they enforce laws and appoints judges to the judicial branch, and can also veto Legislation

Judicial is made up of judges and can interpret laws and the president appoints the judges to the court if someone dies

Montesquieu cont.

In a satirical critique on European government and customs, Montesquieu wrote The Persian Letters (1721)
In that book, two Persian travelers journey through Europe
It is through the use of fiction that Montesquieu criticized many European tyrants, including Louis XIV

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Another philosophe that profoundly changed ideas of government was Rousseau
Rousseau believed that no government (king or parliament) could ever truly represent the people, and that the gov. should be all of the people (except women)
Politically, Rousseau developed the concept of the Social Contract, in which all individuals participated and made laws according to the general will
Individuals made laws, to which all submit and obey it. By doing this, they are following and obeying themselves, not one or few rulers.
These ideas on freedom, participation, and consent of the governed became extremely popular among people, and extremely unpopular among kings and nobles