The Enlightenment

Applying the scientific method to their physical world,

GUIDE TO READING Enlightenment thinkers, or philosophes, reexamined all aspects
The BIG Idea of lifefrom government and justice to religion and womens
Ideas, Beliefs, and Values Enlighten- rights. They created a movement that influenced the entire
ment thinkers, or philosophes, believed all institu-
Western world.
tions should follow natural laws to produce the
ideal society.

Content Vocabulary Path to the Enlightenment

philosophe (p. 548) laissez-faire (p. 550)
Eighteenth-century intellectuals used the ideas of the Scientific
separation of powers social contract
(p. 548) (p. 551) Revolution to reexamine all aspects of life.
deism (p. 548) salon (p. 552) HISTORY & YOU Do you think you were born with some knowledge, or did you
learn everything you know? Read about John Lockes idea that when each of us is
Academic Vocabulary born, the mind is a tabula rasa, or blank slate.
generation (p. 548) arbitrary (p. 551)
The Enlightenment was an eighteenth-century philosophical
People and Places movement of intellectuals who were greatly impressed with the
John Locke (p. 546) Jean-Jacques achievements of the Scientific Revolution. One of the favorite
Montesquieu (p. 548) Rousseau (p. 551)
words of these intellectuals was reason. By this, they meant the
Voltaire (p. 548) Paris (p. 551)
application of the scientific method to an understanding of all
Denis Diderot (p. 549) Mary Wollstonecraft
(p. 551)
life. They hoped that by using the scientific method, they could
Adam Smith (p. 550) make progress toward a better society than the one they had
Cesare Beccaria London (p. 552)
John Wesley (p. 553)
inherited. Reason, natural law, hope, progressthese were com-
(p. 550)
mon words to the thinkers of the Enlightenment. The ideas of
Reading Strategy the Enlightenment would become a force for reform and eventu-
Summarizing Information As you read, ally revolution.
use a diagram like the one below to list some of the
main ideas introduced during the Enlightenment. John Locke
The intellectuals of the Enlightenment were especially influ-
enced by the ideas of two seventeenth-century Englishmen, John
Major Ideas
Locke and Isaac Newton. In his Essay Concerning Human
of the Enlightenment Understanding, Locke argued that every person was born with a
tabula rasa, or blank mind:

PRIMARY SOURCE
Let us then suppose the mind to be . . . white paper, void of all characters,
without any ideas. How comes it to be furnished? Whence has it all the materials
of reason and knowledge? To this I answer, in one word, from experience. . . .
Our observation, employed either about external sensible objects or about the
internal operations of our minds perceived and reflected on by ourselves, is that
which supplies our understanding with all the materials of thinking.
John Locke, Essay Concerning Human Understanding

Lockes ideas suggested that people were molded by the experi-

ences that came through their senses from the surrounding world.
overflow
546
 EUROPE AND THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT
10W 0 10E 20E 30E

Uppsala St.
Petersburg
Stockholm
Glasgow
Edinburgh

North Copenhagen
50 N
N Sea
W
Cambridge Gdansk
E
S Oxford Amsterdam
Leiden
London Berlin
Greenwich
Gttingen Halle Warsaw
Leipzig
AT L AN T IC Frankfurt
OCEAN Paris Prague
Krakw
Strasbourg
Munich
Vienna
Geneva

Turin Padua
Academy of Science
40
Bologna
N Pisa
Observatory
Florence
Lisbon Madrid Corsica
Palace inspired by
Rome Versailles

Publication of scientic
or philosophical journals
Sardinia
1. Place Based on the information University
given on this map, what did
0 400 kilometers
London and Berlin have in com-
mon during the Enlightenment? Sicily
0 400 miles
Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area projection
2. Regions Pose and answer a
question about the geographic
distribution shown on this map.

Enlightenment thinkers began to believe laws, which could be uncovered through

that if environments were changed and
people were exposed to the right influ-
ences, then people could be changed to
create a newand bettersociety.
Isaac Newton
The ideas of Isaac Newton also greatly
influenced eighteenth-century intellectu-
als. As you read earlier, Newton believed
that the physical world and everything in
it was like a giant machine. His world-
machine operated according to natural
systematic investigation.
The Enlightenment thinkers reasoned
that if Newton was able to discover the
natural laws that governed the physical
world, then by applying his scientific
methods, they would be able to discover
the natural laws that governed human
society. If all institutions would then follow
these natural laws, the result would be an
ideal society.
Reading Check Explaining What did
Enlightenment thinkers hope to accomplish?

CHAPTER 17 Revolution and Enlightenment 547

 Ideas of the Philosophes
The philosophes wanted to create a
better society.
HISTORY & YOU Do you remember what a monar-
chy is? Read to learn about two other forms of
government.
The intellectuals of the Enlightenment
were known by the French word
philosophe (FEEluhZAWF), meaning
philosopher. Not all philosophes were
French, however, and few were philoso-
phers in the strict sense of the term. They
were writers, professors, journalists, econ-
omists, and above all, social reformers.
They came chiefly from the nobility and
the middle class.
Most leaders of the Enlightenment were
French, although the English had provided
the philosophical inspiration for the move-
ment. It was the French philosophes who
affected intellectuals elsewhere and cre-
ated a movement that influenced the entire
Western world.
The Role of Philosophy
To the philosophes, the role of philosophy
was to change the world. One writer said
that the philosophe is one who applies
himself to the study of society with the
purpose of making his kind better and
happier. One conducts this study by using
reason, or an appeal to facts. A spirit of
rational criticism was to be applied to every-
thing, including religion and politics.
The philosophes often disagreed. Span-
ning almost a century, the Enlightenment
evolved over time. Each succeeding
generation became more radical as it built
on the contributions of the previous one. A
few people, however, dominated the land-
scapeMontesquieu (MAHNtuhs
KYOO), Voltaire, and Diderot (deeDROH).
Montesquieu
Charles-Louis de Secondat, the baron de
Montesquieu, was a French noble. His
famous work The Spirit of the Laws (1748) was
a study of governments. In it, Montesquieu
used the scientific method to try to find the
548 SECTION 2 The Enlightenment
natural laws that govern the social and polit-
ical relationships of human beings.
Montesquieu identified three basic kinds
of governments: (1) republics, suitable for
small states; (2) despotism, appropriate for
large states; and (3) monarchies, ideal for
moderate-sized states. He used England as
an example of a monarchy.
Montesquieu stated that Englands gov-
ernment had three branches: the executive
(the monarch), the legislative (Parliament),
and the judicial (the courts of law). The gov-
ernment functioned through a separation of
powers. In this separation, the executive,
legislative, and judicial powers of the gov-
ernment limit and control each other in a
system of checks and balances. By prevent-
ing any one person or group from gaining
too much power, this system provides the
greatest freedom and security for the state.
The system of checks and balances
through separation of powers was Mon-
tesquieus most lasting contribution to
political thought. Translation of his work
into English made it available to American
philosophes, who worked his principles
into the United States Constitution.
Voltaire
The greatest figure of the Enlightenment
was Franois-Marie Arouet, known simply
as Voltaire. A Parisian, Voltaire came from
a prosperous middle-class family. His
numerous writings brought him both fame
and wealth.
Voltaire was especially well known for
his criticism of Christianity and his strong
belief in religious toleration. He fought
against religious intolerance in France. In
1763 he penned his Treatise on Toleration, in
which he reminded governments that all
men are brothers under God.
Throughout his life, Voltaire championed
deism, an eighteenth-century religious phi-
losophy based on reason and natural law.
Deism built on the idea of the Newtonian
world-machine. In the Deists view, a
mechanic (God) had created the universe.
To Voltaire and most other philosophes, the
universe was like a clock. God, the clock-
maker, had created it, set it in motion, and
allowed it to run without his interference
and according to its own natural laws.
Diderot New Social Sciences

Denis Diderot went to the University of
Paris. His father hoped Denis would pur-
sue a career in law or the Church. He did
neither. Instead, he became a writer. He
studied and read in many subjects and
languages.
Diderots most famous contribution to
the Enlightenment was the Encyclopedia, or
Classified Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and
Trades, a 28-volume collection of knowl-
edge that he edited. Published between
1751 and 1772, the Encyclopedia, according
to Diderot, was to change the general way
of thinking.
The Encyclopedia became a weapon
against the old French society. Many of its
articles attacked religious superstition and
supported religious toleration. Others
called for social, legal, and political reforms.
Sold to doctors, clergymen, teachers, and
lawyers, the Encyclopedia spread Enlight-
enment ideas.
Reading Check Stating What ideas did
Montesquieu add to the Enlightenment?
(l) Musee de la Ville de Paris, Musee Carnavalet, Paris/Lauros/Giraudon/Bridgeman Art Library, (r) Bettmann/CORBIS
The belief in logic and reason pro-
moted the beginnings of social sciences.
HISTORY & YOU What do you think is the purpose
of punishing criminals? Read to learn about argu-
ments against extreme punishments.
The philosophes, as we have seen,
believed that Newtons methods could be
used to discover the natural laws underly-
ing all areas of human life. This led to what
we would call the social sciencesareas
such as economics and political science.
Smith on Economics
The Physiocrats and Scottish philosopher
Adam Smith have been viewed as the
founders of the modern social science of
economics. The Physiocrats, a French group,
were interested in identifying the natural
economic laws that governed human soci-
ety. They maintained that if individuals
were free to pursue their own economic
self-interest, all society would benefit.

Voltaire Adam Smith

16941778 French Philosopher 17231790 Scottish Economist and Philosopher

Those who can make you believe absurdities
can make you commit atrocities. Voltaires words
reflected his observations on history, and fore-
shadowed atrocities yet to come. Outspoken
against tyranny, ignorance, and the
excesses of the Church, Voltaire never
held his tongue, even in the face of
threats. Forced to choose between exile
and imprisonment after insulting a
powerful French nobleman, Voltaire
chose exile in England. While there he
befriended Jonathan Swift and Alexander
Pope and was influenced by John Locke
and Sir Isaac Newton. He returned home
more radical than ever, and his ideas
later influenced both American and
French revolutionaries. Voltaire
spoke out against what
subjects of his day?
No society can surely be happy, of which the
far greater part of the members are poor and
miserable. Someone reading this quote might
think it originated with an American patriot
or a French revolutionary. However, it
actually came from Adam Smith,
widely regarded as the father of
capitalism. Besides being the archi-
tect of the laissez-faire doctrine of
government non-interference with
commerce, and an opponent of
heavy government taxation, Smith
was also an outspoken advocate
for ethical standards in society. His
friends included Voltaire, Benjamin
Franklin, and David Hume, three of the
late eighteenth centurys most revolu-
tionary thinkers. How did Adam Smith
feel about the role of government?
 Laissez-Faire Economics
Mercantilism
A nations wealth is measured by:
the amount of gold and silver in its treasury
To increase wealth, government must:
encourage exports to bring in gold and silver
restrict imports to avoid draining away gold
and silver
grant monopolies and financial support to
local businesses to give them an advantage
over foreign competition
Laissez-Faire Economics
A nations wealth is measured by:
its annual output of goods and services
To increase wealth, government must:
impose no restrictions on trade, allowing it
to operate freely
provide no support or monopoly
advantages for local businesses, so that
competition can occur freely
The state, then, should not interrupt the
free play of natural economic forces by
imposing regulations on the economy.
Instead, the state should leave the econ-
omy alone. This doctrine became known
by its French name, laissez-faire (LEHSAY
FEHR), meaning to let (people) do (what
they want).
The best statement of laissez-faire was
made in 1776 by Adam Smith in his
famous work, The Wealth of Nations. Like
the Physiocrats, Smith believed that the
state should not interfere in economic mat-
ters. Indeed, Smith gave to government
only three basic roles. First, it should pro-
tect society from invasion (the function of
the army). Second, the government should
defend citizens from injustice (the func-
tion of the police). And finally, it should
keep up certain public works that private
individuals alone could not affordroads
and canals, for examplebut which are
necessary for social interaction and trade.
550 SECTION 2 The Enlightenment
Bettmann/CORBIS
Adam Smiths Wealth of Nations (1776), inspired a
major shift in economic theory and practice. In it, he
argued that the desire for personal gain drives
economic activity and that this leads to competition. He
believed that allowing this competition to operate
without government interference would benefit society
in several ways:
Prices are kept lower.
Production is more efficient as businesses reduce
costs to increase profit.
Labor and capital are directed to the most
profitable industries.
Unintentionally then, the pursuit of self-interest
benefits all of society. In Smiths words:
Every individual . . . neither intends to promote the
public interest, nor knows how much his is promoting
it. . . . [H]e intends only his own gain, and he is in this .
. . led by an invisible hand to promote and end which
was no part of his intention.
1. Identifying According to Adam Smith,
why do people produce and sell products?
2. Making Inferences What do you think
Smith means by an invisible hand?
Beccaria on Justice
By the eighteenth century, most European
states had developed a system of courts to
deal with the punishment of crime. Punish-
ments were often cruel. The primary reason
for extreme punishments was the need to
deter crime in an age when a states police
force was too weak to capture criminals.
One philosophe who proposed a new
approach to justice was Cesare Beccaria. In
his essay On Crimes and Punishments (1764),
Beccaria argued that punishments should
not be exercises in brutality. He also opposed
capital punishment. He did not believe that
it stopped others from committing crimes.
Moreover, it set an example of barbarism:
Is it not absurd, that the laws, which pun-
ish murder, should, in order to prevent mur-
der, publicly commit murder themselves?
Reading Check Explaining What is the
concept of laissez-faire?
The Spread of Ideas
From the upper classes to the middle
classes and from salons to pulpits, the ideas of the
Enlightenment spread.
HISTORY & YOU How would your life change if
you had no way to communicateno e-mail, no
phone? Learn how newspapers and magazines spread
Enlightenment ideas.
By the late 1760s, a new generation of
philosophes had come to maturity. Ideas
about liberty, education, and the condition
of women were spread through an increas-
ingly literate society.
The Social Contract
The most famous philosophe of the later
Enlightenment was Jean-Jacques Rousseau
(ruSOH). The young Rousseau wandered
through France and Italy holding various
jobs. Eventually he made his way to Paris,
where he was introduced into the circle of
the philosophes. He did not like city life,
however, and often withdrew into long
periods of solitude.
In his Discourse on the Origins of the
Inequality of Mankind, Rousseau argued
that people had adopted laws and govern-
ment in order to preserve their private
property. In the process, they had become
enslaved by government. What, then,
should people do to regain their freedom?
In his major work The Social Contract,
published in 1762, Rousseau presented his
concept of the social contract. Through a
social contract, an entire society agrees to be
governed by its general will. Individuals
who wish instead to follow their own self-
interests must be forced to abide by the gen-
eral will. This means nothing less than that
[they] will be forced to be free, said Rous-
seau. Thus, liberty is achieved by being
forced to follow what is best for the gen-
eral will because the general will repre-
sents what is best for the entire community.
Another important work by Rousseau is
mile. Written in the form of a novel, the
work is a general discussion on the edu-
cation of the natural man. Rousseau
argues that education should foster, and
not restrict, childrens natural instincts.
Unlike many Enlightenment thinkers,
Rousseau believed that emotions, as well
as reason, were important to human devel-
opment. He sought a balance between heart
and mind, between emotions and reason.
Rousseau did not necessarily practice
what he preached. His own children were
sent to orphanages, where many children
died at a young age. Rousseau also viewed
women as being naturally different from
men: To fulfill her functions, . . . [a woman]
needs a soft life. . . . How much care and
tenderness does she need to hold her fam-
ily together. To Rousseau, women should
be educated for their roles as wives and
mothers by learning obedience and the
nurturing skills that would enable them to
provide loving care for their husbands and
children. Not everyone in the eighteenth
century agreed with Rousseaus views
about women, however.
Womens Rights
For centuries, male intellectuals had
argued that the nature of women made them
inferior to men and made male domination
of women necessary. By the eighteenth
century, however, female thinkers began to
express their ideas about improving the
condition of women. Mary Wollstonecraft,
an English writer, advanced the strongest
statement for the rights of women. Many
see her as the founder of the modern Euro-
pean and American movements for wom-
ens rights.
In A Vindication of the Rights of Women,
Wollstonecraft identified two problems
with the views of many Enlightenment
thinkers. She noted that the same people
who argued that women must obey men
also said that government based on the
arbitrary power of monarchs over their
subjects was wrong. Wollstonecraft pointed
out that the power of men over women
was equally wrong.
Wollstonecraft further argued that the
Enlightenment was based on an ideal of
reason in all human beings. Therefore,
because women have reason, they are enti-
tled to the same rights as men. Women,
Wollstonecraft declared, should have equal
rights in education, as well as in economic
and political life.
CHAPTER 17 Revolution and Enlightenment 551
 The Growth of Reading
Art Archive/City Temple, London/Eileen Tweedy
Of great importance to the Enlighten-
ment was the spread of its ideas to the lit-
erate elite of European society. Especially
noticeable in the eighteenth century was
the growth of both publishing and the
reading public. The number of titles issued
each year by French publishers rose from
300 in 1750 to about 1,600 in the 1780s.
Books had previously been aimed at small
groups of the educated elite. Now, many
books were directed at the new reading
public of the middle classes, which
included women and urban artisans.
An important aspect of the growth of
publishing and reading in the eighteenth
century was the development of magazines
and newspapers for the general public. In
Great Britain, an important center for the
new magazines, 25 periodicals were pub-
lished in 1700, 103 in 1760, and 158 in 1780.
John Wesley Brings a New Message of Salvation
John Wesley (17031791), the founder of Methodism,
brought religious revival to the people of England. Wesley often
preached outdoors, drawing thousands of people. His preach-
ing style made his message understandable to the uneducated
lower classes.
The Church of England considered Wesley an extremist,
exciting people to hysterical outbursts. Wesley taught that any-
one can be saved. This idea conflicted with some Anglicans,
The first daily newspaper was printed in
London in 1702. Newspapers were rela-
tively cheap and were even provided free
in many coffeehouses.
The Salon
Enlightenment ideas were also spread
through the salon. Salons were the elegant
drawing rooms of the wealthy upper classs
great urban houses. Invited guests gath-
ered in these salons and took part in con-
versations that were often centered on the
new ideas of the philosophes. The salons
brought writers and artists together with
aristocrats, government officials, and
wealthy middle-class people.
The women who hosted the salons were
in a position to sway political opinion and
influence literary and artistic taste. For
example, Marie-Thrse de Geoffrin, wife
of a wealthy merchant, hosted salons.
who believed that God had already determined who would be
saved and who would not.
Wesley emphasized religion of the heart, not the mind. He
urged his followers to seek Christian perfection, or holiness of
heart and life, by leading a life of piety and good works:
In every thought of our hearts, in every word of our tongues,
in every work of our hands, to show forth his praise, who hath
called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.
1. Contrasting How did Wesleys view of
salvation conflict with the view of some
members of the Church of England?
2. Making Connections In what way
was Wesleys message a reaction to
Enlightenment thinking?
These gatherings at her fashionable home in Paris became
the talk of France and of all Europe.
Distinguished foreigners competed to receive invita-
tions to the salons. These gatherings helped spread the
ideas of the Enlightenment.
Religion in the Enlightenment
Although many philosophes attacked the Christian
churches, most Europeans in the eighteenth century were
still Christians. Many people also sought a deeper per-
sonal devotion to God.
The Catholic parish church remained an important cen-
ter of life. How many people went to church regularly is
unknown, but 90 to 95 percent of Catholic populations
went to mass on Easter Sunday.
After the initial religious fervor that created Protestant-
ism in the sixteenth century, Protestant churches settled into
well-established patterns often controlled or influenced by
state authorities. Many Protestant churches were lacking in
religious enthusiasm. The desire of ordinary Protestants for
greater depths of religious experience led to new religious
movements.
In England, the most famous new religious and evan-
gelical movementMethodismwas the work of John
Wesley, an Anglican minister. Wesley had a mystical expe-
rience in which the gift of Gods grace assured him of
salvation. This experience led him to become a missionary
to the English people to bring them the glad tidings of
salvation.
Since many Anglican churches were closed to him, Wes-
ley preached to the masses in open fields, in halls, or in
cottages. He preached wherever an assembly could gather.
Wesley traveled constantly, generally on horseback, and
often preached two or three times a day. He appealed
especially to the lower classes. He tried, he said, to lower
religion to the level of the lowest peoples capacities.
His sermons often caused people to have conversion
experiences. Many converts then joined Methodist societ-
ies to do good works. One notable reform they influenced
was the abolition of the slave trade in the early 1800s.
Christian reformers were also important in the American
movement to abolish slavery.
Wesleys Methodism gave the lower and middle classes
in English society a sense of purpose and community.
Methodists stressed the importance of hard work and
spiritual contentment rather than demands for political
equality. After Wesleys death, Methodism became a sepa-
rate Protestant group. Methodism proved that the need for
spiritual experience had not been eliminated by the
eighteenth-century search for reason.
Reading Check Evaluating How did Mary Wollstonecraft use
the Enlightenment ideal of reason to advocate rights for women?
Vocabulary
1. Explain the significance of: John Locke,
philosophe, generation, Montesquieu,
separation of powers, Voltaire, deism,
Denis Diderot, laissez-faire, Adam Smith,
Cesare Beccaria, Jean-Jacques Rousseau,
Paris, social contract, Mary Wollstonecraft,
arbitrary, London, salon, John Wesley.
Main Ideas
2. Explain the influence of John Locke and
Isaac Newton on Enlightenment thinkers.
3. Name the social classes to which most
philosophes belonged.
4. Identify factors that helped spread
Enlightenment ideas through Europe by
using a diagram like the one below.
Factors that Spread
Enlightenment
Critical Thinking
5. The BIG Idea Evaluating What did
Rousseau mean when he stated that if
individuals wanted to pursue their own
self-interests at the expense of the
common good, they will be forced to be
free? Do you agree or disagree? Why?
6. Comparing and Contrasting How are the
branches of the U.S. government similar to
the branches Montesquieu identified? How
are they different?
7. Analyzing Visuals Examine the painting
of John Wesley on page 552. Explain why
the painting shows Wesley preaching
outdoors.
Writing About History
8. Persuasive Writing Mary Wollstonecraft
argued that women are entitled to the
same rights as men. Do you believe this to
be true? Do you believe women are
accorded equal rights today? Present your
argument in an essay with evidence.
(ISTORY /.,).%
For help with the concepts in this section of Glencoe World
History, go to glencoe.com and click Study Central.
553
 2

The Enlightenment in Europe

MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW TERMS & NAMES

POWER AND AUTHORITY A The various freedoms enjoyed in Enlightenment Montesquieu

revolution in intellectual activity many countries today are a social contract Rousseau
changed Europeans view of result of Enlightenment thinking. John Locke Mary
government and society. philosophe Wollstonecraft
Voltaire

SETTING THE STAGE In the wake of the Scientific Revolution, and the new
ways of thinking it prompted, scholars and philosophers began to reevaluate old
notions about other aspects of society. They sought new insight into the underly-
ing beliefs regarding government, religion, economics, and education. Their
efforts spurred the Enlightenment, a new intellectual movement that stressed
reason and thought and the power of individuals to solve problems. Known also
as the Age of Reason, the movement reached its height in the mid-1700s and
brought great change to many aspects of Western civilization.

Two Views on Government TAKING NOTES

Outlining Use an outline
The Enlightenment started from some key ideas put forth by two English political to organize main ideas
thinkers of the 1600s, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. Both men experienced and details.
the political turmoil of England early in that century. However, they came to very
different conclusions about government and human nature. Enlightenment in Europe
I. Two Views on
Hobbess Social Contract Thomas Hobbes expressed his views in a work
Government
called Leviathan (1651). The horrors of the English Civil War convinced him that A.
all humans were naturally selfish and wicked. Without governments to keep B.
order, Hobbes said, there would be war . . . of every man against every man, II. The Philosophes
and life would be solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. Advocate Reason
Hobbes argued that to escape such a bleak life, people had to hand over their A.
rights to a strong ruler. In exchange, they gained law and order. Hobbes called this B.
agreement by which people created a government the social contract. Because
people acted in their own self-interest, Hobbes said, the ruler needed total power
to keep citizens under control. The best government was one that had the awesome
power of a leviathan (sea monster). In Hobbess view, such a government was an
absolute monarchy, which could impose order and demand obedience.

Changing Idea: The Right to Govern

Old Idea New Idea
A monarchs rule is justified by A governments power comes from the
divine right. consent of the governed.

Enlightenment and Revolution 629

 Lockes Natural Rights The philosopher John Locke held a different, more
positive, view of human nature. He believed that people could learn from experi-
ence and improve themselves. As reasonable beings, they had the natural ability to
govern their own affairs and to look after the welfare of society. Locke criticized
absolute monarchy and favored the idea of self-government.
According to Locke, all people are born free and equal, with three natural rights
life, liberty, and property. The purpose of government, said Locke, is to protect these
rights. If a government fails to do so, citizens have a right to overthrow it. Lockes Contrasting
theory had a deep influence on modern political thinking. His belief that a govern- How does
Lockes view of
ments power comes from the consent of the people is the foundation of modern human nature differ
democracy. The ideas of government by popular consent and the right to rebel against from that of
unjust rulers helped inspire struggles for liberty in Europe and the Americas. Hobbes?

The Philosophes Advocate Reason

Voltaire
16941778
Voltaire befriended several European
monarchs and nobles. Among them
was the Prussian king Frederick II.
The two men seemed like ideal
companions. Both were witty and
preferred to dress in shabby,
rumpled clothes.
Their relationship eventually
soured, however. Voltaire disliked
editing Fredericks mediocre poetry,
while Frederick suspected Voltaire of
shady business dealings. Voltaire
eventually described the Prussian
king as a nasty monkey, perfidious
friend, [and] wretched poet.
Frederick in turn called Voltaire a
miser, dirty rogue, [and] coward.
RESEARCH LINKS For more on
Voltaire, go to classzone.com
The Enlightenment reached its height in France in the
mid-1700s. Paris became the meeting place for people who
wanted to discuss politics and ideas. The social critics of
this period in France were known as philosophes
(FIHLuhSAHFS), the French word for philosophers. The
philosophes believed that people could apply reason to all
aspects of life, just as Isaac Newton had applied reason to
science. Five concepts formed the core of their beliefs:
1. Reason Enlightened thinkers believed truth could be
discovered through reason or logical thinking.
2. Nature The philosophes believed that what was
natural was also good and reasonable.
3. Happiness The philosophes rejected the medieval
notion that people should find joy in the hereafter and
urged people to seek well-being on earth.
4. Progress The philosophes stressed that society and
humankind could improve.
5. Liberty The philosophes called for the liberties that
the English people had won in their Glorious
Revolution and Bill of Rights.
Voltaire Combats Intolerance Probably the most brilliant
and influential of the philosophes was Franois Marie
Arouet. Using the pen name Voltaire, he published more
than 70 books of political essays, philosophy, and drama. Vocabulary
Voltaire often used satire against his opponents. He made Satire is the use of
frequent targets of the clergy, the aristocracy, and the govern- irony, sarcasm, or
wit to attack folly,
ment. His sharp tongue made him enemies at the French
vice, or stupidity.
court, and twice he was sent to prison. After his second jail
term, Voltaire was exiled to England for more than two years.
Although he made powerful enemies, Voltaire never
stopped fighting for tolerance, reason, freedom of religious
belief, and freedom of speech. He used his quill pen as if it
were a deadly weapon in a thinkers war against humanitys
worst enemiesintolerance, prejudice, and superstition. He
summed up his staunch defense of liberty in one of his most
famous quotes: I do not agree with a word you say but will
defend to the death your right to say it.

630 Chapter 22
 Montesquieu and the Separation of Powers Another influential French writer,
the Baron de Montesquieu (MAHNtuhSKYOO), devoted himself to the study of
political liberty. Montesquieu believed that Britain was the best-governed and most
politically balanced country of his own day. The British king and his ministers
held executive power. They carried out the laws of the state. The members of
Parliament held legislative power. They made the laws. The judges of the English
courts held judicial power. They interpreted the laws to see how each applied to a
specific case. Montesquieu called this division of power among different branches
separation of powers.
Montesquieu oversimplified the British system. It did not actually separate
powers this way. His idea, however, became a part of his most famous book, On the
Spirit of Laws (1748). In his book, Montesquieu proposed that separation of pow-
ers would keep any individual or group from gaining total control of the govern-
ment. Power, he wrote, should be a check to power. This idea later would be
called checks and balances.
Montesquieus book was admired by political leaders in the British colonies of
Analyzing Issues North America. His ideas about separation of powers and checks and balances
What advan- became the basis for the United States Constitution.
tages did
Rousseau: Champion of Freedom A third great philosophe, Jean Jacques
Montesquieu see in
the separation of Rousseau (rooSOH), was passionately committed to individual freedom. The son
powers? of a poor Swiss watchmaker, Rousseau won recognition as a writer of essays. A
strange, brilliant, and controversial figure, Rousseau strongly disagreed with other

Laws Protect Freedom Laws Ensure Security

Both Montesquieu and Rousseau believed firmly that fair While laws work to protect citizens from abusive rulers,
and just lawsnot monarchs or unrestrained mobsshould Montesquieu argues that they also guard against anarchy
govern society. Here, Rousseau argues that laws established and mob rule.
by and for the people are the hallmark of a free society.

PRIMARY SOURCE PRIMARY SOURCE

I . . . therefore give the name Republic to every
state that is governed by laws, no matter what
the form of its administration may be: for
only in such a case does the public interest
govern, and the res republica rank as a
reality. . . . Laws are, properly speaking,
only the conditions of civil association. The
people, being subject to the laws, ought to
be their author: the conditions of the society
ought to be regulated . . . by those who come
together to form it.
JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU, The Social Contract
It is true that in democracies the people seem
to act as they please; but political liberty
does not consist in an unlimited freedom.
. . . We must have continually present to
our minds the difference between
independence and liberty. Liberty is a
right of doing whatever the laws permit,
and if a citizen could do what they [the
laws] forbid he would be no longer
possessed of liberty, because all his fellow-
citizens would have the same power.
BARON DE MONTESQUIEU, The Spirit of Laws

DOCUMENT-BASED QUESTIONS
1. Analyzing Issues Why should citizens be the authors of societys laws, according
to Rousseau?
2. Making Inferences Why does Montesquieu believe that disobeying laws leads to a
loss of liberty?

Enlightenment and Revolution 631

 Enlightenment thinkers on many matters. Most philosophes believed that reason,
science, and art would improve life for all people. Rousseau, however, argued that
civilization corrupted peoples natural goodness. Man is born free, and every-
where he is in chains, he wrote.
Rousseau believed that the only good government was one that was freely formed
by the people and guided by the general will of societya direct democracy.
Under such a government, people agree to give up some of their freedom in favor
of the common good. In 1762, he explained his political philosophy in a book
called The Social Contract.
Rousseaus view of the social contract differed greatly from that of Hobbes. For
Hobbes, the social contract was an agreement between a society and its govern-
ment. For Rousseau, it was an agreement among free individuals to create a society
and a government.
Like Locke, Rousseau argued that legitimate government came from the consent
of the governed. However, Rousseau believed in a much broader democracy than
Locke had promoted. He argued that all people were equal and that titles of nobil-
ity should be abolished. Rousseaus ideas inspired many of the leaders of the
French Revolution who overthrew the monarchy in 1789.
Beccaria Promotes Criminal Justice An Italian philosophe named Cesare
Bonesana Beccaria (BAYKuhREEah) turned his thoughts to the justice system. He
believed that laws existed to preserve social order, not to avenge crimes. Beccaria
regularly criticized common abuses of justice. They included torturing of witnesses
and suspects, irregular proceedings in trials, and punishments that were arbitrary or
cruel. He argued that a person accused of a crime should receive a speedy trial, and
that torture should never be used. Moreover, he said, the degree of punishment should
be based on the seriousness of the crime. He also believed that capital punishment
should be abolished.
Beccaria based his ideas about justice on the principle that governments should
seek the greatest good for the greatest number of people. His ideas influenced
criminal law reformers in Europe and North America.

Major Ideas of the Enlightenment

Idea Thinker Impact

Natural rightslife, liberty, property Locke Fundamental to U.S. Declaration of Independence

Separation of powers Montesquieu France, United States, and Latin American nations use
separation of powers in new constitutions

Freedom of thought and Voltaire Guaranteed in U.S. Bill of Rights and French Declaration of
expression the Rights of Man and Citizen; European monarchs reduce or
eliminate censorship

Abolishment of torture Beccaria Guaranteed in U.S. Bill of Rights; torture outlawed or reduced
in nations of Europe and the Americas

Religious freedom Voltaire Guaranteed in U.S. Bill of Rights and French Declaration of
the Rights of Man and Citizen; European monarchs reduce
persecution

Womens equality Wollstonecraft Womens rights groups form in Europe and North America

SKILLBUILDER: Interpreting Charts

1. Analyzing Issues What important documents reflect the influence of Enlightenment ideas?
2. Forming Opinions Which are the two most important Enlightenment ideas? Support your answer with reasons.

632 Chapter 22
 Women and the Enlightenment
The philosophes challenged many assumptions about gov-
ernment and society. But they often took a traditional view
toward women. Rousseau, for example, developed many pro-
gressive ideas about education. However, he believed that a
girls education should mainly teach her how to be a helpful
wife and mother. Other male social critics scolded women for
reading novels because they thought it encouraged idleness
and wickedness. Still, some male writers argued for more
education for women and for womens equality in marriage.
Women writers also tried to improve the status of women.
In 1694, the English writer Mary Astell published A Serious
Proposal to the Ladies. Her book addressed the lack of edu-
cational opportunities for women. In later writings, she used
Enlightenment arguments about government to criticize the
unequal relationship between men and women in marriage. Mary Wollstonecraft
She wrote, If absolute sovereignty be not necessary in a state, 17591797
how comes it to be so in a family? . . . If all men are born free, A strong advocate of education for
how is it that all women are born slaves? women, Wollstonecraft herself received
During the 1700s, other women picked up these themes. little formal schooling. She and her
Among the most persuasive was Mary Wollstonecraft, who two sisters taught themselves by
studying books at home. With her
published an essay called A Vindication of the Rights of
sisters, she briefly ran a school. These
Woman in 1792. In the essay, she disagreed with Rousseau experiences shaped much of her
that womens education should be secondary to mens. Rather, thoughts about education.
Drawing she argued that women, like men, need education to become Wollstonecraft eventually took a
Conclusions virtuous and useful. Wollstonecraft also urged women to enter job with a London publisher. There,
Why do you the male-dominated fields of medicine and politics. she met many leading radicals of the
think the issue of day. One of them was her future
Women made important contributions to the Enlight-
education was husband, the writer William Godwin.
enment in other ways. In Paris and other European cities, Wollstonecraft died at age 38, after
important to both
Astell and wealthy women helped spread Enlightenment ideas through giving birth to their daughter, Mary.
Wollstonecraft? . social gatherings called salons, which you will read about This child, whose married name was
later in this chapter. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, went on
to write the classic novel Frankenstein.
One woman fortunate enough to receive an education in
the sciences was Emilie du Chtelet (shahtlay). Du
Chtelet was an aristocrat trained as a mathematician and RESEARCH LINKS For more on Mary
physicist. By translating Newtons work from Latin into Wollstonecraft, go to classzone.com
French, she helped stimulate interest in science in France.

Legacy of the Enlightenment

Over a span of a few decades, Enlightenment writers challenged long-held ideas
about society. They examined such principles as the divine right of monarchs, the
union of church and state, and the existence of unequal social classes. They held
these beliefs up to the light of reason and found them in need of reform.
The philosophes mainly lived in the world of ideas. They formed and popular-
ized new theories. Although they encouraged reform, they were not active revolu-
tionaries. However, their theories eventually inspired the American and French
revolutions and other revolutionary movements in the 1800s. Enlightenment think-
ing produced three other long-term effects that helped shape Western civilization.
Belief in Progress The first effect was a belief in progress. Pioneers such as
Galileo and Newton had discovered the key for unlocking the mysteries of nature in
the 1500s and 1600s. With the door thus opened, the growth of scientific knowledge
Enlightenment and Revolution 633
 seemed to quicken in the 1700s. Scientists made key new discoveries in chemistry,
physics, biology, and mechanics. The successes of the Scientific Revolution gave
people the confidence that human reason could solve social problems. Philosophes
and reformers urged an end to the practice of slavery and argued for greater social
equality, as well as a more democratic style of government.
A More Secular Outlook A second outcome was the rise of a more secular, or
non-religious, outlook. During the Enlightenment, people began to question openly
their religious beliefs and the teachings of the church. Before the Scientific
Revolution, people accepted the mysteries of the universe as the workings of God.
One by one, scientists discovered that these mysteries could be explained mathemat-
ically. Newton himself was a deeply religious man, and he sought to reveal Gods
majesty through his work. However, his findings often caused people to change the
way they thought about God.
Meanwhile, Voltaire and other critics attacked some of the beliefs and practices
of organized Christianity. They wanted to rid religious faith of superstition and fear
and promote tolerance of all religions.
Importance of the Individual Faith in science and in progress produced a third
outcome, the rise of individualism. As people began to turn away from the church
and royalty for guidance, they looked to themselves instead.
The philosophes encouraged people to use their own ability to reason in order to
judge what was right or wrong. They also emphasized the importance of the individ-
ual in society. Government, they argued, was formed by individuals to promote their
welfare. The British thinker Adam Smith extended the emphasis on the individual to
economic thinking. He believed that individuals acting in their own self-interest
created economic progress. Smiths theory is discussed in detail in Chapter 25.
During the Enlightenment, reason took center stage. The greatest minds of
Europe followed each others work with interest and often met to discuss their ideas.
Some of the kings and queens of Europe were also very interested. As you will learn
in Section 3, they sought to apply some of the philosophes ideas to create progress
in their countries.

SECTION 2 ASSESSMENT

TERMS & NAMES 1. For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.
Enlightenment social contract John Locke philosophe Voltaire Montesquieu Rousseau Mary Wollstonecraft

USING YOUR NOTES MAIN IDEAS CRITICAL THINKING & WRITING

2. Which impact of the Enlight- 3. What are the natural rights with 6. SYNTHESIZING Explain how the following statement
enment do you consider most which people are born, reflects Enlightenment ideas: Power should be a check
important? Why? according to John Locke? to power.
Enlightenment in Europe
4. Who were the philosophes and 7. ANALYZING ISSUES Why might some women have been
I. Two Views on what did they advocate? critical of the Enlightenment?
Government
5. What was the legacy of the 8. DRAWING CONCLUSIONS Do you think the philosophes
A.
Enlightenment? were optimistic about the future of humankind? Explain.
B.
II. The Philosophes 9. WRITING ACTIVITY POWER AND AUTHORITY Compare the
Advocate Reason
views of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau on government.
A.
Then write one paragraph about how their ideas reflect
B.
their understanding of human behavior.

CONNECT TO TODAY PRESENTING AN ORAL REPORT

Identify someone considered a modern-day social critic. Explore the persons beliefs and
methods and present your findings to the class in a brief oral report.

634 Chapter 22