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Natural Rights: The Enlightenment• During the Scientific Revolution, people began to

use the scientific method to determine the truth. • Scientific Method

– People should use reason and observe nature to find the truth

– Shouldn’t rely on superstition or tradition.

When thinkers began to apply this method to morals, beliefs, laws, and governments, they developed the idea of “Natural Law”

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The Age of Enlightenment

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• Also known as “The Age of Reason”

• Scientific Revolution paved the way as Natural Laws that applied to nature were now Natural Rights that applied to society.

• Led to discovery of the world outside of Europe and the Columbian Exchange

• Enlightened philosophers (aka philosophes in French) and writers

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Enlightened Philosophers (aka philosophies in French)

and Writers

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Thomas Hobbes

• The Leviathan published in 1651.• Without government, people would constantly be

fighting amongst themselves. • Life without government would be "poor, nasty,

brutish, and short.” • The purpose of government is to ensure peace

and security through whatever means necessary. • Government is a contract between citizens and

their ruler. In this contract, citizens give up rights for the guarantee of peace and security.

• The best government is one in which the ruler has absolute power.

• People never have the right to rebel.

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John Locke• Government is a contract between citizens and their rulers. • People have a natural right to life, liberty, and property. • The purpose of government is:

– to protect the rights of life, liberty, and property. – to create order in society.

• Citizens have the right to rebel against a government that does not respect the rights of its citizens.

• Rulers should stay in power only as long as they have the consent of the people they govern.

• Locke’s ideas influenced authors of US Declaration of Independence and French revolutionaries in the 1790s.

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Locke

• Essay Concerning Human Understanding• Every human is born a tabula mind, or

blank slate. – Nothing is inherited, human knowledge is

created by the environment as we experience the world.

– Foundation for equality– We learn from reason– By controlling the environment we can create

a better world

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VoltaireFrançois-Marie Arouet

• Considered one of the most important of the enlightenment philosophers

• Prolific writer; His satire Candide is his most famous work.

• Fought for tolerance, reason, and freedom of thought, expression, and religious belief

• Twice imprisoned in the Bastille

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• Fought against prejudice and superstition

• Deism: system of thought that denies the interference of the Creator with the laws of the universe (creates, then backs off).

Freedom of thought is most important: "I do not agree with a word you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

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Baron d’Montesquieu

• The Spirit of Laws 1748

• Advocated separation of powers and checks and balances to keep any individual or group from gaining complete control of the government.

• One of the greatest influences on the US Constitution.

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Rousseau

• Swiss philosopher• The Social Contract (1762)• Although born good, people are corrupted by

society. • Government should be a contract between

people, not between the people and a ruler. • People should give up some freedom in favor of

the General Will of the people. • People are equal and have a right to individual

freedom.

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Beccaria

• Believed laws existed to preserve social order

• Advocated a criminal justice system based on fairness and reason

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Adam Smith

• A Physiocrat: Natural laws govern the economy.

• Wrote The Wealth of Nations (1776)• Called for the economic freedom of

individuals, by keeping the government from interfering in the economy.

• Believed an “invisible hand” (the law of supply and demand and competition) would guide the economy.

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Mary Wollstonecraft

• Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792)

• Argued for women’s right to become educated and to participate in politics

• Believed women, like men, need education to become virtuous and useful.

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Denis Diderot• Spread enlightened thinking in all

areas by publishing the Encyclopedia (1751-1772), a 28 volumes of collected knowledge and the new ideas of the Scientific Revolution and the enlightenment

• First to use an alphabetical format

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How did Enlightenment writers and thinkers set the stage for

revolutionary movements?

• Encouraged people to judge for themselves what was right or wrong in society–Rely on human reason to solve social

problems

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Questions for Discussion:

• Voltaire is credited with saying: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend your right to say it.”

• What does this statement indicate about Voltaire’s views on free speech?

• How is it similar to beliefs about free speech in the U.S.?

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Questions for Discussion:

• “Man will only truly be free when the last king is strangled with the intestine of the last bishop.” Percy Shelly

• How is this quote reflective of the attitudes of the enlightenment philosopher?

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Who’s ideas are most like your own?

• Hobbes

– People are selfish, self-serving, and brutal.

– Without control, society would be chaotic

• Locke

– People are reasonable and able to make decisions.

– People should be able to rule themselves.

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1776

• In 1776, two famous works were published, Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence and Smith’s Wealth of Nations. Jefferson’s work is about man’s political independence and Smith’s is about man’s economic freedom and independence.

• Which do you think has been the most important to the development of the USA? A citizen’s political or economic freedom? Why?