Thomas Hobbes

Enlightenment Philosopher:

Lived during a time of upheaval in England:

Born on the day the English defeated the Spanish Armada.

Fled England after the beheading of Charles I.

He wrote Leviathan

People are by nature cruel, greedy, selfish…

Without law man is by nature brutal…

In a social contract, people give up their freedom for an organized society….

Hobbes in Leviathan:The ideal

government

is a strong, absolute monarch

who can control the people.

E

“Force and fraud in war the two cardinal virtues.”

“As a draft-animal is yoked in a wagon, even so the spirit is yoked in this body.”

“Curiosity is the lust of the mind.”

F

“Leisure is the mother of philosophy.”

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“I am about to take my last voyage, a great leap in the dark.”

Thomas Hobbes

English PhilosopherAuthor of LeviathanBelieved man was by nature

selfishDeveloped theory of Social

ContractBelieved in Absolute Monarchy

John Locke

John LockeEnglish

PhilosopherPeople have

natural rights:Life LibertyProperty

John Locke (1632-1704)

Influenced by the Glorious Revolution in England.

Poor monarch replaced by better one.

Right of Revolution

Locke argued that people have a right to overthrow unjust king.

Declaration of Independence

Thomas Jefferson used Locke’s IdeasLife

Liberty

PropertyPursuit of Happiness

American Revolution based on Locke’s Ideas

Writings of Locke

Two Treatises of Government

Essay on the Laws on Nature

Letters on Religious Toleration

“Logic is the anatomy of thought.”

“There is frequently more to be learned from the unexpected questions of a child than the discoursed of men.”

“Every man has a property in his own person. This nobody has a right to, but himself.”

“To love our neighbor as ourselves is such a truth for regulating human society, that by that alone one might determine all the cases in social morality.”

“The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts.”

“Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours.”

John Locke English

Philosopher Wrote Two

Treatises of Government

His ideas are used toJustify

revolutionsCreate

democracy United States

Charles-Louis de Secondat

Baron de Montesquieu

MontesquieuFrench NoblemanLived 1689-1755Lived life of

luxuryStudied LawAttended

gatherings at Parisian salons

Views on Humanity

Religion taught man to be intolerant; reason liberates them

from prejudice.

Author of: Spirit of LawsPersian Letters

Spirit of LawsDemocracies

need:Branches of

GovernmentSystem of

checks & balances to prevent corruption

“ The love of democracy is that of equality.“

“ The spirit of moderation should be the spirit of the lawgiver .“

“ Lunch kills half of Paris, supper the other half.“

“ Success in the majority of circumstances depends on knowing

how long it takes to succeed.“

“ I have never known any distress that an hour’s reading did not relieve.“

Montesquieu

French Philosopher Wrote Spirit of

Laws’ Man is intolerant U. S. Constitution

based on his ideas of sharing power: Checks & Balances

VoltaireVoltaire

Voltaire (1694-1778)

► French Playwright & Humorist

► Candide, 1759► Marriage of

Figaro► Erasez L’infame!

(Crush injustice!)

► Used satire, wit, & wisdom

Viewpoints

Pessimistic view of mankind

“Barbarism has lasted for centuries.”

Against Absolutism and aristocracy

All people are equal

“Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.”

“God gave us the gift of life , it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.”

“I may disagree with what you say, but I shall defend to the death your right to say it.”

“The ear is the avenue to the heart.”

Jean Jacques Rousseau v. Mary Wollstonecraft

RousseauFrench

Wrote Social Contract

WollstonecraftEnglish

Wrote Vindication of the Rights of Women

Nature of Man

Rousseau Noble Savage

“All men are born free but everywhere they are in shackles.”

Civilization had corrupted man

Evils of contemporary politics and Society

WollstonecraftMen and women

are equal“Let women share

the rights and she will emulate the virtues of man; for she must grow more perfect when emancipated.

On Government

RousseauGovernment should be

based on the general will of the people.

Laws made from the general will should be obeyed

Individuals should be loyal to the community

Wollstonecraft

Men and women should have a voice in government.

Women will protect the common good.

Opposing Views on Women

RousseauWomen are inferior to

menThey live in separate

spheresAll women should

breast feed their infants

The only education women need is how to please men.

Wollstonecraft Education strengthens

the mind, body, and soul.

To deny women an equal education is to keep them enslaved.

Society will never achieve perfection, until women are educated.