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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
Hobbes’s 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 Hobbes’s 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 monarch’s rule is justified by A government’s power comes from the
divine right. consent of the governed.

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Locke’s 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. Locke’s Contrasting
theory had a deep influence on modern political thinking. His belief that a govern- How does
Locke’s view of
ment’s 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

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
(FIHL•uh•SAHFS), 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
Voltaire humankind could improve.
1694–1778 5. Liberty The philosophes called for the liberties that
Voltaire befriended several European the English people had won in their Glorious
monarchs and nobles. Among them Revolution and Bill of Rights.
was the Prussian king Frederick II. Voltaire Combats Intolerance Probably the most brilliant
The two men seemed like ideal
and influential of the philosophes was François Marie
companions. Both were witty and
preferred to dress in shabby, Arouet. Using the pen name Voltaire, he published more
rumpled clothes. than 70 books of political essays, philosophy, and drama. Vocabulary
Their relationship eventually Voltaire often used satire against his opponents. He made Satire is the use of
soured, however. Voltaire disliked frequent targets of the clergy, the aristocracy, and the govern- irony, sarcasm, or
editing Frederick’s mediocre poetry, wit to attack folly,
ment. His sharp tongue made him enemies at the French
while Frederick suspected Voltaire of vice, or stupidity.
shady business dealings. Voltaire
court, and twice he was sent to prison. After his second jail
eventually described the Prussian term, Voltaire was exiled to England for more than two years.
king as “a nasty monkey, perfidious Although he made powerful enemies, Voltaire never
friend, [and] wretched poet.” stopped fighting for tolerance, reason, freedom of religious
Frederick in turn called Voltaire a belief, and freedom of speech. He used his quill pen as if it
“miser, dirty rogue, [and] coward.”
were a deadly weapon in a thinker’s war against humanity’s
worst enemies—intolerance, prejudice, and superstition. He
RESEARCH LINKS For more on summed up his staunch defense of liberty in one of his most
Voltaire, go to classzone.com famous quotes: “I do not agree with a word you say but will
defend to the death your right to say it.”

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Montesquieu and the Separation of Powers Another influential French writer,

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

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

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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 people’s 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 society—a 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.
Rousseau’s 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. Rousseau’s 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 (BAYK•uh•REE•ah) 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 rights—life, 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

Women’s equality Wollstonecraft Women’s 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.

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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
girl’s 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 women’s 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, 1759–1797
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 women’s education should be secondary to men’s. 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 Châtelet (shah•tlay). Du
Châtelet was an aristocrat trained as a mathematician and RESEARCH LINKS For more on Mary
physicist. By translating Newton’s 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
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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 God’s
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. Smith’s theory is discussed in detail in Chapter 9.
During the Enlightenment, reason took center stage. The greatest minds of
Europe followed each other’s 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 person’s beliefs and
methods and present your findings to the class in a brief oral report.

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