Enlightenment Philosophers Essay

John Locke (1632-1704)The British philosopher John Locke was especi to each oney nonicen for his liberal, anti-authoritarian theory of the republic-0, his experiential theory of friendship, his advocacy of religious toleration, and his theory of personalised identity. In his own time, he was renowned for tilt that the divine right of offices is supported neither by scripture nor by the use of reason. In growth his theory of our duty to obey the state, he approach pathed the psyche that might makes right Starting from an initial state of disposition circuit cardh no g everyplacenment, police or privy right-hand(a)ty, we gays could place by c atomic number 18ful cogitate that on that point are pictorial laws-1 which suggest that we bugger off lifelike rights-2 to our own persons and to our own labor. Eventu all(prenominal)y we could discover that we should create a neighborly contain-3 with others, and out of this contract emerges our semi semi semi policy-m aking obligations and the institution of private. This is how reasoning places limits on the proper use of power by government authorities.Regarding epistemology-4, Locke dis concur with Descartes-5 rationa describe theory that noesis is any(prenominal) radical that seems wee-wee and distinct to us. Instead, Locke claimed that knowledge is direct awareness of facts concerning the concord or disagreement among our subjects. By ideas, he meant amiable objects, and by assuming that some of these mental objects comprise non-mental objects he inferred that this is why we washstand have knowledge of a instauration external to our minds. Although we elicit know little for certain and must rely on probabilities-6, he deliberated it is our idol-given obligation to obtain knowledge and not always to acquire our beliefs by accepting the articulate of authorities-7 or common superstition. Ideally our beliefs should be held unwaveringly or tentatively depending on whether the evi dence is beardown(prenominal) or weak.He praised the scientific reasoning of Boyle and due north as exemplifying this careful formation of beliefs. He said that at birth our mind has no innate ideas it is blank, a tabula rasa. As our mind gains unambiguous ideas from sensation, it forms complex ideas from these simple ideas by processes of combination, division, generalization and abstraction. beginning for his time, Locke asserted that in order to help children not develop bad habits of thinking, they should be trained to melodic theme their beliefs on sound evidence, to learn how to collect this evidence, and to believe less blottoly when the evidence is weaker.We all can have knowledge of theology-8s existence by attending to the quality of the evidence available to us, originally the evidence from miracles-9. Our moral obligations, says Locke, are divine commands-10. We can learn about those obligations both by Gods revealing them to us and by our natural capacities to discover natural laws. He hoped to find a deductive system-11 of ethics in analogy to our deductive system of truths of geometry. Regarding personal identity-12, Locke provided an original line of business that our world the kindred person from i time to another(prenominal) consists neither in our having the same soul nor the same body, solely rather the same consciousness.Thomas Hobbes (1588 -1679) deterrent example and Political PhilosophyThe English philosopher Thomas Hobbes is scoop up known for his political fantasy, and deservedly so. His vision of the world is strikingly original and still relevant to devote- mean solar day(a) politics. His main concern is the problem of social and political order how human beingnesss can live together in peace and avoid the danger and idolize of civil conflict. He poses stark alternatives we should give our loyalty to an unaccountable sovereign (a person or concourse empowered to decide both social and political issue). Other wise what awaits us is a state of nature that closely resembles civil war a spatial relation of universal insecurity, where all have reason to devotion violent death and where rewarding human cooperation is all barely impossible. His most famous employment is Leviathan, a classic of English prose (1651 a slightly change Latin edition appeared in 1668).Leviathan expands on the argument of De Cive, mostly in terms of its huge gage half that deals with questions of religion. One controversy has dominated interpretations of Hobbes. Does he see human beings as subtlely self-interested or egoistic-13? Several passages support such a reading, tip some to think that his political conclusions can be avoided if we adopt a more(prenominal) realistic characterization of human nature. However, most scholars now accept that Hobbes himself had a much more complex view of human motivation. A major theme below depart be why the problems he poses cannot be avoided exactly by taking a les s self-centered view of human nature.Hobbess moral thought is difficult to disentangle from his politics. On his view, what we ought to do depends greatly on the situation in which we find ourselves. Where political authority is lacking (as in his famous natural condition of mankind-14), our fundamental right seems to be to compose our skins, by whatever inwardness we think fit. Where political authority exists, our duty seems to be quite straightforward to obey those in power. But we can usefull fork the ethics from the politics if we follow Hobbess own division. For him ethics is concerned with human nature, epoch political doctrine deals with what happens when human beings interact.Jean-Jacques Rousseau (17121778)Jean-Jacques Rousseau was one of the most influential thinkers during the Enlightenment in eighteenth hundred Europe. His first major philosophical figure, A parley on the Sciences and Arts, was the winning response to an essay encounter conducted by the Academy of Dijon in 1750. In this work, Rousseau argues that the growth of the sciences and arts has caused the corruption of virtue and morality. This discourse won Rousseau fame and recognition, and it laid much of the philosophical groundwork for a moment, longer work, The treat on the Origin of In beity. The plunk for discourse did not win the Academys prize, but like the first, it was wide read and win solidified Rousseaus place as a monumental intellectual figure. The central claim of the work is that human beings are basically good by nature, but were corrupted by the complex diachronic events that resulted in present day civil fraternity.Rousseaus praise of nature is a theme that continues throughout his later working as strong, the most significant of which include his comprehensive work on the ism of education, the Emile, and his major work on political philosophy, The brotherly scale down both published in 1762. These whole caboodle caused great controversy in Franc e and were immediately outlaw by Paris authorities. Rousseau fled France and settled in Switzer go through, but he go along to find difficulties with authorities and dissension with friends. The end of Rousseaus life was marked in large part by his growing paranoia and his continued attempts to justify his life and his work. This is curiously evident in his later books, The Confessions, The Reveries of the Solitary Walker, and Rousseau Judge of Jean-Jacques. Rousseau greatly determined Immanuel Kants work on ethics. His novel Julie or the newly Heloise impacted the late eighteenth centurys Romantic Naturalism movement, and his political ideals were championed by leadership of the cut Revolution.The Social veer is, like the Discourse on Political Economy, a work that is more philosophically constructive than either of the first twain Discourses. Furthermore, the language used in the first and second Discourses is crafted in such a way as to make them appealing to the public , whereas the tone of the Social Contract is not n early on as eloquent and romantic. some other more obvious difference is that the Social Contract was not nearly as well-received it was immediately censor by Paris authorities. And although the first ii Discourses were, at the time of their publication, very popular, they are not philosophically systematic. The Social Contract, by contrast, is quite systematic and outlines how a government could exist in such a way that it protects the equality and character of its citizens. But although Rousseaus project is different in scope in the Social Contract than it was in the first twain Discourses, it would be a mistake to say that there is no philosophical connection between them.For the forward works discuss the problems in civil ordination as well as the historical growth that has led to them. The Discourse on the Sciences and Arts claims that connection has become such that no emphasis is erect on the importance of virtue and morality. The Discourse on the Origin of Inequality traces the history of human beings from the pure state of nature through the institution of a inauthentic social contract that results in present day civil society. The Social Contract does not deny any of these criticisms. In fact, chapter one begins with one of Rousseaus most famous quotes, which echoes the claims of his earlier works Man was/is born necessitous and everywhere he is in chains. (Social Contract, Vol. IV, p. 131). But unlike the first cardinal Discourses, the Social Contract looks forward, and explores the potential for moving from the specious social contract to a legitimate one.Voltaire (1694-1778)Voltaire (real title Franois-Marie Arouet) (1694 1778) was a French philosopher and writer of the Age of Enlightenment-15. His intelligence, wit and style made him one of Frances great writers and philosophers, despite the controversy he attracted. He was an communicatory supporter of social reform (including th e defense of civil liberties, freedom of religion and free trade), despite the rigorous censorship laws and harsh penalties of the period, and made use of his satiric works to criticize Catholic dogma and the French institutions of his day. Along with John Locke-16, Thomas Hobbes-17 and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, his works and ideas influenced great thinkers of both the American and French Revolutions. He was a prolific writer, and produced works in almost every literary form (plays, poetry, novels, essays, historical and scientific works, over 21,000 letters and over two thousand books and pamphlets).As his best-known work, Candideis a satirical examination on legion(predicate) themes like religion, philosophy, and government, written in the bleak wit and skepticism that Voltaire employs in so legion(predicate) of his works. Translated to numerous languages and adapted to the stage and screen, Voltaires composing continues to be widely read over two centuries later. Voltaire cer tainly gained enough real life invite to garner a cynical attitude towards schematic dogmatic institutions that repressed the individual during his life-time. Why does so much evil exist, seeing that everything is formed by a God whom all theists are agreed in naming good? (Why? philosophical Dictionary, 1764). In his later years Voltaire championed the rights of victims of religious, ethnical, and political persecution, share umteen of the same views as Jean Jacques Rousseau-18 (1712-1778)Charles- de Montesquieu (1689 1755)Montesquieu was a French-19 social commentator and political thinker-20 who lived during the Enlightenment-21. He is famous for his articulation of the theory of separation of powers-22, taken for grant in modern discussions of government-23 and implemented in many constitutions-24 throughout the world. Montesquieus most influential work divided French society into ternary classes (or trias politica, a term he coined) the monarchy-25, the aristocracy-26, and the commons-27. Montesquieu saw two types of governmental power existing the sovereign-28 and the administrative. The administrative powers were the executive-29, the legislative-30, and the judicial-31. These should be separate from and dependent upon each other so that the influence of any one power would not be able to exceed that of the other two, either one at a time or in combination.This was a radical idea because it completely eliminated the three Estates-32 structure of the French Monarchy the clergy-33, the aristocracy, and the community at large represented by the Estates-General-34, thereby erasing the last vestige of a feudalistic-35 structure.Likewise, there were three main forms of government, each supported by a social regulation monarchies-36 (free governments headed by a contagious figure, e.g. king, queen, emperor), which rely on the principle of honor republics-37 (free governments headed by popularly elected leaders), which rely on the principle of virtu e and despotisms-38 (enslaved governments headed by dictators-39), which rely on fear. The free governments are dependent on fragile built-in arrangements. Montesquieu devotes four chapters of The Spirit of the Laws to a discussion of England, a contemporary free government, where liberty was sustained by a balance of powers.Montesquieu worried that in France the negociate powers (i.e., the nobility) which moderated the power of the prince were being eroded. These ideas of the control of power were practically used in the thinking of Maximilien de Robespierre-40.Montesquieu was somewhat out front of his time in advocating major reform of thralldom in The Spirit of the Laws-41. As part of his advocacy he presented a satirical hypothetical list of arguments for slavery-42, which has been open to contextomy-43. However, like many of his generation, Montesquieu also held a number of views that might today be judged controversial. He firmly accepted the role of a patrimonial aristo cracy and the value of primogeniture-44, and while he endorsed the idea that a woman could head a state, he held that she could not be effective as the head of a family.Thomas Jefferson (1741-1826) Thomas Jefferson was born in Virginia in 1743 and died on July 4, 1826, t the same day as John-45 Adams, his life long associate and friend. Their e relationship illustrates the dichotomy that was Thomas Jefferson. He a was the author of the Declaration of In dependency, a Secretary of State, a an envoy to France, the third president of the United States, a founder of t the Democratic-Republican party, the anti-federalists party. baron Charles de Montesquieus views on the separation of powers, and t the auspices for the rights of the citizenry influenced Jefferson. He believed in the virtues of checks and balances in the formation of the national government, its secured rights and protection for the people. While his views of humanity were more idealistic than those of Madison, they wer e in agreement for different reasons, for controlling a strong central government.Jefferson, however, opted more for states rights as a means of protection for Americas citizen, an attitude that exemplified his anti-Federalist views. His political thinking was in some respects Newtonian, and he saw social systems as analogous to animal(prenominal) systems. Under this philosophy, love takes the place in the social world that gravity does in the physical world, so that all people are naturally attracted to each other, and it is dependence that corrupts this attraction and results in political problems. woodwind argues that, though the phrase all men are created equal was a clich in the late eighteenth century, Jefferson took it further than most.Jefferson held that not only are all men created equal, but they remain equal throughout their lives, equally capable of this attractive love, and that it is their level of dependence that make them unequal in practice. Thus, removing all th is subvert dependence would make all men equal in practice. Thus, Jefferson idealized a future relatively devoid of dependence, in particular those caused by banking or royal influences. Jeffersons concepts of democracy were rooted in The Enlightenment-46. He envisioned democracy an expression of society as a whole, calling for national self-determination, cultural uniformity, and based upon the education of the all the people. The emphasis on uniformity allowed no opportunity for a racial republic in which some groups were not fully assimilated into the identical republican valuesWilliam Blackstone (1723-1780)Blackstone was the great 18th Century English legal scholar whose philosophy and writings were infused with Judeo-Christian principles. The Ten Commandments are at the heart of Blackstones philosophy. Blackstone taught that man is created by God and granted fundamental rights by God. Mans law must be based on Gods law. Our Founding Fathers referred to Blackstone more than to any other English or American authority. Blackstones great work, Commentaries on the Laws of England, was basic to the U. S. Constitution. This work has sell more copies in America than in England and was a basic casebook of Americas early lawyers. It was only in the mid-Twentieth Century that American law, being re-written by the U. S. Supreme Court, repudiated Blackstone. An attack on Blackstone is an attack on the U. S. Constitution and our nations Judeo-Christian foundations. Blackstones Commentaries draws on standard authorities from Bracton onward, especially Matthew Hales Analysis of the Law, but it is distant more accessible.Book I, Rights of Persons, deals with government, church, corporations, and individuals Book II, Rights of Things, with property, especially land Book III, Private Wrongs, with torts and Book IV, Public Wrongs, with discourtesy and punishment. An immediate successcontemporary readers include George III, Burke, Edmund-47, Charles pack Fox, and legi ons of lawyers and laymenit went through eight British editions in his lifetime and fifteen more by 1854, as well as numerous abridgements. The standard legal textbook for a century, it helped establish law as a university subject. The first of many American editions appeared in 1771-72, and it was translated into French, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish. though outdated in some particulars, Blackstone remains widely read.Though systematic and thorough, Blackstone was conservative and provincial. He argued that the king could do no wrong, though he regarded sevens as essential and endorsed the separation of powers. He was convert of the superiority of English common law, though his knowledge of civil law was limited (what he knew came from Burlamaqui, Jean-Jacques-48, Grotius, Montesquieu, Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de-49, and Pufendorf). His constitutional theory drew upon John Locke and Montesquieu, but he was not an Enlightenment creature. He had numerous critics Pri estley, Joseph-50 objected to his comments on religious dissenters and most famously, Bentham, Jeremy-51 denounced his views on the sovereignty of government, as did John Austin later. Other critics included Boswell, James-52, Gibbon, Edward-53, and Johnson, Samuel-54.