American Enlightenment Thought. Hobbes believed a social contract was necessary to protect people from their own worst instincts. Locke believed that rulers were not ordained by … On the other hand, Locke believed that a social contract was necessary to protect people's natural rights. Starting in the 1600s, European philosophers began debating the question of who should govern a nation. The Enlightenment began in Europe, but quickly spread throughout America in the 1700s and helped set the stage for a revolution against British rule. Put simply, the Enlightenment was a period in history, occuring roughly between the late-16th and 18th century, that completely transformed western culture. Human rights are a set of principles concerned with equality and fairness. Educated during the Age of Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th centuries, Jefferson adopted the beliefs of philosophers who used reason and science to explain human behavior. As the absolute rule of kings weakened, Enlightenment philosophers argued for different forms of democracy. For example, the ancient Greeks believed that stars and planets roamed the sky as they followed the gods. Locke believed that if government did not protect people's rights, they could reject it. David Hume (1711—1776) “Hume is our Politics, Hume is our Trade, Hume is our Philosophy, Hume is our Religion.” This statement by nineteenth century philosopher James Hutchison Stirling reflects the unique position in intellectual thought held by Scottish philosopher David Hume. He was born in France in 1689. After losing both parents at an early age, he became a … During the Enlightenment, philosophers challenged the previously held beliefs in superstition, God and the absolute authority to a monarch. Having lived from 1712 to 1778, Rousseau was a major influence on the intellectual thinking of the 18th century.He inspired the political activism that led to the French … Government, religion, economics, and education were among the subjects in which philosophers and scholars built opinions on. Here are ten of the greatest minds who marked the 18th century. The duty of that government is to protect the natural rights of the people, which Locke believed to include life, liberty, and property. The war ended with the beheading of the king. Hobbes believed that a social contract was necessary to protect people from their own worst instincts. If the government should fail to protect these rights, its citizens would have the right to overthrow that government. It was a movement of intellectual thinkers in the 18th century who believed that science could explain everything in nature and society. Part of Hume’s fame and importance owes to his boldly skeptical approach to a range of philosophical subjects. The Enlightenment perhaps found its greatest manifestation in two mid-17th century philosophers, the Scotsman David Hume and the Frenchman Voltaire. The Declaration of Independence bases this right on John Locke's Second Treatise of Government and Enlightenment thinking in general. Since the end of World War II, there has been a united effort by the nations of the world to decide what rights belong to all people and how they can best be promoted and protected. You may be wondering, what was the ‘Enlightenment’ and when did the ‘Age of Enlightenment’ occur? After the impact of the Scientific Revolution, society gained comfort in questioning old notions and beliefs. From the newfound curiosity that spread through Europe, the Enlightenment began. According to Locke, a ruler gains authority through the consent of the governed. French philosopher Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de la Brède et de Montesquieu, was a highly influential political thinker during the Age of Enlightenment. Locke believed that if government did not protect people's rights, they could reject it. Many ideas put out by Enlightenment thinkers paved the way for how we perceive the world today. These prominent philosophers contributed in changing the way people acted and thought. The Enlightenment created many new ideas and established views of the world that had never existed before. The Enlightenment, known in French as the Siècle des Lumières (or Century of Lights), was a high period of intellectual proliferation in the domains of art and science. The Enlightenment movement used many ideas from many philosophers to improve the importance of an individual in the society and government. Baron de Montesquieu, usually referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French lawyer, man of letters, and one of the most influential political philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment. People started to see things for what they were, and in a different light. Sir Isaac Newton demonstrated that another, natural force kept the planets in orbit. The Enlightenment is the European movement during the 18th century … Although there is no consensus about the exact span of time that corresponds to the American Enlightenment, it is safe to say that it occurred during the eighteenth century among thinkers in British North America and the early United States and was inspired by the ideas of the British and French Enlightenments. On the other hand, Locke believed a social contract was necessary to protect people's natural rights. Thomas Jefferson was influenced by Enlightenment figures in many different ways. Jean-Jacques Rousseau is considered one of the key Enlightenment philosophers, and his writings reveal that he was concerned with “equality among men,” but he certainly did not make women's equality his focus. Like those thinkers, Jefferson believed universal adherence to the “laws of … Adam Smith developed a comprehensive and unusual version of moral sentimentalism in his Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759, TMS). In 1649, a civil war broke out over who would rule England—Parliament or King Charles I. They are not a recent invention - ideas about rights and responsibilities have been an important part of all societies throughout history. Francis Bacon once said that “some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly.” This is one of the few.