the enlightenment

A detailed Summary of the enlightenment


The enlightenment was a great time of change in both Europe and America. Some of the biggest changes, however, happened in the minds of many and in the writings of many philosophers. Writers during this time focused on optimism, which is the opinion to do everything for the best (Chaney 119), and the best for these philosophers was to stretch the minds of the ordinary. The writers during the Enlightenment period including David Hume and Jean Jacques Rousseau reshaped the minds of pessimists.

David Hume was Scottish and was born on April 26, 1711 and died in 1776. He states that he was not born into a rich family and was born into the Calvinist Presbyterian Church. However, after being influenced by the works of Isaac Newton and John Locke he began to draw back from the church. He writes in Enquiry, "The idea of God, as meaning an infinitely intelligent, wise and good Being, arises from reflecting on the operations of our own mind, and augmenting, without limit, those qualities of goodness and wisdom." (Pomerleau 214) The questions he brought up against religion were that concrete experiences must lead us and that we must think about the quality of the stories that were handed down to us. He wanted everyone to only believe the


Another influential philosopher, Jean Jacques Rosseau, was born in Geneva in 1712. His first years of life were very hard because his mother died shortly after his birth and he was sent to live with his aunt. However, his life turned around and he married and began his life as a philosopher. Rousseau was involved with the social contract like Hume. His book, however, did not become popular until after the French Revolution because these were the conditions that the revolution was based on (Chambers 669). He distrusted the aristocrats because he believed they were drawling away from traditions that were once held very high ("The Enlightenment," http). To him kings are just concerned with themselves and when one dies, another one is needed. None of these people ever take in to consideration the less fortunate. Everyone has to move the beliefs of man. Rousseau felt that the government should be in the hands of many, not just one. Ideally, everyone in a society needs to be in agre!

ement with one another. Another belief that Rousseau represented was deism, which is that God created the universe and then allowed it to run according to natural law and not interfering with it anymore. Again, these questions began to be disputed and the people began to realize that their lives could mean more than just wh

Some common words found in the essay are:
John Locke, French Revolution, Jacques Rosseau, Europe America, Hume Scottish, Jacques Rousseau, , Presbyterian Church, jean jacques, social contract, david hume, enlightenment change, Jean Jacques, David Hume,

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