Enlightenment Of 18th Century Essay Research Paper

Enlightenment Of 18th Century Essay, Research Paper

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. These included some of the beliefs of David Hume, Jean

Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant, and Francois Voltaire. 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. 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 actions that one

experienced, there has to be proof. He also believed that there were four basic

problems to the stories that we hear. First of all, the facts to the stories are

never the same to everyone. Second, we stretch the truth to make everything

interesting. Third, people who do not understand these stories tend to make

things up. Finally, not all of the religions agree. Therefore, the stories

conflicted each other leaving a person to not know what to believe. He believes

that "Our most holy religion is founded on Faith, not on reason; and it is

a sure method of exposing it to put it to such a trial as it is, by no means,

fitted to endure." (215) Hume also believed in the social contract. This is

that kings are in power because of luck and citizens should have control over

their own power. During Hume’s lifetime a representative government was not

something that countries thrived on. He also thought that the duties of men were

to love children and to pity those that are less fortunate. He also thought that

one should respect other’s properties and keep our promises. Hume argued that we

are born into our family with the knowledge passed on to us, from this point

Hume says that government is only an interference in the lives of people. He

uses the example of American Tribes where no one needs a government to keep

peace within the group (Pomerleau 222). These are the two main points that Hume

tried to make. They are the basis of what got people to think about their lives

and decide that what they have now might not be the best thing that their life

can accomplish. From his points of view, we can move on to another influential

philosopher, Jean Jacques Rousseau. Jean Jacques Rousseau was born in Geneva in

1712. His first years in his life were very hard because his mother died shortly

after 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). His ideal government would contain a

small state, prevention of overpowering businesses, and equality in rank and

fortune (Castell 419). He distrusted the aristocrats because he believed they

were drawing 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 to the beliefs of one

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 agreement 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 what the

higher officials might say. They began to think about what life and the world is

really about. This brings us to the next philosopher, Immanuel Kant. Immanuel

Kant was born on April 22, 1724. Kant studied both Hume and Rousseau and

rethought his aspects of science and shifted a little towards philosophy. In

addition to his thinking, he also spent a lot of time lecturing at Konigsberg,

Martin Knutzen. His two main scientif

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