Enlightenment

Enlightenment

There were many political concepts during the Enlightenment. Some of the major proponents of these concepts were the philosophes, who popularized the new ideas for the general reading public. These proponents of the Enlightenment shared certain basic attitudes. They considered the state the proper and rational instrument of progress.

Some of the main figures of the enlightenment were Montesquieu, Voltaire,and Rousseau. Political philosophers attempted to extricate themselves through two different, contradictory approaches: "natural law" or "the Divine Right of Kings." According to natural law political thinkers, there were immutable natural laws which should govern states and their relations to their citizens and to other states. According to the doctrine of the Divine Right of Kings, certain kings ruled because they were specifically chosen by God to be kings. The precursors of the Enlightenment can be traced to the 17th century and earlier. They include the philosophical rationalists RenÐ"© Descartes and Baruch Spinoza, the political philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, and various skeptical thinkers in France such as Pierre Bayle. Equally important, however, were the self-confidence engendered by new discoveries in science and the spirit of cultural relativism encouraged by the exploration of the non-European world.Following the philosophy of Locke, the 18th-century writers believed that knowledge is not innate, but comes only from experience and observation guided by reason. Through proper education, humanity itself could be altered, its nature changed for the better. A great premium was placed on the discovery of truth through the observation of nature, rather than through the study of authoritative sources.

As a result, Enlightened Absolutism came about.This is when monarchial governments became dedicated to a strengthening of their absolutists' governments. This came at the cost of denying lesser centers of political power. Many rulers of the time had embraced the philosophies of writers at the time, such as Voltaire and Diderot. Enlightened monarchs were monarchs who distinguished themselves from traditional monarchs in the way they governed. Specifically, enlightened monarchs ruled their subjects using the principles of the Enlightenment. In order to be considered "enlightened", they must allow religious toleration, freedom of speech and press, and the right to hold private property. They must foster the arts, sciences, and educations. Above all,