What Were The Main Ideas During The Enlightenment Dbq

John Locke believed that natural rights were essential to an individual’s life. “... life, liberty and property existed in the state of nature and could never be taken away or even voluntarily given up,” he argued against Hobbes’ opinion, on the people laying down their natural rights of freedom to a single ruler. He deduced that these natural rights were impossible to surrender because they came with human nature. With the idea that individuals had both the right and the responsibility to preserve their own lives with the resources they had.

The philosopher, John Locke believed that people should have governmental freedoms. Locke stated, “should also be equal one among another without subordination or subjection”(DocA), meaning that nature created all people equally and that the government should not downgrade people. Locke wanted people to have the freedom to have any chance at a governmental position, because nature created all people equally. He believed that if a new government was necessary that people have the right to create a new government, “they have not only a right to get out of [a failed government], but to prevent it”(DocA). Locke also believed that all people are born equal and that society has the freedom to change the government in question.

During the Enlightenment, revolutionary thinkers called philosophes brought about new ideas as to how to better understand and improve their society. They were all modern thinkers and had the best interests of society in mind. Although each philosoph had his or her own ideas, they all centered around one main theme: equality and human freedom.

The Enlightenment was a time of great improvement and prosperous thinking which continued to spread ideas many years after it concluded. Traditional Western society was formatted around a social structure where the king was given all executive power and the rest of society remained below him. This government style left the rest of society stranded with no way to voice their opinions on government decisions and social resolutions. Eventually, individuals like John Locke and Denis Diderot began to question traditional Western society and voice their opinions on social structure and government style. Revolutionaries like Locke and Diderot acted as a catalyst to the start of the Enlightenment, a unique period of growth.

In order to understand Locke’s vision for a perfect government, he first wanted to define the driving force behind men. Locke believed that there were three primary natural rights a man had: the right to life, liberty, and property. In life, Locke. being a man of God, believed that men are all created equally and no one should outrank the highest authority, God. In the matter of liberty, “a man…is absolutely free to dispose of himself or his possessions, but he isn’t at liberty to destroy himself, or even to destroy any created thing in his possession…” (3), meaning men should do everything they can to protect each others rights. Locke states, “…because we are all equal and independent, no-one ought to harm anyone else in his life, health, liberty, or possessions (3). This was the basis for Locke’s social contract theory, that men have natural laws to protect and preserve their liberties and in exchange for a government that would protect these laws, some

Locke believed the people were enabled to natural rights. These rights are life, liberty, and the protection of their property.

John Locke’s writing is influential with the creation of the government that the United States abides by. The natural rights that he preached showed that everyone had basic inalienable rights such as life, liberty, and property(though ratified to happiness). As shown in the constitution in the form of the Bill of Rights, the ten rights guaranteed to

Mary Wollstonecraft was a British author who was born on April, 27 in a little town called Spitalfield. Wollstonecraft was a novelist who wrote a history of the French Revolution, a travel journal, and a children’s book in addition to A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. She believes that women are born with the same equal abilities as men. Her main idea is that all women should have equal education. Wollstonecraft, Locke, Smith, And Voltaire all think that the main idea is equality of the individuals.”Make them free, and they will quickly become wise and

John Locke’s political philosophy claimed that men are by nature free and equal. This went against claims that supported that God had made all people naturally subject to a monarch. He argued that all people have certain rights. These rights include the right to life, liberty, and property, which have a foundation separate of the laws of society. His reasoning behind this was that the government exists with the consent of the people so it should protect the people’s rights and promote the public good.

The ideas of the enlightenment during the eighteenth century was to promote reason, logic and freedom of thought over dogma, faith or religion, and especially the way government back then was running in Europe. It was revolutionary era because all the philosophers, and other smart thinkers at the time gathered their new opinion or ideas together to shift the way people, politicians or government, and religious figures thought about the rules of life in the universe.

John Locke believed that “If a government fails in its obligation to protect natural rights, the people have the right to overthrow that government”. He believed that every person has a right to life, property, and liberty. According to Locke, it is the government's responsibility to protect the natural rights of their people. One of his famous quotes was “All mankind... being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty

The Enlightenment was a period where many ideas were introduced to culture. Philosophers such as Locke, Hobbs, Rousseau, Voltaire, and Wollstonecraft worked to usher in new ideas and different ways of thinking. These ideas and beliefs influenced society in a positive way. Each of these philosophers had different perceptions and beliefs on how a society should function. What was their central idea? The philosophers of the Enlightenment believed in equality and freedom and that society could be improved either economically, socially, politically, or religiously.

As John Locke once said, “Every man has a property in his own person. This nobody has a right to, but himself.” This quote explains the basis of Locke’s beliefs. John Locke was born in Wrington, England on August 29, 1632. He was known as an influential political and philosophical thinker who wrote many texts such as Letter Concerning Toleration. It was during 1689 when he published that letter which justifies religious tolerance with Christians. In 1690, Locke wrote two major treatises, First Treatise of Government and Second Treatise of Government, which discusses his argument that the government’s role was to protect the people’s natural rights. He rejects the idea of an absolute government because he believes that everyone was created

The Enlightenment was a extended intellectual, philosophical, cultural, and social movement that spread throughout England, France, Germany, and other parts of Europe during the 17th century. The Enlightenment supported the idea that science and logic could make society better. Participants in the movement were mostly educated intellectuals and philosophers. Before the Enlightenment, Europe was in a time period called the Scientific Revolution. The Scientific Revolution was a time when people like Nicolaus Copernicus began to question the church doctrine. When man developed the “Questioning Spirit”, Europe began to discuss the key ideas of the Enlightenment: the social, political, and economical aspects of life. This was the beginning of the Enlightenment.

Locke believed that we should make laws in order to preserve our rights to three things: Life, Liberty, and Property. Each person has a right to his/her body according to Locke. However, there are conditions that come with it. Although everyone has an equal right to freedom, one is not free until s/he can function independently through reason.