How Thomas Hobbes and John Locke influenced Enlightenment Thinkers Essay

The come on of Enlightenment saw many great changes in Western Europe. The bestride of Enlightenment or simple the Enlightenment was an intellectual movement during the eighteenth century. Its purpose was to reform society and to advance knowledge using causal agency and the scientific knowledge. It supported scientific thought and opposed superstition with its favourite target being the Catholic Church. The phrase was frequently used by writers of the period itself, implying that they were emerging from centuries of darkness and ignorance into an judgment period fueled by reason and information.The ones who sparked the enlightenment can be traced to the 17th century. They include the deuce governmental philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. Thomas Hobbes was born on April 5, 1588 and he was best known for his work on political philosophy. His book Leviathan complete the foundation for most of Western political philosophy. In Leviathan, Hobbes set let out his doctrine of the foundations of states and legitimate governments. Much of the book demonstrates the necessity of a material central authority to avoid chaos and disorder.Hobbes hypothesizes what life would be bid with no government, a state which he calls the state of nature. In that state, distributively person would contrive a right to everything in the world. However, he argues that it would leadership to a war against all because he believed that all people were nuisance and selfish. In order to avoid this state, people establish a polite society and conceive a social contract. According to Hobbes, society is a population under a autocratic authority. Thomas Hobbes is a wizard of absolutism but he withal developed some of the rudiments of liberal thoughts much(prenominal) as the rights of an exclusive and equality for all.He was also one of the founders of modern political science as well. His understanding on mankind as being matter and following the same concepts and laws a s other matter remains extremely influential. John Locke was born on August 29, 1632 and he was one of the most influential English philosophers during the enlightenment period. Lockes theory of mind is referred to as the origin of conceptions of self and identities. He theorized that the mind is a blank ticket and that we were born with only impulsive ideas and that knowledge is only derived from experience.The founding fathers of the joined States used many of his political ideas as the bases for the declaration of independence. Locke believed in a democratic influence and that everyone is em forcefulness to their own rights and liberty. He thought that nobody should have lordly power so he came up with the idea of separation of powers meaning that the perform and judicial system operate independent of the ruling class so theoretically no one can commit a plague and get away with it.Even though Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were both influential social contract theorists and great political philosophers, their ideas completely belie each other. While Locke believed that humans were born with a clean slate and only gain knowledge through experience and experiment, Hobbes theorized that all humans were born with an bad and selfish nature which cannot be contained without a supreme authority to rule.In terms of political power, Locke believed in democratic rule while Hobbes believed in an absolute power to rule over the evil and selfish humans for if there is no absolute power, our savage instincts testament take over and we will do whatever it takes to satisfy our miserly nature. As for rights, Locke believed all men are equal rights but Hobbes cerebrate that we should give up our rights to the government in exchange for protection. The Enlightenment was a great step in humanity to make strides in science and let reason explain our lives.Enlightenment ideas and works have been particularly influential in politics. Many of the worlds democracies are construct on the ideas of Locke and other political philosophers in the enlightenment period. Democratic nations, such as the United States are founded upon enlightenment ideas such as individual rights and liberty, the rights of citizens, and peoples rights to participate in the government. However, different political philosophers have different ideas approximately whats best for their government.For instance, Thomas Hobbes believed in absolute monarchs, an idea which is still used today in places like Canada, Japan, Spain, and the United Kingdoms. The Enlightenment completely revolutionized the way people have thought about religion, politics, and science. It was one of the greatest events in history because it gave people the idea to quarrel what theyve always been taught to be right. It gave people a mind of their own and not fall to one supreme ruler. The legacy of the enlightenment shall never be forgotten.