The Intellectual Movement of Elightment - 759 Words

1. The intellectual movement of Enlightenment was a very intricate movement that was centralized on the concepts of progression, reasoning, and the scientific method. The Enlightenment thinkers believed they could implement some of these ideas towards societies and people. These ideas changed how humanity viewed the government, politics, and society. Although each philosopher had their own individual concept, they all centered on the themes of equality and freedom. Thomas Hobbes believed that religion should be separate from politics and supported a strong government based on reason. However, John Locke’s concept differed with Thomas Hobbes’ about human nature. Hobbes felt humanity was selfish and greedy. While on the other hand, Locke believed that every individual was born good and were given natural rights by God. John Locke’s philosophies were also composed on the ideas of life, freedom, and owning property. Locke believed that the king’s power should be limited by laws issued by the people. Baron de Montesquieu shared similar ideas with John Locke towards the subject of government. Montesquieu preferred a system that limited the power of a king and liked the idea of a government broken into different sections and that each should have some power to control the others. Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed that individuals should have certain rights and just like Locke’s ideology, he believed people were good, but were corrupted by society. Rousseau also believed that no