Voltaire Montesquieu Rousseau Diderot THE PHILOSOPHES OF THE

Voltaire, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Diderot THE PHILOSOPHES OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT

VOLTAIRE, CONT. Born on November 21 st 1694 to Francois Arouet and Marie Marguerite. Voltaire family belonged to the upper-middle class He developed a close relationship to his godfather, the Abbé de Châteauneuf, a freethinker and epicurean. Voltaire studied the Jesuits College Louis-le-Grand in Paris. Arouet, his father sent him off to Caen, France. Voltaire in 1713 returned to Paris and was contracted as a lawyer.

VOLTAIRE (1694 -1778) Famous Works Philosophical Dictionary 1764: This encyclopedic dictionary was a life long project for Voltaire. It represents a culmination of his views on Christianity, God, and morality among other subjects Fanaticism -or- Mahomed the Prophet: A five act tragedy where Voltaire expresses his views on Islam, portraying the religion as another example of religious fanaticism. Voltaire himself described the play as “written in opposition to the founder or a false and barbarous sect. ” Epitaph

VOLTAIRE (CONT. ) Famous Works (cont. ) o Letters on the English 1733: During his time of exile in England, Voltaire attempted to survey all of English politics and culture. After his return to France, he published many letters that made serious criticisms of French culture as they stressed English values including religious toleration, political moderation, and the power of experiential philosophy. o Elements of the Philosophy of Newton: Published in 1738, it was this book that helped to popularize theories and thought of Sir Isaac Newton. It also demonstrated that Voltaire had moved beyond poetry and plays. o Candide: French satire published in 1759 that ridiculed religion, theologians, governments, armies, philosophies, and philosophers. o Treatise on Tolerance: Published in 1763, Voltaire called for tolerance between religions as he followed the trial of Jean Calas, a Protestant accused of murdering his son to prevent his conversion to Catholicism.

VOLTAIRE (CONT. ) Friends and Enemies in High Places Voltaire was respected by many other philosophes of the time, including Rousseau, Diderot, and Countess Emile de Chatelat whom he later took as a lover. He was also favored by enlightened absolutists like Catherine the Great. However, his political and scientific writings soured his relationships with Louis XVI of France and later, Frederick the Great.

VOLTAIRE (CONT. ) Core beliefs Religious toleration Contributions to freedom of speech and press Opposed to militarism and slavery Deism Against Voltaire is remembered as a philosophe who courageously fought for civil rights in France like the freedom of speech, free trial, and religion. He was known fro denouncing the injustices of the Ancien Regime like the imbalance of power and taxes. His most important project that he worked on was the defending of empirical science.

MONTESQUIEU (1689 -1755) Charles-Louis de Secondat Baron de Montesquieu was born on January 18, 1689 to a wealthy, noble family. As a child, he was educated at the Oratorian Collége de Juilly. He received a degree in law from the University of Bordeaux in 1708. He pursued a career in law in Paris until the death of his father in 1713. He married Jeanne de Lartique in 1715, and over the course of their marriage, they had two daughters and a son. In 1716, his uncle died, and he received the title of Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu, as well as a position in the Parlement of Bordeaux. He became famous with his writing of the Persian Letters, though he published them anonymously. Epitaph His writings inspired Royals and commoners alike.

MONTESQUIEU CONTINUED Friends/Enemies He admired John Locke and Isaac Newton in his teachings. Pope Benedict XVI respected him Many bishops did not like him or his beliefs Most Famous Works The Persian Letters (1721) Letters from Usbek and Rica The Spirit of Laws (1748) Explains social institutions and human laws

MONTESQUIEU CONTINUED Core Beliefs All things are made up of rules or laws that never change A government that was elected by the people is the best kind of government Lasting Impact & Influence Division of power in the government Executive = King Legislative = Parliament Judicial = The Courts British form of government – wisest model for regulating power of the government “No single set of political laws could apply to all peoples at all times and in all places” He died in 1755 from a fever.

ROUSSEAU Impacts/Influence: Rousseau’s idea of a “social contract” is studied in almost all modern government classes. The theory supports the idea that people make agreements with each other and with their government for the sake of forming safe societies will relative freedom Rousseau also promoted the idea of democracy, in which all citizens vote on every issue. Epitaph

ROUSSEAU: BACKGROUND STORY Born to Isaac Rousseau and Suzanna Bernard in Geneva 1712 Raise solely by his father until he had to flee from Gevena Worked as an engraver under a “tyrannical” master Moved to Paris to become a musician and composer Married Therese Levasseur with who he had 5 children Because of his growing popularity in composition he gave up his job as a composer Wrote Discourse on the Arts and Science in response to The Academy of Dijon’s question which inspired his career in philosophy

ROUSSEAU: CORE BELIEFS In the State of Nature everyone is Free Inequality only exists when humans are put into a society Men and Women should live in two separate “spheres” Females are less equal than males and should accept their position Individual is subservient to society

ROUSSEAU: WRITINGS AND THEIR MESSAGES Discourse on the Arts and Sciences Progression of arts and sciences has corrupted virtue and morality Discourse on the Origin of Inequality Human beings are basically good by nature, but complex historical events have resulted in present-day corrupt society. Much of the evil in the world is caused by uneven distribution of property The Social Contract People give up their rights

DIDEROT Background info Diderot was born in Langres Champagne on October 5 1713 He was disowned by his father when he refused to enter one of the “learned” professions Though his work was broad and rigorous it never achieved commercial success as a result he was forced to sell the contents of his library in order to pay for his daughters dowry. But Catherine the Great bought all of it so if mostly turned out ok in the end Diderot died in in Paris on July 31 1784 of pulmonary thrombosis. Epitaph “There is only ONE passion: The passion for happiness (alternatively) He was a-great, but in the end, he Did-erot

DIDEROT: FRIENDS AND ENEMIES IN HIGH PLACES Upon first moving to France, Diderot befriended Jean Jacques Rousseau A famous mathematician, Jean D’ Alembert. agreed to edit Diderot’s encyclopedia Voltaire offered to publish Diderot’s encyclopedia outside of France due to Parlement banning it Empress Catherine the Great commissioned him after he lost a majority of his wealth Several other famous philosophers collaborated with him on his encyclopedia The Parlement banned his encyclopedia due to its radical and secular ideas

DIDEROT CONTINUED Core Beliefs and Writings Edited Encyclopedia of arts and sciences along with Jean-le-Round d’Alembert Embodies the ideals of Enlightenment Diderot originally helped edited the Cyclopedia by Ephraim Chambers Inspired him to develop the Encyclopedia He gathered leading philosophes together Enlightenment= Intellectual Movement Challenge authority of church “all knowledge could be acquired through scientific experimentation and the exercise of reason. ”

DIDEROT CONTINUED Impact/Influence Plant the seed for revolutionary thoughts Present information to all people and invite them to think, become knowledgeable, and ask questions Informed people that they can change things that they do not agree with by supporting social and political reform Pioneer a new way to think emphasizing reason Inspire many of his intellectual peers/admirers to publish their thoughts Ultimately inspired the French Revolution and the American Revolution