ENLI

GHTENMENT

TheAgeofEnl
i
ght
enmentwasaphi
l
osophi
calmov
ementt
hatdomi
nat
edt
hewor
ldof
i
deasi
nEur
opei
nthe18t
hcent
ury
.Cent
eredont
hei
deat
hatr
easoni
sthepr
imar
y
sour
ceofaut
hor
it
yandl
egi
ti
macy
,thi
smov
ementadv
ocat
edsuchi
deal
sasl
i
ber
ty,
pr
ogr
ess,t
oler
ance,f
rat
erni
ty,const
it
uti
onalgov
ernment
,andsepar
ati
onofchur
chand
st
ate.

Ther
eisl
i
ttl
econsensusont
hepr
eci
sebegi
nni
ngoft
heAgeofEnl
i
ght
enment
,butt
he
begi
nni
ngoft
he18t
hcent
ury(
1701)ort
hemi
ddl
eoft
he17t
hcent
ury(
1650)ar
e
commonl
yident
if
ied asst
art
ing poi
nts.Fr
ench hi
stor
iansusual
l
ypl
acet
heper
iod
bet
ween 1715 and 1789.Mostschol
ars use t
he l
asty
ear
s oft
he cent
ury
,of
ten
choosi
ngt
heFr
enchRev
olut
ionof1789ort
hebegi
nni
ngoft
heNapol
eoni
cWar
s
(
1804–15)t
odat
etheendoft
heEnl
i
ght
enment
.

TheEnl
i
ght
enmentt
ookhol
dinmostEur
opeancount
ri
es,of
tenwi
thaspeci
fi
clocal
emphasi
s.The cul
tur
alexchange dur
ing t
he Age ofEnl
i
ght
enmentr
an bet
ween
par
ti
cul
arEur
opeancount
ri
esandal
soi
nbot
hdi
rect
ionsacr
osst
heAt
lant
ic.

Ther
ewer
etwodi
sti
nctl
i
nesofEnl
i
ght
enmentt
hought
.Ther
adi
calEnl
i
ght
enment
adv
ocat
eddemocr
acy
,indi
vi
duall
i
ber
ty,f
reedom ofexpr
essi
on,ander
adi
cat
ionof
r
eli
giousaut
hor
it
y.Asecond,mor
emoder
atev
ari
etysoughtaccommodat
ionbet
ween
r
efor
m andt
het
radi
ti
onal
syst
emsofpowerandf
ait
h.

Sci
encecamet
opl
ayal
eadi
ngr
olei
nEnl
i
ght
enmentdi
scour
seandt
hought
.The
Enl
i
ght
enmenthasl
ongbeenhai
l
edast
hef
oundat
ionofmoder
nWest
ernpol
i
ticaland
i
ntel
l
ect
ualcul
tur
e.I
t br
ought pol
i
ticalmoder
nizat
ion t
othe West
.Inr
eli
gion,
Enl
i
ght
enmenter
acomment
arywasar
esponset
othepr
ecedi
ngcent
uryofr
eli
gious
conf
li
cti
nEur
ope.

Hi
stor
iansofr
ace,gender
,andcl
assnot
ethatEnl
i
ght
enmenti
deal
swer
enotor
igi
nal
l
y
env
isi
onedasuni
ver
sali
nthet
oday
’ssenseoft
hewor
d.Al
thought
heydi
dev
ent
ual
l
y
i
nspi
ret
hest
ruggl
esf
orr
ight
sofpeopl
eofcol
or,
women,
ort
hewor
kingmasses,
most
Enl
i
ght
enmentt
hinker
sdi
dnotadv
ocat
eequal
i
tyf
oral
l
,regar
dlessofr
ace,gender
,or
cl
ass,
butr
atheri
nsi
stedt
hatr
ight
sandf
reedomswer
enother
edi
tar
y.

TheEnl
i
ght
enment
,al
soknownast
heAgeofReason,wasaphi
l
osophi
calmov
ement
t
hatt
ookpl
acepr
imar
il
yinEur
opeand,l
ater
,inNor
thAmer
ica,dur
ingt
hel
ate17t
hand
ear
ly18t
hcent
ury
.It
spar
ti
cipant
sthoughtt
heywer
eil
l
umi
nat
inghumani
ntel
l
ectand
cul
tur
eaf
tert
he"
dar
k"Mi
ddl
eAges.Char
act
eri
sti
csoft
heEnl
i
ght
enmenti
ncl
udet
he
r
iseofconcept
ssuchasr
eason,l
i
ber
tyand t
hesci
ent
if
icmet
hod.Enl
i
ght
enment
phi
l
osophywasskept
icalofr
eli
gion — especi
all
ythepower
fulCat
hol
i
cChur
ch —
monar
chi
esandher
edi
tar
yar
ist
ocr
acy
.Enl
i
ght
enmentphi
l
osophywasi
nfl
uent
iali
n
usher
ingi
ntheFr
enchandAmer
icanr
evol
uti
onsandconst
it
uti
ons.

Hi
stor
iansdi
sagr
eeonpr
eci
sel
ywhent
heEnl
i
ght
enmentbegan,
thoughmostagr
eet
hat
t
heEnl
i
ght
enment
'
sor
igi
nsar
eti
edt
otheSci
ent
if
icRev
olut
ioni
nthe1600s,accor
ding
t
otheSt
anf
ord Ency
clopedi
a ofPhi
l
osophy
.TheEnl
i
ght
enmentcul
minat
ed i
nthe
Fr
enchRev
olut
ion(
1789-
1799)andwasf
oll
owedbyt
heRomant
icper
iod.

Maj
orf
igur
esoft
heEnl
i
ght
enmenti
ncl
udeVol
tai
re,
JohnLocke,
ThomasHobbes,
Dav
id
Hume,Jean-
Jacques Rousseau,Adam Smi
th,I
mmanuelKant
,Isaac Newt
on and
ThomasJef
fer
son.

Phi
l
osophi
cal
concept
s:

"
Dur
ing t
he Enl
i
ght
enment
,ther
e was mor
e emphasi
s on sci
ent
if
ic met
hods,
secul
ari
zat
ionofl
ear
ning,r
eli
gioust
oler
ance,uni
ver
saleducat
ion,i
ndi
vi
duall
i
ber
ty,
r
eason,pr
ogr
essandt
hesepar
ati
onofchur
chandst
ate,
"sai
dAber
net
hy.Somekey
Enl
i
ght
enmentconcept
sar
e:

Reason:

Enl
i
ght
enmentphi
l
osopher
s bel
i
eved t
hatr
ati
onalt
houghtcoul
dlead t
o human
i
mpr
ovementandwast
hemostl
egi
ti
mat
emodeoft
hinki
ng.Theysaw t
heabi
l
ityt
o
r
easonast
hemostsi
gni
fi
cantandv
aluabl
ehumancapaci
ty,
accor
dingt
oPBS.Reason
coul
dhel
phumansbr
eakf
reef
rom i
gnor
anceandi
rr
ati
onal
i
ty,andl
ear
ningt
othi
nk
r
easonabl
ycoul
dteachhumanst
oactr
easonabl
y,aswel
l
.Enl
i
ght
enmentphi
l
osopher
s
saw r
easonashav
inganequal
i
zingef
fectonhumani
ty,becauseev
ery
one'
sthought
s
andbehav
iorwoul
dbegui
dedbyr
eason.

Enl
i
ght
enmenti
ntel
l
ect
ual
sthoughtt
hatal
lhumanendeav
orsshoul
dai
mtoi
ncr
ease
knowl
edgeandr
eason,r
athert
hanel
i
citemot
ionalr
esponses.Theyadv
ocat
edf
or
uni
ver
sal
educat
ionandsecul
ari
zedl
ear
ning,
sai
dAber
net
hy.

Skept
ici
sm:

Rat
hert
hanbei
ngcont
entwi
thbl
i
ndf
ait
h,Enl
i
ght
enmentt
hinker
swant
edpr
ooft
hat
somet
hing was t
rue.They t
est
ed popul
ar not
ions wi
th sci
ent
if
ical
l
y cont
rol
l
ed
exper
iment
sandper
sonalexper
ience,t
houghskept
ici
sm ofone'
sownsenseswas
anot
herf
act
ori
n Enl
i
ght
enmentt
hought
,and caused compl
i
cat
ed phi
l
osophi
cal
conundr
ums,
accor
dingt
otheSt
anf
ordEncy
clopedi
aofPhi
l
osophy
.

Enl
i
ght
enmenti
ntel
l
ect
ual
swer
eskept
icaloft
hedi
vi
ner
ightofki
ngsandmonar
chi
esi
n
gener
al,sci
ent
if
iccl
aimsaboutt
henat
uralwor
ld,t
henat
ureofr
eal
i
tyandr
eli
gious
doct
ri
ne."
Theol
ogi
anssoughtt
oref
orm t
hei
rfai
thdur
ingt
heEnl
i
ght
enmentwhi
l
e
mai
ntai
ningat
ruef
ait
hinGod,
"sai
dAber
net
hy.Thedei
stmov
ementbecamepopul
ar
dur
ingt
heEnl
i
ght
enment
.Dei
sm hol
dst
hatGodexi
stsbutdoesnoti
nter
veneonEar
th.
The uni
ver
se pr
oceeds accor
ding t
o nat
ural
,sci
ent
if
ical
l
ybased l
aws.Sev
eralof
Amer
ica'
sFoundi
ngFat
her
swer
edei
sts,
incl
udi
ngThomasJef
fer
son.

Rel
i
gion:

Thoughskept
icalofr
eli
giousi
nst
it
uti
ons,manyEnl
i
ght
enmentt
hinker
sbel
i
evedt
hat
peopl
eshoul
dbef
reet
owor
shi
past
heywi
shed."
Thei
ntel
l
ect
ual
soft
heEnl
i
ght
enment
v
igor
ousl
ysoughtt
orest
ri
ctt
hepol
i
ticalpowerofor
gani
zedr
eli
gioni
nanef
for
tto
cur
tai
ltheout
breakofi
ntol
erantr
eli
giouswar
s,"sai
dAber
net
hy.

Li
ber
ty:

TheEnl
i
ght
enmentt
oler
anceofr
eli
gioni
srel
atedt
othemov
ement
'semphasi
son
per
sonall
i
ber
ty.Thi
sconcepthol
dst
hatGodand/
ornat
uregav
eal
lhumansbasi
c
r
ight
s and humans shoul
d be f
ree t
o actwi
thoutoppr
essi
ver
est
ri
cti
on."
These
phi
l
osopher
s emphasi
zed t
hatgov
ernmenthad no aut
hor
it
y ov
eran i
ndi
vi
dual
'
s
consci
ence,
"Aber
net
hyexpl
ained."
Indi
vi
dual
shad r
ight
s,al
lmen wer
e equaland
l
egi
ti
mat
epol
i
ticalpoweri
sbasedont
heconsentoft
hepeopl
eandi
sobl
i
gat
edt
obe
r
epr
esent
ati
veoft
hepeopl
e'
swi
l
l.
"
Pr
ogr
ess:

Thecent
uri
esbef
oret
heEnl
i
ght
enmentwer
echar
act
eri
zedbyr
api
dchanges,f
rom t
he
di
scov
eri
es oft
he Sci
ent
if
ic Rev
olut
ion t
othe expl
orat
ion oft
he wor
ld and t
he
adv
ancementi
n ar
ttechni
que dur
ing t
he Renai
ssance.Lar
gel
y because oft
his,
Enl
i
ght
enmentt
hinker
sbel
i
evedt
hatt
hehumancondi
ti
onwasi
mpr
ovi
ngov
ert
ime.
Phi
l
osopher
sli
keDav
idHumeandAdam Smi
th,bot
hScot
smen,t
iedEnl
i
ght
enment
i
deal
stopol
i
tics,economi
cpol
i
ciesandmor
e,accor
dingt
otheSt
anf
ordEncy
clopedi
a
ofPhi
l
osophy
.

Empi
ri
cism v
s.r
ati
onal
i
sm:

Empi
ri
cism i
s associ
ated wi
th Br
it
ish Enl
i
ght
enmentphi
l
osopher
s,i
ncl
udi
ng John
Locke,
Geor
geBer
kel
eyandHume.Empi
ri
cist
sar
guedt
hatal
lhumanknowl
edgecomes
t
hrough t
he senses and sensor
yexper
iences.Rat
ional
i
sts,who l
i
ved pr
imar
il
yin
cont
inent
alEur
ope,ar
guedt
hatsenseswer
eunt
rust
wor
thyandknowl
edgecamef
rom
t
hemi
nd,t
hroughconcei
vi
ngofori
ntui
ti
ngi
deas,accor
dingt
oLoy
olaUni
ver
sit
yNew
Or
leans.

Towar
dtheendoft
heper
iod,phi
l
osopher
sbegant
oconsi
derexact
lywhatt
heymeant
byt
het
erm"
enl
i
ght
enment
."Ger
manphi
l
osopherI
mmanuelKantof
fer
edt
hisdef
ini
ti
on
i
nhi
sessay"
WhatI
sEnl
i
ght
enment
?":

Enl
i
ght
enmenti
sman'
semer
gence f
rom hi
ssel
f-
imposed nonage [
manyi
nter
pret
nonageas"
immat
uri
ty"
.Nonagei
sthei
nabi
l
ityt
ouseone'
sownunder
standi
ngwi
thout
anot
her
'sgui
dance…Dar
etoknow!Hav
ethecour
aget
ousey
ourownunder
standi
ng,
"
i
sther
efor
ethemot
tooft
heenl
i
ght
enment
.

Sci
ent
if
icRev
olut
ion

TheSci
ent
if
icRev
olut
ionwasaser
iesofev
ent
sthatmar
kedt
heemer
genceofmoder
n
sci
encedur
ingt
heear
lymoder
nper
iod,whendev
elopment
sinmat
hemat
ics,phy
sics,
ast
ronomy
,bi
ology(
incl
udi
nghumananat
omy
)andchemi
str
ytr
ansf
ormedt
hev
iewsof
soci
etyaboutnat
ure.
TheSci
ent
if
icRev
olut
ionOfTheModer
nEr
a.Rev
olut
ionThe
Sci
ent
if
icRev
olut
iont
aki
ngpl
acei
n16t
hcent
uryEur
ope,at
imei
nwhi
chpeaceand
pr
osper
it
y was v
ibr
ant
.Sci
ent
if
icr
evol
uti
on i
sthe most i
mpor
tant par
t of t
he
Enl
i
ght
enment
.Most of t
he t
ime, some pr
omi
nent sci
ent
ist
s l
i
ke Coper
nicus,
Gal
i
leo,
Kepl
erandNewt
on.
Thei
rar
esai
d,

Coper
nicus:Changedt
hev
iew oft
heuni
ver
sef
rom geo-
cent
ri
ctohel
i
o-cent
ri
c.Ear
th
mov
edi
nper
fectci
rcl
esar
oundsunandsel
frot
ati
on.

Gal
i
leo:
Tel
escopet
oseet
hemoon;
iner
ti
a:cont
radi
ctst
het
radi
ti
onalbel
i
eft
hatobj
ect
s
ar
enat
ural
l
yatr
est
;thest
ateofmot
ioni
sjustasnat
ural
ast
hest
ateofr
est
.

Kepl
er:
Thr
eel
awsofpl
anet
arymot
ion:chal
l
engi
ngt
hev
iew ofahar
moni
ousuni
ver
se
t
hrought
heper
fectci
rcl
esoft
hest
ars’
mov
ement
s,andt
hrought
heconst
antspeedof
t
hesemov
ement
s.

Newt
on:
Uni
ver
sall
aw ofgr
avi
ty;cal
cul
us;nat
ureofl
i
ght
;mat
hemat
icalr
ulesoft
he
t
hreel
awsofmot
ion:i
ner
ti
a,accel
erat
ion,
act
ionandr
eact
ion;t
heuni
ver
sewasi
nfi
nit
e
andhadnocent
er.

Thi
nker
s

Thomas Hobbes(
1588–1679)
: Thomas Hobbes i
a an f
ir
st enl
i
ght
enment
t
hinker
.Hobbeswasi
nfl
uencedbyt
heexper
iment
alat
ti
tudet
owar
dnat
ureanddeci
ded
t
oappl
yitt
opol
i
tics.Wr
it
ingatt
het
imeoft
heEngl
i
shCi
vi
lWar
,Hobbeswasf
orcedt
o
f
leeLondont
oPar
isi
n1648becausehef
ear
edf
orhi
sli
fe.I
n1651hewr
oteLev
iat
han,
at
it
lehechoseaf
tert
heseamonst
erf
rom t
heBookofJob.Hobbesbel
i
evedt
hat
humansi
nthei
ror
igi
nalst
ateofnat
urewer
eunhappy
.Int
hest
ateofnat
ure,Hobbes
asser
tedt
hatmanwasquar
rel
some,t
urbul
ent
,andf
orev
erl
ockedi
nawaragai
nstal
l
.
Hesuppor
tedanabsol
utemonar
chbecausehet
houghtt
hatmanneededpr
otect
ion
f
rom dest
roy
ing hi
msel
fand an al
l
-power
fulr
ulerwas t
he bestsour
ce ofsuch
pr
otect
ion.Thus,manent
ersasoci
alcont
ractt
osur
renderhi
sfr
eedom t
oanabsol
ute
r
uler
,in or
dert
o mai
ntai
nlaw and or
der
.The subj
ectcoul
d nev
err
ebeland t
he
monar
chshadt
her
ightt
oputdownanyr
ebel
l
ionbyanymeanspossi
ble.
Hobbes’
s
i
deas nev
erwon gr
eatpopul
ari
ty.
Thr
oughouthi
sli
fe,Hobbes bel
i
eved t
hatt
he
onl
y 
tr
ue 
andcor
rectf
orm ofgov
ernmentwast
heabsol
utemonar
chy
.Hear
guedt
his
mostf
orcef
ull
yinhi
slandmar
kwor
k,Lev
iat
han.Thi
sbel
i
efst
emmedf
rom t
hecent
ral
t
enet of Hobbes' nat
ural
phi
l
osophy t
hat human bei
ngs ar
e, at t
hei
r
cor
e, 
sel
fi
sh 
creat
ures.

Whenwear
eanal
ysi
shi
sdat
ahesay
sthat
,peopl
ear
ebasi
cal
l
ytwot
hings,
Evi
land
sel
fi
sh.
He mor
e say
s,peopl
e made bad deci
sion and because peopl
e need ki
ng
absol
utemonar
cht
otel
lthem whatt
odo.
Forl
ongsi
nce,peopl
efol
l
owedki
ng,
whohad
t
heabsol
utepower
,di
vi
nepowerorr
ightcl
aimedt
obecomef
rom Godt
oki
ngt
hen
ki
ngr
uleov
ert
hepeopl
eandt
ellt
hem.
Forhi
schal
l
engi
ngt
heor
y,t
hephi
l
osopher
s
cal
l
edcal
l
edhi
m Enl
i
ght
enmentt
hinker
.

JohnLocke(
1632-
1704)
:Johnl
ockei
sasecondenl
i
ght
enmentt
hinker
.Pr
obabl
ythe
mostwi
del
yreadpol
i
ticalphi
l
osopherdur
ingt
hef
ir
sthal
foft
heei
ght
eent
hcent
urywas
JohnLocke.
Alt
houghhebecomemedi
caldoct
or,
hi
smaj
ori
nter
estl
ayi
npol
i
ticsand
pol
i
ticalt
heor
y.Hesai
dint
hecont
extoft
hewhol
eideat
hatHobbes,Peopl
ebei
ngev
il
andsel
fi
shi
snott
her
eal
i
ty.
Accr
odi
ngt
ohi
m,peopl
ebor
nwi
thwhatar
ecal
l
ednat
ural
r
ight
s and t
her
e ar
e 3 nat
uralr
ight
s peopl
e.Peopl
e ar
e bor
n wi
tht
hei
rLi
fe,
Li
ber
ty/
Freedom andPr
oper
ty.
Whenpeopl
egav
ethei
rconsentt
oagov
ernment
,t
hey
expect
edi
ttogov
ernj
ust
ly,
topr
otectt
hei
rpr
oper
ty,
andt
oensur
ecer
tai
nli
ber
ti
esf
or
t
hepr
oper
ti
ed.
Ifagov
ernmentat
tempt
edt
orul
eabsol
utel
yandatpl
easur
e,i
fitv
iol
ated
t
henat
uralr
ight
soft
hei
ndi
vi
dual
,
itr
enegedoni
tscont
ractandf
orf
eit
edt
hel
oyal
tyof
i
t'
ssubj
ect
s.Suchagov
ernmentcoul
dri
ght
ful
l
ybeov
ert
hrown.
Lockebel
i
evedt
hata
const
it
uti
onalgov
ernmentt
hatl
i
mit
edt
hepowerofr
uler
swast
hebestdef
enseof
pr
oper
tyand i
ndi
vi
dualr
ight
s.Theysaw t
hatt
he i
mpor
tance of Locke'
s pol
i
tical
phi
l
osophywas notsi
mpl
yon hi
s use ofcont
actt
heor
ytoj
ust
if
yconst
it
uti
onal
gov
ernment;heal
soasser
tedt
hatt
hecommuni
tycoul
dtakeupar
msagai
nsti
ts
sov
erei
gni
nthenameoft
henat
uralr
ight
sofLi
ber
tyandpr
oper
ty.
Locke'
sideasabout
t
hef
oundat
ionofgov
ernmenthadgr
eat
eri
mpactont
hecont
inentandi
nAmer
ica
dur
ingt
heei
ght
eent
hcent
uryt
hani
nEngl
and.

Gi
ambat
ti
staVi
co(
1668-
1744)
:Vi
coi
sani
mpor
tantenl
i
ght
enmentt
hinker
.Ani
mpor
tant
ear
ly wor
k was Vi
co'
s The New sci
ence book(
1725)
.Thi
s a gr
and sy
nthesi
s of
et
hnogr
aphy
,hi
stor
yofr
eli
gion,phi
l
osophyandnat
uralsci
ence.
Vicowasamongt
he
f
ir
stt
oembr
acet
hei
deaofsoci
alpr
ogr
essexpl
i
cit
ly.
Hepr
oposedauni
ver
salmodelof
soci
aldev
elopment
,ar
gui
ngt
hatal
lsoci
eti
esmustgot
hrought
hreewi
thpar
ti
cul
ar,
f
ormal
l
ydef
inedchar
act
eri
sti
cs.Di
scusst
hreest
ageofhuman/
cul
tur
aldev
elopment
:-
1.AgeofGod'
s:

 Nat
ural
wor
shi
p

 Rudi
ment
arysoci
alst
ruct
ure

 Theocr
ati
cgov
ernment

 Ant
eri
orofv
ari
ousaspect
sofcul
tur
e(Rel
i
gion,
Pol
i
tics,
Art
,Ki
nshi
p)

2.AgeofHer
oes:

 Conf
li
ctbet
weenher
oes,
classes.

 Rel
ati
onbet
weenenemi
eswhof
ightwi
theachot
her
.

 Rel
ati
onbet
weenMast
erandsl
aves.

 Wi
despr
eadsoci
alunr
est
.

 Gr
eatsoci
ali
nequal
i
ty.

3.AgeofMan:

 Rul
eofl
awbasedonr
eason,
nol
ongerf
orce.

 Democr
ati
cst
ater
epl
acet
hear
ist
ocr
acyofHer
oes.

 Al
lhumanbei
ngar
eequal
l
yrecogni
zed.

 Ageofmanwer
ebasedonuni
ver
sal
li
ter
acy
,pot
ent
ial
i
ty,
andeducat
ion.

Mont
esqui
eu(
1689-
1755)
:Mont
esqui
eui
sananot
heri
mpor
tantenl
i
ght
enment
t
hinker
.HewasaFr
enchar
ist
ocr
atwhowant
edt
oli
mitr
oyal
absol
uti
sm.I
nhi
s
book,
TheSpi
ri
tofLaws(
1748)
,heur
gedt
hatpowerbesepar
atedamongt
hree
br
anchesofgov
ernment
:

 Legi
sl
ati
veaut
hor
it
ytomakel
aws

 Execut
iveaut
hor
it
ytoenf
orcet
hosel
aws

 Judi
ci
alaut
hor
it
ytoj
udgedi
sput
es

(
Eachbr
anchwoul
dcheckt
heot
herbr
anches,t
huspr
event
ingdespot
ism and
pr
eser
vingf
reedom.Mont
esqui
euadmi
redt
heBr
it
ishsy
stem ofgov
ernmentand
wascr
it
icaloft
heabsol
uti
sm oft
heFr
enchmonar
chybecauseal
lpowerwas
concent
rat
ed i
n one per
son.
)Thi
sis a compar
ati
ve,cr
oss-
cul
tur
alst
udyof
l
egi
slat
ivesy
stemswhi
chMont
esqui
euhadf
ir
storsecondhandknowl
edgeof
and f
rom whi
ch he at
tempt
sto der
ivet
he pr
inci
pal
es t
hatunder
li
ne l
egal
sy
stemscr
oss-
cul
tur
all
y.Mont
esqui
eupi
ctur
est
hel
egalsy
stem asanaspectof
t
hewi
dersoci
alsy
stem,i
nti
mat
elyent
winedwi
thmanyot
heraspect
soft
he
l
argerwhol
e(pol
i
tics,
economy
,ki
nshi
p,
demogr
aphy
,rel
i
gionet
c)av
iewt
hathas
l
edmanyt
odescr
ibehi
m asapr
oto-f
unct
ional
i
st.Accor
dingt
oMont
esqui
eu,
pol
ygamy
,canni
bal
i
sm,
pagani
sm,
slav
eryandot
herbar
bar
ouscust
omscoul
dbe
expl
ainedbyt
hef
unct
ionst
heyf
ulf
il
ledwi
thi
nsoci
etyasawhol
e.

Jean Jacques Rousseau (

1712-
1778)
: Rousseau i
s an ant
i/
count
er
Enl
i
ght
enmentt
hinker
.Becausehesai
ddi
ff
erentf
rom ev
ery
oneel
se.
Rousseau
ar
guedt
hatCi
vi
li
zat
ionanddev
elopmenti
snotonl
yal
way
spr
ogr
essi
vebutal
so
degener
ati
ve.Pr
ogr
ess,dev
elopmenthadnotal
way
simpr
ovedhumancondi
ti
on
r
atherdi
dat
err
ibl
edest
ruct
ivei
nfl
uenceont
hemor
ali
tyofhumanbei
ngswho
hadoncebeengood.
Inv
iew oft
hist
heor
yofRousseau,
whenweanal
ysi
sthe
mov
ie"
Godmustbecr
azy
"andseeapar
toft
hemov
ie,
ref
lect
ionofhi
swor
ds.
In
t
hef
il
m,peopl
ear
ebei
ngci
vi
li
zeddaybyday
,manyi
mpr
ovement
sint
echnol
ogy
,
butt
heyar
eal
sodet
eri
orat
ing.
Ever
yonei
sbusyshowi
ngt
hei
rpower
,losi
ng
soci
alr
elat
ionshi
psamongt
hemsel
ves.
Sam bogaat
tackedpr
esi
dent
ialbui
l
ding
t
oshowhi
spower
,manypeopl
edi
e.Thi
sledt
oadebat
ebet
weent
hear
myand
Sam Boga,whi
chcausedt
hebal
anceoft
heenv
ironmentt
obewast
ed.
Soi
t
seemst
hatpeopl
ear
epr
ogr
essi
ngi
ntechnol
ogyt
hroughci
vi
li
zat
ion,
butt
heyar
e
ment
all
ydi
stur
bed.The quar
relamong t
hemsel
ves i
s cr
eat
ing conf
li
ct,t
he
r
elat
ionshi
pends.

TheDi
scour
seont
heor
igi
nandf
oundat
ionofi
nequal
i
ty”Rousseausai
dthati
n
t
hebegi
nni
ngofhumansoci
etyori
nthest
ateofnat
urepeopl
eli
vedi
nfor
est
s,
l
eadasat
isf
iedl
i
fe,t
heyhadl
ovef
ort
hei
rfami
l
y,r
espectf
ornat
ure,t
ast
eof
musi
c,si
mpl
e ent
ert
ainment
.Had empat
hyf
orot
her
s and t
hei
rsuf
fer
ings.
Ev
ent
ual
l
yal
lthesebecomecompl
ex,peopl
einv
ent
ed pr
iest
s,chi
efs,ki
ngs,
pr
ince,
pri
vat
epr
oper
tyandal
lthesecr
ushedt
hegoodandf
reesoulofman.
Iti
s
seeni
nthemov
iet
hat"
Godwi
l
lbecr
azy
"anal
yzed:
Agr
oupofpeopl
enamed
Bushmanl
i
vedi
ntheKal
ahar
iDeser
t.Api
l
ott
hrewhi
sempt
ycokebot
tl
esf
rom
t
hewi
ndow onapr
ivat
epl
ane.I
tisnextt
oBushman,whor
unst
hehunt
ing
expedi
ti
on.Hewassur
pri
sedt
oseei
tbecausehehadnotseenany
thi
ngl
i
ket
his
bef
ore.Het
akesi
ttohi
str
ibe,
wher
etheyst
artt
ousei
tfordi
ff
erentpur
poses.
It
becomes somet
hing wonder
fult
othem,wi
thi
ttheywantt
o use musi
cal
i
nst
rument
s,pat
ter
nmaker
s,f
ir
est
ars,
cooki
ngut
ensi
l
s,andmostoft
hewor
k.Al
l
i
ttakesi
snecessar
y.I
nthi
s,di
sput
ear
osebet
weent
hem,t
hebot
tl
ebecame
bi
tt
er.Eachoft
hepeopl
efi
nishedt
hewaront
hebot
tl
e.Sot
heangl
eoft
he
Bushmant
ri
bedeci
ded,
andr
etur
nedt
hebot
tl
etoGod.Theybel
i
evedi
twast
hei
r
god.Theyt
houghtt
hebot
tl
ewasanenemyoft
hei
rtr
ibe,
sohewentoutt
oret
urn
i
t.

Rousseaucoi
nedt
het
erm “Nobl
esav
age”whi
chdescr
ibet
hei
nnocenceand
mor
ali
ty of our ancest
ors whi
ch cont
radi
cted wi
th moder
n human
bei
ngs.
Exampl
e:Bef
oret
hear
ri
valofEur
opeans,t
heNor
thAmer
icant
ri
besl
ead
asi
mpl
eli
febutpsy
chol
ogi
cal
l
yver
yri
ch.Thei
rcommuni
ti
eswer
esmal
l
,cl
ose
Kni
t,egal
i
tar
ian.Buti
nfewdecadeswi
tht
hear
ri
valoft
heEur
opeant
hesesi
mpl
e
soci
eti
eschangedwi
tht
hecont
actofnew t
echnol
ogi
es,l
uxur
yofEur
opean
I
ndust
ri
es.

Vol
tai
re(
1694-
1778)
:Vol
tai
rei
s consi
der
ed t
o be t
he gr
eat
estofal
lthe
Enl
i
ght
enedphi
l
osophes.
Educat
edbyJesui
ts,hechal
l
engedt
heaut
hor
it
yoft
he
Cat
hol
i
cChur
ch.
Alt
houghhebel
i
evedi
nGod,hi
sGodwasadi
stantdei
sti
c
God—acl
ockmakerwhobui
l
tanor
der
lyuni
ver
seandt
henl
eti
toper
ateundert
he
l
awsofsci
ence.Vol
tai
rehat
edr
eli
giousi
ntol
erance,
urgedr
eli
giousf
reedom,
and
t
houghtt
hatr
eli
gioncr
ushedt
hehumanspi
ri
t.Vol
tai
redenouncedor
gani
zed
r
eli
gionbecausei
texpl
oit
edpeopl
e’
signor
anceandsuper
sti
ti
ons.Dei
sm was
i
ntendedt
oconst
ructamor
enat
ural
rel
i
gionbasedonr
easonandnat
ural
law.

Ency
clopedi
a:Deni
sDi
der
otpubl
i
shed"
Ency
clopedi
a"(
1751-
1766)adet
ail
ed
descr
ipt
ionsofcul
tur
eandsoci
alcust
omsal
lov
ert
hewor
ld.
Thesenewbel
i
efs
andt
henewl
ear
ningoft
heEnl
i
ght
enmentencour
agedDi
der
ott
oat
temptt
odo
t
heunt
hinkabl
e.I
n1747,Di
der
otandacol
l
eague,Jeanl
eRondd'
Alember
t,wer
e
t
askedwi
tht
ransl
ati
nganEngl
i
sht
extbyEphr
aim Chamber
sthathadat
tempt
ed
t
ocompi
l
eal
i
stoft
hear
tsandsci
ences.Shor
tl
yaf
terbegi
nni
ng,Di
der
otand
d'
Alember
tbecame deepl
y unsat
isf
ied wi
th Chamber
s'at
tempt
,and t
hey
r
esol
vedt
oscr
apt
hepr
ojectandi
nst
eadcompi
l
ethei
rownwor
kdet
ail
i
ngt
he
ar
ts,sci
ences,andear
lyi
ndust
ry.Theenor
mouspr
ojectev
ent
ual
l
yat
tempt
edt
o
documental
lhumanknowl
edgei
ngener
al.