The Influence Of The Enlightenment

To quote Enlightenment philosopher John Locke, “Reason is natural revelation.” The reasoning and new ideas from Enlightenment philosophers was what shaped today’s society. The central idea of the Enlightenment philosophers of 17th and 18th century Europe was driven by Adam Smith’s thoughts on economy regarding economic decision making and the positive effects of the lack of government interference, the new political opinions and proposals regarding freedom and how it is obtained, expressed by John Locke, and the social and religious ideas regarding religious acceptance and having multiple religious influences in one place from Voltaire.

The philosophers of the Enlightenment also were driven by the political theories expanding through Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. John Locke, an Enlightenment philosopher during the late 1600s proposed new theories about politics and government in his literature titled “Second Treatise on Civil Government”. He believed that all people are born free and equal, as well as have the ability to create their own government. The new belief was greatly influential in the Enlightenment because the King was the only one who was allowed to create government, and the King’s position was theorized to be appointed by God. This new idea

Voltaire, a French author during the 1700s, described how religious freedom would be greatly beneficial and important to society, because the lack of diverse religious results in either an arbitrary government or people of different religions cutting one another's throats. This new proposal was important to the enlightenment because of the new outlook on other cultures and religions spread quickly through Europe, slowly changing the cultural normalities in those places. Evidently, the new social and religious thoughts of the 17th and 18th century drove