“Man is born free, but goes everywhere in chains.”
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
The French philosophes were much more influential on the French Revolution than the English philosophers. However, most French philosophes had read Hobbes’ and Locke’s work and responded to their ideas. We are going to look at three French philosophes, Voltaire, Montesquieu, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
Use the website linked below to fill in the attached organizer.
“The Philosophes,” Alphahistory
Thomas Hobbes
Criterion D: Thinking Critically
iii. Interpret different perspectives and their implications.
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) was a 17th century English philosopher who wanted to find an alternative to the Divine Right of Kings theory. His 1651 book Leviathan was written to offer an argument about why everyone should obey their king or government even if they were unhappy with their society or what their ruler did. While not exactly an idea that inspired the French Revolution, Hobbes’ ideas were very influential for people who had a negative view of the French Revolution and some of his ideas would prove true when the Revolution turned violent in the early 1790s.
“Hereby it is manifest, that during the time men live without a common Power to keep them all in awe, they are in that conditions called [war]; and such a [war], as is of every man, against every man.”
Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan
Viewing Instructions: While watching the video about Thomas Hobbes record notes on the following questions;
- What motivated Thomas Hobbes to write about Social Contract theory? (Think about the historical context, in other words, what was happening in England during Hobbes’ lifetime?
- Why did Hobbes believe humans needed a strict and powerful government to control their actions?
John Locke
John Locke was another English philosopher of the 17th century (1632-1704). Although a contemporary of Thomas Hobbes, Locke held very different views about human nature and the role of government in society. In his book Two Treatises of Government, Locke argued that before human civilization when humans lived in nature there was a law of nature that governed human behavior. He believed that in this time humans understood that they should not harm others or their property. This is contrast to Hobbes’ view of the time of nature which he believed would have been dangerous and humans were wicked.
Furthermore, Locke also wrote about the social contract. However, his understanding of the social contract was very different from Hobbes. The primary source below will explain Locke’s perspective.
Download the handout below and read the four quotations from Locke’s book, Two Treatises of Government. This is a primary source, although I have edited some of the vocabulary to make it easier to read. You will have primary sources on the unit test and the midterm exam so this is valuable practice.
CISH Modern History 