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Rene Descartes
Descartes argued the theory of innate knowledge and that all humans were born with knowledge through the higher power of God. -
Thomas Hobbes
Without governments
to keep order, Hobbes said, there would be “war of every
man against every man.” In this state of nature, as
Hobbes called it, life would be “solitary, poor, nasty,
brutish, and short.” -
John Locke
According to Locke, all people are born free and equal, with three natural rights—
life, liberty, and property. The purpose of government, said Locke, is to protect these
rights. If a government fails to do so, citizens have a right to overthrow it. -
Voltaire
Although he made powerful enemies, Voltaire never stopped fighting for tolerance,
reason, freedom of religious belief, and freedom of speech. He used his quill pen as if it were a deadly weapon in a thinker’s war against humanity’s worst enemies—intoler-
ance, prejudice, and superstition. Such attitudes were, he said, l’infâme—infamous or evil things. He often ended his letters with a fighting slogan, “Écrasez l’infâme!”
(ay•crah•ZAY lahn•FAM). The phrase meant “Crush the evil thing!” -
Montesquieu
Montesquieu proposed that separation of powers would keep any
individual or group from gaining total control of the government. “Power,” he wrote,
“should be a check to power.” Each branch of government would serve as a check on
the other two. This idea later would be called “checks and balances.” -
Rousseau
Rousseau believed that the only good government was one that was freely formed
by the people and guided by the “general will” of society—a direct democracy. Under
such a government, people agree to give up some of their freedom in favor of the
common good. -
Beccaria
cruel. He argued that a person accused of a crime should
receive a speedy trial, and that torture should never be used. Moreover, he said, the
degree of punishment should be based on the seriousness of the crime. He also
believed that capital punishment should be abolished. -
Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft
argued that women deserved the
same rights as men. “Let women
share the rights and she will
emulate [imitate] the virtues of
men; for she must grow more
perfect when emancipated,” she
wrote. The key to gaining equality
and freedom, she argued, was
better education.
