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Thomas Hobbes 1
“(1651). The horrors of the English Civil War convinced him that all humans were naturally selfish and wicked” (Black and Beck 551). Throughout his life, Hobbes believed that the only true and correct form of government was the absolute monarchy. He argued this most forcefully in his work, Leviathan. This belief came from the central ideas of Hobbes' natural philosophy that human beings are, at their core, selfish creatures. -
Thomas Hobbes 2
Thomas Hobbes left an everlasting influence on political thought. His idea of people being selfish and brutal and his thoughts on the role of government led to more investigations such as by John Locke. After the Revolution, his ideas also influenced federalists in arguments to adopt the Constitution. -
John Locke 2
It's like when your parents tell you if a certain “friend” starts becoming a bad influence of not being respectful to you, you have the ability to remove them from your life. John Locke changed and influenced the world in many ways. His political ideas like those in the Two Treatises of Government, (such as civil, natural, and property rights and the job of the government to protect these rights), were put into the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. -
Mary Astell
Mary Astell is widely known today as an early feminist pioneer, but not so well known as a philosophical thinker. Her feminist reputation rests largely on her impassioned plea to establish an all-female college in England, an idea first put forward in her Serious Proposal to the Ladies -
John Locke 1
"The philosopher John Locke...believed that people could learn from experience and improve themselves." (Black and Beck 551) Locke was challenging new ways of thinking with his ideas of the people's rights, to change the form of government, and whether or not their natural rights were being protected. The three natural rights Locke believed in were life, liberty, and property. Locke believed the monarchy form of government would not protect the people's three natural rights. -
François Marie Arouet aka Voltaire 1
Voltaire advocated freedom of speech. “‘I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.’” (Black and Beck 552). Voltaire was a French philosopher and writer of the Age of Enlightenment. His intelligence, wit, and style made him one of France's greatest writers and philosophers, despite the controversy he attracted. -
François Marie Arouet aka Voltaire 2
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 weapon in a “war” against humanity’s worst enemies intolerance, prejudice, and superstition. -
Jean Jacques Rousseau 1
Rousseau was passionately committed to individual freedom. “‘Man is born free,
and everywhere he is in chains.’” (Black and Beck 553) In the earliest times, according to Rousseau, people had lived as free and equal individuals in a
primitive “state of nature.” As people became civilized, however, the strongest among them forced everyone else to obey unjust laws. Making freedom and equality nonexistent. -
Jean Jacques Rousseau 2
Rousseau had a major impact on modern governments through the advancement of the philosophy of social contract. Through his work, he was able to transform mostly government institutions into democratic institutions based on individual freedoms -
Cesare Bonesana Beccaria 1
Beccaria turned his thoughts to the justice system. He believed that “laws existed to preserve social order, not to avenge crimes” (Black and Beck 554). Beccaria believed that people have a rational manner and apply it toward making choices that will help them achieve their own personal gratification. Beccaria was one of the most important influences upon American attitudes toward criminal justice. -
Cesare Bonesana Beccaria 2
Beccaria emphasized individual dignity within the criminal justice system. He stood against the use of torture and capital punishment. -
Baron De Montesquieu 1
"Like Voltaire, Montesquieu believed...in which power was balanced among three groups of officials...executive power...legislative…(and) judicial power." (Black and Beck 553). Montesquieu's idea was that not only one person should not have all the power and final say. Instead, he wanted a balanced, separated power among executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Like when in a group project, one person should not have the only say in the group, it should be a group effort. -
Baron De Montesquieu 2
Montesquieu's views and studies of governments led to him believing that government corruption was probable if a system of government didn't include the balance of powers. He created the idea of separating government authority into the three major branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. -
Mary Wollstonecraft 1
‘“If absolute sovereignty be not necessary in a state, how comes it to be so in a family? . . . If all men are born free, how is it that all women are born slaves?” She disagreed with Rousseau that women’s education should be secondary to men’s. Rather, she argued that women, like men, need education to become virtuous and useful. Even if they are to be mothers, education will make them better mothers. -
Mary Wollstonecraft 2
Wollstonecraft also believed that women not only should be able to be nurses but also should be able to become doctors. She also argued for women’s right to participate in politics. Her influence went beyond the contribution to feminism she is mostly remembered for and extended to changing the art of travel writing and, she had an impact on women everywhere.
