Traits of the Age of Enlightenment - Research Paper Example

? The Age of Enlightenment in Europe began around the year 1650 and lasted for nearly 150 years. This time period saw a flowering of thought and philosophy that placed logic and reason at the center of human activity. It differed greatly from Renaissance and the thinking of the Middle Ages in that is questioned the role of organized religion and the dealings of god with humanity. New ideas about economics, politics, science, religion and mathematics were the end result of this time period. Something as difficult to define as “enlightenment” is also difficult to place within the confines of a set period of time. There was no one historical event that launched the Age of Enlightenment, nor is there an easily identifiable event that brought the Age of Enlightenment to a close. What best defines this age is the collection of philosophers and mathematicians that brought these new ideas into being. Some of the most famous of these philosophers were John Locke, David Hume, Adam Smith, Montesquieu and Voltaire. The Age of Enlightenment had thinkers from many of the major powers in Europe such as Germany, Spain, Russia, Poland, England and Scotland. These Enlightenment thinkers, though not Americans, had a profound influence on American history. It is through the writings of these philosophers of the Enlightenment that lead the Founding Fathers of the United States to place such emphasis on personal freedom, property rights, a balance of powers in government and republicanism. The very best way to see the influence the Age of Enlightenment has on American history is to examine some of the thoughts of the leading philosophers and then trace how they influenced the foundational documents of the United States. Of all the Enlightenment thinkers, John Locke was perhaps the most influential over the American revolutionaries. Locke was an Englishman, the son of a lawyer and well educated at some of the finest schools. He studies medicine because he grew tired of studying the classical philosophers. As many philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment, he sought to apply reason and empiricism to a broad variety of topics. As a result, Locke wrote influential essays on government, religion, the nature of individuality, monetary policy and property. John Locke believed that individuals were important. This is a foundation belief of liberalism, so many view Locke as the Father of Liberalism. He said that people come into the world as a blank slate. He rejected notions that people were inherently sinful and should therefore be indebted to god and the Church their entire lives. He also rejected the idea that people were born knowing good from evil and right from wrong (Meyers, Cawelti and Kern, 1967). This belief in the impressionability of the individual led Locke to conclude that social institutions provided by governments were very important. Schools, libraries, and prisons all served their purpose in sustaining a civil society. Locke held that the natural state of humanity was one where the strongest could rule over the weak through brute force. A civil society was developed, nurtured and encouraged by just social institutions. This was the purpose of government. Any government that did not allow for the development of the individual self would never truly achieve the civil society, which was Locke’s ideal. He believed that certain conditions needed to be established by the government that would allow for the individual to develop a strong sense of self. Their sense of self would in turn, produce a citizenry that was responsive and active in the government. The relationship between citizens and the government were based upon something Locke referred to as the social contract. In essence, the social contract says that individuals willingly give up some of their freedom in order to organize a government that places some restrictions on activities. The contract between government and citizens includes the understanding that government should only exist to serve the people in a manner that will help humanity move from a natural state towards as civil society. If the government is not doing this and is abusing the population, then Locke believed that revolution was in order so that a civil society could be established. The government through oppression or the citizens through illegal activities could break the social contract. Locke held that at no time should the government infringe on certain rights that all people hold such as the right to defend his own, “life, health, liberty or possessions, (Berlin, 1984). The connection between the foundation documents of the United States and the writings of Locke are clear. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson clearly was inspired by Locke to include, “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” as inalienable rights of all mankind. The idea of a social contract also can be seen in the structure of the American republic. Great pains are taken to provide a system of checks and balances that will guard against tyranny and oppression as understood by the Founding Fathers. The belief in individuality and liberty, and the necessity for the protection of such from the government are both key elements in the United States Constitution as well as the writings of Locke. Another very influential philosopher of the Enlightenment that influenced American history is David Hume. Scottish by birth, David Hume earned his reputation as a leading thinker of the Enlightenment and developed as reputation for being a very personable and fun person to be around. He attracted many followers and was held in high regard by all of the other philosophers of his day. The greatest influence Hume had upon the writers of the United States Constitution were in writing about his religious beliefs and his writings on liberty. Thomas Jefferson actually disagreed vehemently with some of Hume’s writings because he had a decidedly Tory slant to many of his thoughts. In regards to freedom, he felt that the ideal situation would be annual elections of local leaders sent to advise the monarch, which would hold limited power. This did not mesh well with Jefferson’s anti-Tory beliefs. Hume was irreligious, and as such advocated a strong separation of church and state as well as a system of checks and balances aimed at keeping the clergy out of government (McKay, Hill and Buckler, 1992). Many of the authors and signers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were Deists. They did not have a problem with Hume’s criticism of Christianity, but did want to recognize that they believed in a God, even if it was not the God put forward by the mainstream Protestant and Catholic Church at the time. Hume’s stance towards organized religion was mirrored in the Bill of Rights. Freedom of religion was established, which he advocated, but no official State religion would prevail, with which he also agreed. David Hume was far from being the only influential Scottish philosopher to contribute to the formation of the American Republic. Adam Smith was a Scot whose ideas about economics and the necessity for economic freedom influenced the formation of the United States Constitution. Smith’s ideas about property and the ability to labor and get gain are similar to Locke’s. They both held that owning property was an inalienable right and that anything that prevented this would hurt society as a whole. Adam Smith developed this idea even further by writing the first treatise on economics. The Wealth of Nations was Smith’s most famous book. In it, he described how millions of economic choices made by millions of individuals each day all work together for the good of society if the choices are made based wholly on rationality and freewill. Adam Smith described how an “invisible hand” would guide the choices of individual economic actors into goodness and prosperity for the whole. This idea resonated with the founding Fathers because they were men of property and they wanted to establish a nation where property rights were respected and that commerce between private individuals had little or nothing to do with the government. The idea that “invisible hand” capitalism is somehow written into the Constitution of the United States is disputed by many (Christie, 2010). The Constitution has been described as advocating no specific economic theory or practice, and the fact that regulation of commerce by the government began immediately after the ratification of the Constitution would seem to indicate that the influence of Adam Smith and his writings are really minimal in reality. While the Constitution does not say anything about “invisible hand” capitalism, it is clear that this concept has been adopted and added through amendments over the years. While it is clear that the United States is far from an “invisible hand” capitalistic society, the fact cannot be denied that many in the government and many citizens still hold this form of unfettered capitalism as the ideal. Locke and the social contract would argue that some constraint should be place don economic liberty if the result is going to be detrimental to the society as a while. According to the contract, government has the responsibility to intervene in the event of catastrophic environmental practices. The current state of the economy in the United States could easily be described as bound to Locke’s social contract, yet striving for the “invisible hand” of Smith. The United States is a nation founded on the ideas and ideals developed during The Age of Enlightenment. Reason and empiricism replaced superstition and the power of organized religion. The flowering of thought, especially in the sphere of politics and government had a profound effect on the history of the United States of America. Many of the founding Fathers were influenced in everything from their beliefs about liberty and freedom, to their beliefs about God and property by the men who wrote during this remarkable period of time. The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, Common Sense and the Federalist Papers all have strains of thought borrowed from the likes of Locke, Hume and Smith. These were far from the only influences upon the writers of the founding documents of America, but they are the three that most clearly have a connection to the establishment of such ideas as a separation of church and state, personal property rights, a balance of powers in the government and economic liberty. Without the influence of Locke, Hume and Smith, the revolution in the American colonies may still have occurred, but the philosophical underpinnings and the inspiration that fomented the revolution would have been very different. The thinkers and writers associated with the Age of Enlightenment profoundly influenced the writers of the foundation documents for the United States of America. Works Cited Berlin, Isaiah. The Age of Enlightenment; the 18th Century Philosophers, Selected, with Introd. and Interpretive Commentary. [New York]: New American Library, 1956. Print. Christie, Mark C. "Economic Regulation in the United States: The Constitutional Framework." University of Richmond Law Review 40.3 (2006). Print. McKay, John P., Bennett D. Hill, and John Buckler. A History of World Societies. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1992. Print. Meyers, Marvin, John G. . Cawelti, and Alexander Carl Kern. Sources of the American Republic. [Glenview, Ill.]: Scott, Foresman, 1967. Print. Read More