The Park at Stourhead

John Locke, 1632-1704, was an important English philosopher, whose political views greatly influenced the development of the enlightenment. In his writings, he asserted that government rests on the consent of the governed and that revolution is permissible when government subverts the natural rights (life, liberty and property) of the people.The ideas of John Locke, combined with the empirical and scientific thought developed by 17th century humanists and scientists influenced the French philosophes.Voltaire moved in aristocratic circles, and was one of the most influencial philosphe. He opposed primogeniture and dogma, but he did not believe, nor did he promote democracy. He believed that educated citizens should govern, that church and state should remain separate, and believed in freedom of religion.

Interestingly, it was among those very idle aristocrats that the French Enlightenment philosophers were to find some of their earliest and most enthusiastic followers. Despite the fact that the Church and State were more often than not allied with each other, they were keenly aware of their differences. Even kings could on occasion be attracted by arguments which seemed to undermine the authority of the Church. The fact that the aristocrats were utterly unaware of the precariousness of their position also made them overconfident, interested in dabbling in the new ideas partly simply because they were new and exciting. Voltaire moved easily in these aristocratic circles, dining at their tables, taking a titled mistress, corresponding with monarchs. He opposed tyranny and dogma, but he had no notion of reinventing that discredited Athenian folly, democracy. He had far too little faith in the ordinary person for that. What he did think was that educated and sophisticated persons could be brought to see through the exercise of their reason that the world could and should be greatly improved.

Voltaire's main adversary was Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who distrusted civilization and the arts. He believed that people's emotions and sense of the spiritual were what made humanity good, and societies were better off when they were closer to nature. Whereas Voltaire argued that equality was impossible, Rousseau argued that inequality was not only unnatural, but that--when taken too far--it made decent government impossible, and he argued for democracy. While Voltaire charmed with his wit, Rousseau insisted on correctness.Voltaire insisted on the supremacy of the intellect, and Rousseau emphasized the emotions, becoming a contributor to both the Enlightenment and its attendant cultural movement: romanticism. Both Voltaire and Rousseau rejected absolute monarchy and orthodox Christianity. The faith both shared was called "deism," which transformed the relations between people, governments and religion in Western society.

13th Century, Saint Thomas Aquinas, who used to it defend the dogmas of Christianity; and for the next couple of centuries, other thinkers pursued these goals to shore up every aspect of faith with logic. These thinkers were sometimes called "schoolmen" (more formally, "scholastics,") and Voltaire frequently refers to them as "doctors," by which he means "doctors of theology."

In the 14th and 15th century there emerged in Italy and France a group of thinkers known as the "humanists." The term did not then have the anti-religious associations it has in contemporary political debate. Almost all of them were practicing Catholics. They argued that the proper worship of God involved admiration of his creation, and in particular of that crown of creation: humanity. By celebrating the human race and its capacities they argued they were worshipping God more appropriately than gloomy priests and monks who harped on original sin and continuously called upon people to confess and humble themselves before the Almighty.