Voltaire And Many Other Philosophes example essay topic

The philosophes were an intellectual group of the eighteenth century Enlightenment. They believed that by applying rational thought to all things such as religion, politics, economics, science, nature, medicine, etc. that even the simplest minded people could understand the workings of all things. Philosophes focused on improving the world and enjoying their lives rather than focusing on the afterlife. The main attitudes of the philosophes were that every human being was capable of thinking for himself, that he could understand the workings of all things by using reason, one of the philosophes favorite words and that there was an overall need for change. Everything in the world was subject to the rational, scientific way of thinking if only people would free themselves from the older traditions. In other words they wanted to change things for the better.

One man, Montesquieu, sought for change in government. He was a French noble who wanted a separation of powers because he wanted the nobility to play an active role in the running of the government. He believed that monarchies, like the French government, were an awful way to run the government. He praised the English system of checks and balances and he often pushed the envelope when hinting that the French government should decentralize its political power.

Even though many philosophes had different ideas on how to change things during the eighteenth century they all agreed on one thing, there was a definite need for change everywhere. Philosophes held the belief that Newton's scientific methods could be used to understand the natural laws that govern all of aspects of human life. The philosophes called this the "science of man" also known as the social sciences. Some philosophes doubted this so-called "science". A leader and strong believer during the Enlightenment in this area was David Hume. In his book, Treatise on Human Nature, he argued that if one used common sense to reflect and observe human nature and society that a "science of man" was conceivable.

Another social science that a major change in the way society viewed it was economics. The chief philosophe in this area was a Scot named Adam Smith, who outlined his views in The Wealth of Nations. Smith had three basic principles of economics. He believed that free trade was better than mercantilism with its high tariffs, that the labor of skilled craftsmen, farmers, etc was the true wealth of nation, not gold and silver, and that the government should not intervene in a country's economic affairs, known as laissez-faire, French for "let people do as they choose". Most philosophes agreed that by applying the scientific method to all aspects of the universe, nature, and society that they could understand the workings of these things. Religions were highly praised and highly criticized by philosophes.

There were a few hardcore believers, a few atheists but most philosophes practiced deism. Those who practiced deism believed that the world was a machine and God was a "mechanic" who created it and the universe. The man who championed deism was a man named Voltaire. Voltaire and many other philosophes believe that God had no direct involvement in the world and he had created and allowed to run by its own natural laws.

Voltaire was also a strong believer in religious tolerance. He spent two years in England that allowed him to view the benefits of tolerance and then criticizing the absolutist regime in France that oppressed freedom of religion and thought. There was also a group that was opposite of Voltaire's thinking. The group's main contributor was Denis Diderot who was an atheist. He led a brutal attack on Christianity and deemed it was "fanatical and unreasonable".

Christianity was still a dominant force in the eighteenth century, many philosophes remained Christians while they assaulted the Protestant and Catholic churches and many still let religion play and important part in their lives. The Enlightenment was a time for change and open expression of new ideas. It also was a time when implications of speaking out against old traditions were not sometimes thought about. If one spoke out against French absolutism such as Voltaire did and did not be careful of what they said they could be executed.

Also the philosophes of the Enlightenment were unaware of the implications their works would lead to in today's modern world such as Adam Smith's work with economics, Diderot's work with the Encyclopedia, and Montesquieu's work with politics. If these great philosophes had not stepped up and expressed their new ideas and influenced the new rational way of thinking our world could be a very different place today.