... revolution. Voltaire, a philosopher, social critic, and probably the most influential of the philosophes, championed reason, justice and human dignity. He was a prolific and popular writer, the author of numerous stories, essays, poems, plays and pamphlets that castigated, often satirically, the "relics" of the established medieval social order, particularly the clergy - he greatly criticised organised religion - and the aristocracy. His scathing wit ... theorist, considered one of the founders of modern democratic tradition, or modern totalitarian tradition, depending on the way you loo...

• Word Count: 2412
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... govern everything (Natural Laws), happiness of mankind (anyone who lived by the natural laws received it), progress in society, and liberty (society could be set free). Through out this period came great Enlightenment thinkers like John Locke and Voltaire. John Locke, the earliest Enlightenment thinker, was born in England in 1632. ... Declaration of the Rights of Man. This was so because in his writing of "Two Treaties on Government- it was stated that people were born free with natural rights-life, liberty, and property. If the government or king were to fail that, the people had the ri...

• Word Count: 420
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... of a hierarchy system was still imposed. Ergo, it wouldn't be hard to say that enlightenment could have been a key factor in the development of a secularized society. Upon reading the memoranda, essays, and letters from Catherine the Great, King Empress Maria Theresa, and Frederick the Great I believe that a certain degree of enlightenment has taken place. Although, each ruling despot at this time ... did admire the ideas of the enlightenment and what concepts of modernization enlightenment brought forth. Therefore, they have not fully understood that enlightenment was supposed to be th...

• Word Count: 922
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate