The Enlightenment

The Enlightenment, which spread through intellectual circles of Europe during the 18th century, was built on the intellectual ideas of the 17th century. The works of Newton and Locke were drawn on extensively. The thinkers of the Enlightenment felt that Newton's principles of natural laws could be applied to politics, economics, justice, religion, and the arts. John Locke's view that everyone was born with a blank mind and that knowledge came from the environment, not heredity, was another significant influence. While the Enlightenment was a worldwide movement, most of the important intellectual figures were French. The three most important were Montesquieu, Voltaire and Diderot. Montesquieu, who came from a noble family, published his work The Spirit of the Laws in 1748. Montesquieu put forth that there were three basic types of government: republics, which are suitable for small states; despotism, which are good for large states and monarchies, which were suitable for medium size states. Montesquieu believed that the separation of power between executive, legislative, and judicial parts of the state, as was done in England, was very successful. His principles were worked into the US constitution.
Voltaire, who grew up in a prosperous middle-class family, was well known for his belief in religious tolerance. Voltaire believed in a philosophy of deism. Voltaire thought that the universe was like a clock, and God was a clockmaker who created it and set it in motion.
DiderotDidertot's most significant contribution was his 28 volume collection of knowledge called the Encyclopedia, or Classified Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Trades.

The Enlightenment also included two other important thinkers, Adam Smith, who, in Publishing his famous book Wealth of Nations, founded modern economics, and Jean Jaque Rousseau. Rousseau's most famous work was The Social Contract posited that society as a whole agreed to be governed by the general will.