Science, Politics, Economics, and Religion
in the Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and
Eighteenth Centuries
Session 2: The Enlightenment Thinkers

Materials

• Copies or summaries of the following: Two Treatises on Government, Spirit of the Laws, and The Social Contract
• Copies of the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution

Instructional Activities

NOTE: The following Web resources may be helpful in teaching this session:
•    “John Locke.”
<http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/philosophers/locke.html>.
•    “Montesquieu: The Spirit of the Laws, 1748.”
<http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/montesquieu-spirit.html>.
•    “Jean-Jacques Rousseau.”
<http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ENLIGHT/ROUSSEAU.HTM>.
•    A brief biographical sketch of Voltaire, presented by Lucidcafe.
<http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7308/>.

1. Review content from previous sessions.
   
   
2. Review the following beliefs of Enlightenment thinkers:
   •    All the world runs by natural laws, such as the law of supply and demand in economics.
   •    The scientific method is used to find these natural laws.
   •    All people can be educated.
   •    Sovereignty rests with the people.
   •    Government should ensure separation of church and state.
   •    Government is whatever the people want; then a contract is made whereby government protects natural rights of life, liberty, and property.
   
   
3. Ensure that students know John Locke's role in influencing Enlightenment thinkers. Explain that Locke believed in the “contract theory of government” and held that sovereignty rests with the people. He opposed absolutism. Refer to his book, Two Treatises on Government.
   
   
4. Discuss other Enlightenment thinkers to include the following:
   •    Montesquieu—He wrote Spirit of the Laws, and called for separation of powers.
   •    Rousseau—He wrote The Social Contract, where he discussed majority rule and his belief that the government is a contract between the people and the government.
   •    Voltaire—He suggested religious toleration and believed in separation of church and state.
   
   
5. Have students find places in the Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution that were influenced by the Enlightenment thinkers. NOTE: The Constitutional Society provides free copies of these documents on the Web at <http://www.constitution.org/cs_found.htm>.