Joe Jones

The Impact of the Philosophes

The philosophes believed that reason could be applied to all aspects of life, just as Isaac Newton had applied reason to science. Five important concepts eventually formed the core of their philosophy: Reason, Nature, Happiness, Progress, and Liberty

One of the most brilliant and influential of the philosophes was Voltaire. He published more than 70 books on politics, essays, philosophy, history, fiction, and drama. Voltaire never stopped fighting for tolerance, reason, freedom of religious belief, and freedom of speech. Many of his beliefs were adopted into the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights.

Another influential philosophe was the Baron de Montesquieu. He devoted himself to the study of political liberty. Montesquieu studied the history of ancient Rome, and concluded that Rome’s collapse was directly related to its loss of political liberties. Because of its balance of power between three groups of officials, he believed Britain was the best-governed country of his day. The British king and his ministers held executive power, they carried out the laws of the state. The members of Parliament held legislative, or law making power. The Judges of each applied to a specific case. Montesquieu called this the separation of powers. Even though he oversimplified how exactly it all worked, his book, On the Spirit of Laws, greatly influenced how America’s government would work. So much so that checks and balances became the basis for the United States Constitution.

A third philosophe that was a huge influence is Jean Jacques Rousseau. He was very passionately committed to individual freedom. He worked as an engraver, music teacher, tutor, and secretary. Eventually, Rousseau made his way to paris and won recognition as a writer of essays. Although strange and controversial, Rousseau was