A History of Modern Europe - From the Renaissance to the Present

Enlightened Ideas 313

influence of the Scientific Revolution; the second, the “high Enlighten­
ment,” begins with the publication of The Spirit of Laws (1748) by Charles­
Louis de Montesquieu and ends in 1778 with the deaths of Francis-Marie
Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau; and the third, the late Enlightenment,
influenced by Rousseau’s work, marks a shift from an emphasis on human
reason to a greater preoccupation with the emotions and passions of
mankind. This final stage also features new ideas relating the concept of
freedom to the working of economies, best represented by the thought
of Adam Smith. At this time, too, several monarchs applied the philosophies’
principle that rulers should work for the good of their subjects. But these
experiments in “enlightened absolutism” were most noteworthy for rulers’
organizing their states more effectively, further enhancing their authority.
This third period also brought the popular diffusion of the lesser works of
would-be philosophes seeking to capitalize on an expanding literary mar­
ket. These works, too, were influential in undermining respect for the
authority of the monarchy of France and thus indirectly contributed to the
French Revolution.

Enlightened Ideas

The philosophes espoused views of nature, mankind, society, government,

and the intrinsic value of freedom that challenged some of the most fun­

damental tenets Europeans had held for centuries. Slavery, for example,

violated the principle of human freedom. The implications of Enlighten­

ment thought were revolutionary, because the philosophes argued that

progress had been constrained by social and political institutions that did

not reflect humanity’s natural goodness and capacity for material and moral

improvement. Although many philosophes saw no or little incompatibility

between science and religion, they were skeptical of received truths passed

down from generation to generation. Thus, they challenged the doctrinal

authority of the established churches and launched a crusade for the secu­

larization of political institutions.

It is to the Enlightenment that we trace the origins of many of our mod­

ern political beliefs: the idea that people should be ruled by law, not rulers;

the belief that a separation of powers ought to exist within government to

prevent the accumulation of too much power in a few hands; the concept

of popular sovereignty (legal authority should be wholly or at least partly

based in the people, reflecting their interests, if not their consent); and the

assumption that it is the responsibility of rulers to look after the welfare of

the people. The consequences of such modern views of sovereignty, politi­

cal rights, and the organization of states would be seen in the French Rev­

olution and the era of liberalism in the nineteenth century.