Enlightenment Political Philosophies: HippoCampus

Here are the notes from today. If you don't have these or you were absent (DANIELLE) you need to copy these. They will be turned in once we are finished with all the questions. 
http://www.hippocampus.org/homework-help/American-Government/Constitutional%20Beginnings_Enlightenment%20Political%20Philosophies.html
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Enlightenment Political Philosophies

1)          Explain the Age of Reason (also known as the enlightenment) (1650 – 1800)

The Enlightenment, Age of Reason established the idea that the natural world is best understood through close observation and reason. (In the past they just looked at scripture

2)          What did the following philosophers write and explain their philosophies:

o   Thomas Hobbes

HOBBES WROTE:

§  The Leviathan in1651, which described his belief that in nature, people would be in a constant state of conflict and insecurity, looking out only for themselves and their interests. His theory suggested that government is necessary to give people peace and security.

HOBBES BELIEVED:

§  Thomas Hobbes believed that people were insecure and greedy. We need government to keep us in our place. He believed the relationship

o   John Locke

                       LOCKED WROTE: Two Treatises of Government in 1690

§The Two Treatises of Government: rejected the claim that kings and queens had a "divine right" to rule.

LOCKE BELIEVED:

§He rejected the divine right. Government rules with the consent of the people. He believed that if we give government the power to rule us. If government becomes too oppressive then we have the right to rebel.

§Locke believed instead that governments were created among naturally free people as social contracts and that rulers derived their authority from the consent of the governed. He argued that the government must act for the good of everyone and that people had the right to rebel if it failed to protect their "self-evident" natural rights of life, liberty, and property.

§Locke held that people have certain natural or "self-evident" rights, such as life, liberty, and property, which the government must respect. He understood that a government with great power might be tempted to abuse its power. To avoid this temptation, Locke proposed that government should be divided into different branches, each branch having only the power needed to fulfill its function.

§John Locke states that when government becomes oppressive people have the right to rebel.

                                                                        Example: you see that all over the world. People who have controlling government, people are protesting

§Thomas Jefferson incorporated many of them into the Declaration of Independence. Locke's ideas about limited, democratic government, the right to rebel, and the opportunity to pursue natural rights clearly influenced Jefferson then and continue to influence government workings today.

o   Jean-Jacques Rousseau (French political philosopher)

ROUSSEAU WROTE: The Social Contract, 1743

ROUSSEAU BELIEVED:

§  Rousseau believed that in nature, people would languish. That people are so focused on survival and protecting themselves and their things that their lives would never be fulfilling. He argued that living in a society provides people the security and freedom to develop new skills, which in turn strengthened the society and led to growth.

§  Rousseau also believed that people have a social responsibility and civic duty to be involved in their governance.

Example: This idea of social responsibility is evident in the United States. At the local level, communities have citizens' police advisory boards and school boards, and at the international level are the Peace Corps and the Red Cross.