Showing posts with label Enlightenment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Enlightenment. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Day 9: Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu and Rousseau

Absolutism
A widely held view that monarchs should have total or absolute power over people’s lives. Absolutism is rooted in the belief of the divine right of kings, that is to say that kings and queens get their power to rule from God.

Natural law
Nature is controlled by a universal system of rules.  Examples include physics and biology.  Enlightened thinkers believed that human behavior and man-made systems also followed natural law. Examples include politics and economics.


    Montesquieu
Baron de Montesquieu was an important 18th century political philosopher and writer. In 1748 he wrote The Spirit of Laws. He believed in a separation of powers to avoid tyranny.

   Rousseau
Rousseau was a political philosopher who wrote The Social Contract in 1762. He believed in the idea of popular sovereignty, the idea of the people of a country creating and agreeing to abide by the general (popular) will.

    John Locke
John Locke was a political philosopher who published Two Treatises of Government in 1690. He argued that humans have the natural rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of property and governments have the responsibility to protect those rights.

Hobbes and Locke

Write a one page essay siding with either Hobbes or Locke and your reasons for the choice you made. 

Philosophes Philosophy

1.  Human society is governed by natural laws.

2. These natural laws can be discovered by rational men.

3. Human society can turn from traditional, authoritative forms, and progress toward a more perfect government through rational thought.

Read Rousseau and Montesquieu and cite each passage where one of the three tenets of Philosophes philosophy  is used.   Cite the passage. 

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Day 8: The Enlightenment

Focus:   Identifying the basics of the Enlightenment and the key philosophies.  






Task:   Complete the following research on the Enlightenment thinkers.

Click Here for the Assignment

Monday, January 30, 2012

Day 7: The Scientific Revolution

FOCUS:  Discuss the 18th century shirt toward a modern worldview.   


Scientific Revolution

Create a Google Doc and answer the following questions.  When you are completed please share your document with me.

1 List 5 achievements of Galileo





2 Define heliocentric

3 The diagram below shows Copernicus’ view of the solar system; what planets was he unaware of ?




  1. What was the geocentric theory ; why did the Church support this theory  
  2. Explain the source of Galileo’s clash with the Church
  3. http://www.nada.kth.se/~fred/tycho.html
  4. List the astronomical achievements of Brahe



In your own words, explain how Kepler described the orbits of the planets. You may also use the table below to formulate your explanation