Enlightenment
There were many political concepts during the Enlightenment. Some of the major proponents of these concepts were the philosophes, who popularized the new ideas for the general reading public. These proponents of the Enlightenment shared certain basic attitudes. They considered the state the proper and rational instrument of progress.
Some of the main figures of the enlightenment were Montesquieu, Voltaire,and Rousseau. Political philosophers attempted to extricate themselves through two different, contradictory approaches: "natural law" or "the Divine Right of Kings." According to natural law political thinkers, there were immutable natural laws which should govern states and their relations to their citizens and to other states. According to the doctrine of the Divine Right of Kings, certain kings ruled because they were specifically chosen by God to be kings. The precursors of the Enlightenment can be traced to the 17th century and earlier. They include the......
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Approximate Word Count: 668
Approximate Pages: 3 (260 words per double-spaced page) |