HIS109Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 19: Persian Letters, Montesquieu
Document Summary
November 19/2012: de montesquieu (1689-1755, diderot (1713-1784, d"alembert. Voltaire had good critiques and appealed to reason but did not provide a practical alternative to the regime. Montesquieu (politician, baron, feudal lord) was engaged in the movement against absolutism. He tried to undo some of louis xiv"s principles. He was an elitist who thought nobles should offset the power of the king, although others should share some of this power too. He wrote persian letters (commenting on french institutions) that helped to establish a new genre of literature: foreign observations. He then wrote the spirit of laws which is one of the foundations of the enlightenment. He decided he would talk about the elements of society rather than abstract concepts. The constitution he says is a result of social conditions and reflects what people want. People are largely determined by the laws that govern them so there must be a mechanism for change/development.
