History 1401E Lecture 1: Enlightened Absolutism
1 Apr 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
However, it did fuel the desire for change. Europe was not a static, sterile society it"s too easy to think of pre-modern. Europe had weaknesses, areas of stagnation, but also plenty of vitality. Philosophers introduced key ideas in the enlightenment, found explanations to be quite human rather than god-given. Looked back at historical record, the idea that history is not something that is given, but something that we create. Philosophers looked at other countries as they discovered the rest of the world, found a range of ideas and living standards (some worse, some better) The idea of representation the link between idea and structure. Enlightened political thought: thomas hobbes (1588-1679): leviathan (1651) Introduced the idea of a strong absolutism to maintain order. Argued an absolute monarchy not because that"s the why god wants it, but because that"s the way it would work best for us: john locke (1632-1704): two treatises of government (1690)
