More Freedom After the Enlightenment

The enlightenment was an influential era that occurred in the mid 17th to 18th century,
that revolutionized philosophical, political and overall ideals of the society. It marks the period
where human thought began to shift from the uniform ideals of the church and knowledge
provided by only those in high power, to the independent use of rational thought and methodical
observation. Because of the advancement in the way the public thought, the enlightenment
granted people with more freedom than they previously possessed.
Before the enlightenment, the Catholic church held the majority of the power in Europe.
They created indulgences which were sold to provide pardon for people's sins and grant
salvation. People essentially would do exactly as the church said to do because they were never
granted the freedom to think independently without guidance from the church. Humanists
questioned the churchs religious authority, extolling the idea that individuals should be able to
think freely rather than the beliefs of the church. This was known as the reformation, when
Protestants rebelled against the Catholic Church.
A german monk named Martin Luther, played a major role in the history of religion by
challenging the catholic church. He believed that the traditions of the church were unnecessary,
such as selling indulgences, because he thought that to rid of your sins you need only to have
faith and do good, rather than paying them off. He created the ninety-five theses which he posted
on the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany in 1571. It was created to bring awareness to
the things that he believed the church was doing wrong, however it also lead others questioning
of church practices and the fundamental beliefs of the catholic faith. In the long run he helped
free people from the control of the church and allowed them to have their own beliefs on
religion. He also made religion more easily accessible by translating the Bible into german;
which in turn allowed religious views to spread out further in the world and allowed people to
interpret religious views for themselves instead of only following the doctrines of the church.
The ideas brought forth by John Locke helped to pave the way for other thinkers to bring
forth their own thoughts. He introduced empiricism, which is the theory that all knowledge is
derived from our own experiences. He believed that the purpose of government was to protect

peoples natural rights, and that among free people there should be life, liberty and property. He
said the foundation of government was a social contract among free people, meaning a
government can make and enforce laws, in trade for protection of the peoples natural rights. This
ideology differs from feudalism, a system in which everyone serves to those with higher
authority than themselves. The divine right of kings is a doctrine that states God selected a king
to rule, and that questioning that kings authority would be also questioning God. Rousseau
challenged this theory in his writing The Social Contract, saying that a king receives his power
from the general public rather than God; and therefore they could also strip them of their power.
Following these enlightenment philosophies, it is clearly shown that the ways of acquiring power
through a social contract with the people is a much more beneficial way to society as a whole,
and grants human rights to more people than a feudal system ever could.
Two political philosophers who made large impacts on modern day beliefs were Thomas
Hobbes and Montesquieu. Hobbes stated that humans are naturally cruel, selfish and greedy, and
are constantly driven by the desire for something greater than they have. These may seem like
harsh statements, but Hobbes ideas were looked at with a scientific approach and concluded
with observation and reasoning. He said that because people are greedy by nature, the decisions
they make will not benefit the whole society. This reasoning strongly relates to our government
today because in order to have everyone's ideas considered, decisions need to be made as a
collective group. The division of power between the three branches of government was in fact
devised by Montesquieu in the early 1700s. This form of government helps to protect political
liberty, and allows everyone to have freedom of opinion regarding government and laws.
In the 1700s agriculture grew and people wanted to be able to produce more product with
less effort. Cash crops such as tobacco and cotton were grown with the help of slaves and
indentured servants, which fueled society's economy. Although slavery is a terrible part of our
history, it was one sacrifice which without, our world would not be nearly as progressed as it is
today. Because of human nature, people want to progress and seek what is beyond what they
have. Human nature is reasoning for Christopher Columbus searching for land in what is now
America, and reasoning for slavery in the early colonies in order to progress society and wealth.

Capitalism grew from feudalism in 1800s. The free market economy was created over time to
allow individuals to buy and sell products without the interference from the government or
monopolies. This allowed people to sell goods with mutual consent at fair prices, and allowed
both buyer and seller to prosper from their deal. The free market provided people with
opportunities to trade and sell with others along their own prices.
Ren Descartes said, "I think, therefor I am", a statement which captures the the main
idea of the enlightenment that revolutionized thought throughout the world. When people used
logic and reasoning, they were able to create their own basis of knowledge, which they could
then use to make their own judgement rather than only relying on the guidance of those in higher
power. It wasnt until they were thinking for themselves that they were using their freedom to its
full capacity. If philosophers hadnt questioned religious constitutions and prior knowledge, then
the period improvement in society would be obliterated. The age of enlightenment granted
people with freedom of speech, religion, and opinion, among many other rights. Therefor, there
was more freedom after the enlightenment because people were able to openly express their
ideas and didnt feel constraint from the church or other higher authorities to do things other than
what they believe.