Dbq Essay On The Enlightenment

It is often said that significant change requires big thoughts, ideas, and suggestions. In the late seventeenth and eighteenth century, there was a period of many of these substantial changes. A group of men and women intellectuals called philosophes were hopeful in discovering new ways to understand and improve society, investing a variety of areas from science to religion. Many believed that if they paid close attention to nature and their surroundings, this could highly benefit society and could be applied to activities such as government and economics. Another belief was that reason was a great way to discover the truth, which is also why the Enlightenment period was called the age of reason. The philosophes closely examined and sought …show more content…
John Locke contended that individual freedom was highly important in order to succeed in a suitable government. In “Of the State of Nature” and “Of the Dissolution of Government,” Locke stated that men and women are by nature independent and free, and have the absolute right to take care and maintain this freedom. (Document A). In order to take good care of the government, there would need to be two branches: a legislative and executive branch. Locke argued that a government that had been created by free individuals was more successful to preserve it, versus a monarchy. John Locke grew up in a time when in his …show more content…
At a time when the common people were not allowed to make decisions that could benefit the economy, Adam Smith stated that individual decision-making is crucial in order to maintain and support an economic system. When people have the right to freely pursue their own economic interests, the country will benefit (Document C). The country benefits because of what Adam Smith mentioned, which was an “invisible hand.” This invisible hand causes the sum of self-interest to result in the best possible interest for the state. Again, individual freedom is shown to be a key factor in improving