The Enlightenment Dbq

The 17th to 18th century was a time of new knowledge and reasoning that greatly affected society to this day. These two centuries were known as the Enlightenment Period or the Age of Reason. There were many people called philosophes or philosophers that believed in using reason, observation, and nature to come up with an unbiased answer. There were many philosophers during this time who believed in different things. Some main beliefs were: the right to govern, the right to education, and religious freedom would all greatly benefit society.
First of all, a philosopher named John Locke believed that the people had the right to choose their government and change it if they so pleased. “When the government is dissolved, the people are at the liberty to provide for themselves by erecting a new legislative…”(Doc A) This means that if the people did not feel like their government was providing and leading properly they could discard the previous government and start again. This would be highly beneficial because if the government failed they could not only get rid of it but prevent it before it became inadequate. This influenced todays society …show more content…
She felt that women were inferior to men based on their lack of knowledge and experience. “... women must be allowed to found their virtue on knowledge, which is scarcely possible unless they be educated by the same pursuits as men.” (Doc D) In other words, women cannot be happy without knowledge and their own experiences. Without education life is not filled with joy. This means that education is a basic right that everyone should be granted. Education is an important factor in a superior society. Women are roughly half the population meaning half the knowledge in the world was left unutilized. This influenced today’s women's rights laws. Without philosophers like Mary Wollstonecraft, women would not have the rights and freedoms they enjoy