Essay/Term paper: Enlightenment: the light bulb of the 1700's

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Philosophy Essays

Enlightenment: The Light Bulb of the 1700's


Throughout history many people have changed society with their ideas and
actions. Two philosophers whose ideas and actions changed society are Voltaire
and John Lock. Martin Luther and Galileo also changed society.
John Lock and Voltaire both fought for basic human rights. Voltaire
fought for basic religious freedom. He claimed that if god created the Catholic
religion and god loves all people, then why does the Catholic religion have the
right to torment other religions. As a result of this, Voltaire was exiled.
John Lock also fought for human rights. He thought that government should
protect the people. John Locke and Voltaire both spoke against a major power.
Voltaire spoke against the church while Locke spoke against the government. Thus,
change began occurring in both the church and government. John Locke and
Voltaire changed society, because now people were beginning to challenge
authority. John Locke influenced Thomas Jefferson because Thomas Jefferson
believed in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Martin Luther and Galileo both disagreed with certain things that the
church believed in. Martin Luther said that the only way to atone for your sins
were through prayer and contrition. In his 95 Thesis he established that
salvation is within oneself and that individual faith in God is very important .
But the church did not see it that way. The church believed that the only way to
atone for your sins were through indulgences. Indulgences were paying for the
removal of your sins. Martin Luther was later excommunicated from the church.
Galileo also disagreed with certain things that the church believed in. Galileo
proved Aristotle's theory wrong about gravity. One night during dinner, Galileo
picked up two pieces of fruit of unequal size. He then dropped them and
established that they dropped at the same rate. The church had believed
Aristotle's theory. Aristotle said that the two pieces of fruit of unequal size
would drop at different rates. Although his theory might have been correct, he
never proved it. As a result of this, Galileo was put on trial. Both Martin
Luther and Galileo spoke against the church. They changed and influenced the
future of society because now people began speaking against the church or a
major authority.
So, as you can see from this essay, the thoughts of John Lock and
Voltaire are very similar to those of Martin Luther and Galileo. All four of
these people spoke against a major power.