Natural Law During The Enlightenment

1063 Words3 Pages

The Enlightenment was an intellectual period of the 17th and 18th century that changed how people viewed society. This period was based on the views of reason, scientific method, and progress (McKay, pg. 498). What molded the Enlightenment was a group of philosophers and their views on natural law. These philosophers and their beliefs on natural law would eventually shape how people thought and acted during the French Revolution.
Natural Law is a system of laws that are set on the basis of nature. This law served as a path for people to live their lives by. During the Enlightenment period, natural law was a base of many philosopher’s theories. Many of these theorist applied the idea of natural law to explain government. For example, one of …show more content…

The absence in the second phase had to do with a new political club called the Jacobins which was led by Maximilien Robespierre. The main of goal of the Jacobins was to continue the war against the autocracy (McKay, pg. 598). Driven by this goal, the Jacobins strongly believed that they had the general will of the people in their best interests. The Jacobins thought of themselves as an “instrument” to the general will in which they created an army, controlled production, limited speech, amongst many other things (Lecture, Week 5). While they thought they were doing what was best for the people, in reality they were actually limiting the people’s rights. To try and achieve their goal, the Jacobins set out their army to fight the opposing people. “Everywhere they went, French armies of occupation chased the princes, abolished feudalism, and found support among some peasants and middle-class people” (McKay, pg. 598). While fighting, the Jacobins took emergency measures that violated people’s rights. They felt they had the right to live off the people’s land, food, and supplies. This being said, the Jacobins turned their back on the Enlightenment ideas once again. By violating the people’s natural rights they created an economic and social crisis (Lecture, Week 5). In response, Robespierre created the Reign of Terror which eventually ended, like his leadership, in

Open Document