Untitled Essay, Research Paper

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.