Newton and Locke: Foundations of the Enlightenment (The Philosophes: Thinkers of the Enlightenment)

https://www.tomrichey.net/enlightenment.html

In this first segment of my lecture on the philosophes (Enlightenment thinkers), I note the contributions of John Locke and Isaac Newton in laying the foundations for the Enlightenment. Although Locke and Newton lived before the Enlightenment, the philosophes relied heavily on their ideas. John Locke's social contract, which asserted that governments exist to protect individual liberty, was foundational for those who sought to advance freedom of thought in the eighteenth century. Isaac Newton's laws of physics, which outlined a rational universe governed by natural law, became popular with philosophes like Voltaire who wished to apply scientific principles to religion and society.

Although Newton and Locke had come and gone by the time the Enlightenment hit Europe in full-swing, they gave the movement a starting point and a foundation that it would have otherwise lacked.

The entire lecture is available on this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfzs_X6OQBOznlWfKoL84BT5CML_RRomY

Видео Newton and Locke: Foundations of the Enlightenment (The Philosophes: Thinkers of the Enlightenment) канала Tom Richey