Editor's Choice
What Enlightenment ideals were reflected in the French Revolution?
Quick answer:
The French Revolution reflected Enlightenment ideals by prioritizing reason, equality, and individual political power. It centralized government, replacing the irrational administrative structure of the ancien regime with rationally organized départements. Enlightenment thinkers like Locke, Voltaire, and Rousseau advocated for minimal repression and control over political destinies, ideals embraced by revolutionaries. Furthermore, the Enlightenment's emphasis on equality challenged the hierarchical society, promoting the notion that social superiority lacked rational justification.
The governing ideal of the Enlightenment project was reason. It permeated all aspects of Enlightenment thought. Even the most cursory glance at the political system of the ancien regime, however, revealed that there was precious little that was rational about the existing arrangements. For one thing, France was divided up into a patchwork of administrative units, each with its own individual tax privileges. Among other things, this meant that the French state was unable to count on a regular supply of revenue for its needs. Add to this the fact that the first two estates, the clergy and the aristocracy, didn't pay any taxes at all, and it's no surprise that pre-Revolutionary France had been brought to the brink of bankruptcy.
The French Revolution put into practice the ideas of the Enlightenment by centralizing the French system of government. The nation was also divided up into new administrative units...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
calleddépartements, which made it easier for the new regime to exercise political authority as well as collect taxes. The organic state of the ancien regime had been replaced by a machinery of government constructed on the basis of Enlightenment principles, a system that has remained largely intact ever since.
Specific Enlightenment ideals can be seen in the French Revolution's most basic call for change. The Enlightenment's conception of humanity was one in which there should be as little repression and limitations as possible. Such an ideal made the call to rebel against the French monarchy understood. The repression of the lower classes by those in the position of power flew in the face of Enlightenment ideals and understanding. It is here where one of the most basic Enlightenment ideals was evident. Linked to this is the Enlightenment ideal that individuals should be able to exercise power over their own political destinies. Embedded in the works of Locke, Voltaire, and Rousseau was a demand and call for individuals to be able to possess some level of control over their own political destinies. This was denied by the French monarchy, and helped to fuel the call for change. This Enlightenment ideal was embraced by the French Revolution believers and advocates. Finally, the scientific principle of equality and the notion that there is nothing rooted in rational thought that places one person over another is an Enlightenment ideal that found a home in the French Revolution. The Enlightenment stressed the basic equality from a scientific point of view, arguing that superiority are human constructs not rooted in scientific analysis. This becomes a major point of the French Revolution, a call for equality that was heard and understood by all as justifying the dismantling of a political order where inequality was embedded within it.