The Philosophes influence on the Enlightenment The Enlightenment was a time period when certain people began to question absolute monarchy and where reason and scientific methods were applied to all aspects of life during the 17th and 18th centuries. The Enlightenment thinkers called philosophes were intellectuals who popularized the ideas of the Enlightenment. The American Revolution (1775-1783) and the French Revolution (1789-1815) were direct causes of the Enlightenment. The ideas of John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, …showed first 75 words of 1152 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1152 total…against their government. Locke influenced the revolutions with his writings; Rousseau influenced his followers, and Montesquieu through idea of separation of power. Enlightenment values were included in the Constitution of the United States and the one in France. The published works of Enlightenment thinkers opened their eyes and influenced them to revolt against the government. The philosophes led the people to see they could change their government and gave them the justification for doing so.