How far were the ideas of the Philosophers responsible for the outbreak of the French Revolution?

During this time, people also began to realise that science was the answer for many unexplainable questions and began to criticise the biased views of the Church that so many had believed for endless years. As science advanced as the years past, many philosophers found out new concepts that had never been spoken of before. The idea that the earth was round and not flat was one of the first major debates put forward, as it not only question the Catholic’s views but also shocked those who dared not question such topics and believed they were ‘set in stone’. Along with this, philosophers such as John Locke believed that all people were born equal with ‘natural rights’ of life, liberty, and property with disagreed with the idea of God giving everyone a set path that they must live, and rather that science affected the population and the way they evolved and led their lives. Diderot also brought forward new ideology in his book called the L’Encylopèdie which not only showed knowledge and insight of the past but also offered new ones of the philosophers.

For many years, the ideas of divine right were accepted and strongly enforced, however the concepts of Montesquieu discredited this, and said that absolutism was not the way forward, and that the people should be able to support whom they desired. He also wished that the government was split into three branches, that would offer complete balance of the country and that the country was not to be ruled by one man who was to be completely depended upon just because he was ‘chosen by God’. This theory was to be proven later by the actions of King Louis XVI who failed to run the country and keep the people under control, under the enlightened ideas, this disproves divine right, as God had not picked a strong King to bring France to glory. Locke’s ideas also, in addition, spoke about how he believed that people should be able to overthrow the authority if it did not ensure the people’s rights properly.

The Italian philosopher, Beccaria spread his theories that harsh punishments to the majority of crimes did not help in anyway and that it was more appropriate to have punishments set on the severity and nature of the crime committed, rather than brutal punishments for all. He believed that this would mean people would be less likely to want to commit an offence again, but also to punish them dependent on the crime, as he did not believe, for example, that it was fair to have someone executed for stealing in the same way a convicted murderer would be. Hobbes also noted this is some of his work, stating that people must be controlled otherwise they will act in a manner that is similar to animals and that the government must have a strong hold over its governing populous. This did not agree with conventional ideas of the time as most agreed that God was to choose the punishment in most cases and that harsh punishment would deter others from the same crime.

Finally, at the time these ideas were spreading, the French economy was in tatters from excessive spending in unnecessary areas which could have been better spent on the people. Adam Smith and Rousseau particularly supported the idea that the government should have less control over the economy and that it should naturally balance itself out and recover eventually, this appeals to others as they were only led to believing in inflated prices and high taxes imposed and set by the government and the Church. The philosophers strongly disagreed with the idea of class separation and how the third estate were taxed at a ridiculous way, compared to those who were exempt from such, like the Churchmen and the Nobles. They believed people should be made more equal and social reform should occur for the economy to recover and boom again.

Overall, I believe that the philosophers played a huge role in the beginning of the French Revolution as their ideas provoked thought and completely disagreed with nearly everything the Church stood for. It brought new ideas which excited the people of France and led them to realise their narrow views and the evident need for social reform for France to move forward as a country. Many people had turned away from the monarchy and believed it was no longer efficient in running the country alone. Criticisms of the poverty of the third estate and the status of the Bourgeoisie led the young population to accept and indulge themselves in the new ideas that the philosophers began to uncover.