What was the role of the philosophers in the French Revolution?
Answer:
Ideas of having a society based on freedom and equal laws and opportunities for all were put forward by the French philosophers.
John Locke: Locke wrote, ‘Two Treatises of Government’. In this book, he criticised the divine and absolute rights of the rulers.
John Jacques Rousseau: Rousseau had written his viewpoints in his book, ‘The Social
Contract’. He had put forward the idea of formation of a government based on a social contract between people and their representatives.
Montesquieu: His ideas were proposed in his book, ‘The Spirit of the Laws’. According to him, there should be a division of power between the three important organs—the legislature, the executive and the judiciary.
The ideas of these philosophers were discussed by common people in salons and coffee houses and inspired them to fight for their rights.