PHIL2634 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Liberal Democracy, Scientific Method, Divine Right Of Kings
Document Summary
This lecture explores the ideas of two of the most important early modern thinkers on government, hobbes and locke. Locke was interpreted as the champion of liberal democracy and hobbes as its authoritarian enemy. By the 1600s the ideas of plato and aristotle were well-known again; a great deal of ancient history and philosophy had been recovered. However, christendom was no more democratic" than it had been in the medieval world. Monarchies however were now vastly richer, more powerful, and technologically capable than they had been (even if they remained weak by modern standards). The age of globalisation had begun; europeans were now aware of the. The spanish and portuguese had seized control in the south; the french and english were planting colonies in the north. Both hobbes and locke had colonial financial interests. In this period, a new scientific understanding was beginning to shake the foundations of the medieval world-view.
