Narenae Moutafian & Bradley Brignac
Philosophy in the Enlightenment Era
Epistemology, Metaphysics, Logic, and Ethics
Four of the main ideas presented by the Philosophers at the time were epistemology, metaphysics, logic, and ethics. Epistemology is the theory of knowledge with regards to its method and scope. Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that deals with abstract concepts such as time, identity, cause, and knowing. Logic is reasoning based on validity. Ethics is a type of philosophy that involves systematizing and using the concepts of right and wrong.
Philosophers include:
Rene Descartes
-(1596-1650)
-doubted the first principle of methodology and created an agenda for it.
John Locke
-(1632-1704)
-most influential man in the Enlightenment
-"Father of Liberalism"
-said that the mind, at birth, was blank. He referred to this as tabula rasa
Thomas Hobbes
-(1588-1679)
-founder of modern political philosophy and political science.