1. Montesquieu (1689-1755). Montesquieu was a famous and great philosopher of his time. He was vehementely opposed to the Divine Right Theory of Kingship and was in favour of the blemishes of the monarchial system. His ideas gave impetus to the revolutionary sentiments.
Montesquieu initiated a philosophic movement, a chain of criticism which were to strike at the root of ancient regime in France. He stood for the constitutional form of government. He believed in the supremacy of law and the separation of the three organs of the government. His book “The Spirit of Laws” awakened the French society and created the atmosphere for the revolution.
2. Voltaire (1694-1778). Voltaire attacked the vices of. the society, the church and the blind faith. He gave the church the name of an ‘Infamous Thing’. He instigated the people to ask for reform.
Voltaire attacked the traditions, beliefs and abuses in verse, prose, history, drama and romance. The church in France was the main target of his attack. He declared, “Since we are all steeped in errors and follies we must forgive each other, worship God and be a good man.”
3. Rousseau (1712-1778). Rousseau gave his ideas in his book ‘The Social Contract’. He propounded that the people are the real masters of the state and the king rules with their consent. Thus under the influence of the writings of Rousseau, the people of France began to agitate for a revolution. Somebody has rightly said, “But for Rousseau, there had been no French Revolution.”
He declared that all political organizations were tyrannical and open to abuses. “Man was born free but he was everywhere in chains.” He propounded the idea of the sovereignty of the people.
4. Other Philosophers. Besides these, there were other philosophers such as Diderot, Quesnay, etc. who fanned flames of new ideas.
