The social structure in France was a significant factor, especially with the inequity and the thoughts of the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was a period during which there were significant changes in thought, where there was increased questioning of the world around and movement away from blind acceptance of religion and tradition, towards science and reason. Jean Jacque Rousseau, the well-known French philosopher of the French Enlightenment, was an advocate of natural law, and held that men should be born free, and that no man should be able to force others into servitude, but observed tha...

• Word Count: 1720
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Karl Marx's father was educated in the anti-religious atmosphere of the late 18th century Enlightenment. ... Marx's ideas about human nature, and about how we know and function in the world came from traditions articulated by Hegel, Feuerbach, Kant, and other German philosophers (Worsley 31). ... The superstructure consists of all other kinds of social systems, including politics, religion, philosophy, science, etc. ...

• Word Count: 1215
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Baptized at the age of six, he was not greatly influenced by religion; rather, it was the radical social policies during the Enlightenment that influenced him greatly. The reason for this was partly because of his Jewish background, which exposed him to prejudice and discrimination, which caused him to question the role of religion in life, thereby fuelling his interest for a change in his society. ... In the middle Ages, alchemists strived to find, "The Philosopher's Stone- which is a fabled stone that had the capability of turning base metals into gold. ...

• Word Count: 1800
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

So prolific is he that his eponymous theories, Marxism, are still being employed by sociologists, philosophers, and economists alike to this day. ... Raised in a post-Enlightenment household, Marx was heavily influenced by the revolutionary period in history. ... Published in 1848, this book features various theories that have been concluded by both Marx, and his close friend, the philosopher Friedrich Engels. ...

• Word Count: 2958
• Approx Pages: 12
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate