Objectives: 1. To understand the intellectual background of the French Revolution of 1789. 2. To study the philosophical views of various French philosophers, especially those related to the state and society. 3. To review the contribution of the Encyclopedists and Physiocrats to the understanding of the conditions prior to the French Revolution of 1789. 2.1. Introduction: In addition to the economic and social difficulties, the Ancient Regime was undermined intellectually by the apostles of the Enlightenment. The philosophers were extremely critical of the Ancient Regime. In their writings, the French philosophers discredited the old order and generated optimism about the future. The philosophers introduced ideas such as constitutional monarchy, republicanism, popular sovereignty, and social equality and influenced the course of the Revolution. Voltaire attacked the church and absolutism; Montesquieu made English constitutionalism fashionable ...
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