Western Philosophy 18th-century philosophy
Montesquieu in 1728
Name	Charles Montesquieu
Birth	before January 18, 1689 (Chateau de la Brede, Labrede, Bordeaux, France)
Death	February 10, 1755 (Paris, France)
School/tradition	Enlightenment
Main interests	Political Philosophy
Notable ideas	Separation of state powers: executive; legislative; judicial, Classification of systems of government based on their principles
Influenced by	Aristotle, Thomas Hobbes, Rene Descartes, Nicolas Malebranche, John Locke, 18th century English constitution
Influenced	David Hume, Edmund Burke, Georg Hegel, Alexis de Tocqueville, Émile Durkheim, U. The Age of Enlightenment or The Enlightenment is a term used to describe a phase in Western philosophy and cultural life centered upon the eighteenth century Events 350 - Generallus Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans and proclaims himself Emperor ( Gascon: Bordèu) is a port city in southwest France, with one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area at a 2008 estimate This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Events 1355 - The St Scholastica's Day riot breaks out in Oxford, England, leaving 63 scholars and perhaps 30 locals dead Year 1755 ( MDCCLV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Age of Enlightenment or The Enlightenment is a term used to describe a phase in Western philosophy and cultural life centered upon the eighteenth century Political philosophy is the study of questions about the City, Government, Politics, Liberty, Justice, Property, Rights In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation In Law, the judiciary or judicial system is the system of Courts which administer Justice in the name of the sovereign or State Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. Thomas Hobbes (born 5 April 1588died 4 December 1679 was an English philosopher, whose famous 1651 book Leviathan established the foundation "Malebranche" redirects here For the fictional demons see Malebolge. John Locke (29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704 was an English Philosopher. David Hume (26 April 1711 25 August 1776 Scottish Philosopher, Economist, and Historian is an important figure in Western philosophy Edmund Burke ( 12 January, 1729 9 July, 1797) was an Irish statesman author orator Political theorist, and Émile Durkheim ( April 15, 1858 – November 15, 1917) was a French Sociologist whose contributions were instrumental S. A. political system and constitution, Hannah Arendt, Thomas Paine, Rousseau

Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (January 18, 1689 in Bordeaux – February 10, 1755), was a French social commentator and political thinker who lived during the Era of the Enlightenment. Events 350 - Generallus Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans and proclaims himself Emperor ( Gascon: Bordèu) is a port city in southwest France, with one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area at a 2008 estimate Events 1355 - The St Scholastica's Day riot breaks out in Oxford, England, leaving 63 scholars and perhaps 30 locals dead Year 1755 ( MDCCLV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Political philosophy is the study of questions about the City, Government, Politics, Liberty, Justice, Property, Rights The Age of Enlightenment or The Enlightenment is a term used to describe a phase in Western philosophy and cultural life centered upon the eighteenth century He is famous for his articulation of the theory of separation of powers, taken for granted in modern discussions of government and implemented in many constitutions throughout the world. Separation of powers, a term ascribed to French Enlightenment Political philosopher Baron de Montesquieu, is a model for the Governance For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. A constitution is a system for government often Codified as a written document that establishes the rules and principles of an autonomous political entity He was largely responsible for the popularization of the terms feudalism and Byzantine Empire. Feudalism, a term first used in the early modern period (17th century in its most classic sense refers to a Medieval Europe Political system composed

Contents 1 Biography 2 Political views 3 Notes 4 Further reading 5 List of works 6 See also 7 External links

Biography

After having studied at the Catholic College of Juilly, he married. Catholic is an Adjective derived from the Greek adjective '' / 'katholikos' meaning "whole" or "complete". The College of Juilly ( French: Collège de Juilly &mdash in modern French collège means High school and not College) is a Catholic His wife, Jeanne de Latrigue, a Protestant, brought him a substantial dowry when he was 26. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. A dowry (also known as trousseau or tocher) is the money goods or estate that a woman brings to her soon to be husband in marriage The next year, he inherited a fortune upon the death of his uncle, as well as the title Baron de Montesquieu and Président à Mortier in the Parlement of Bordeaux. Charles-Louis de Secondat baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (Eng The office of président à mortier was one of the most important legal posts of the French Ancien régime. This article is for the Ancien Régime institution For the post-Revolutionary and present-day institution see French Parliament. By that time, England had declared itself a constitutional monarchy in the wake of its Glorious Revolution (1688–89), and had joined with Scotland in the Union of 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A constitutional monarchy, or a limited monarchy, is a form of Constitutional Government, wherein either an elected or hereditary Monarch is The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, was the overthrow of King James II of England (VII of Scotland in 1688 by a union Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. The Acts of Union were a pair of Parliamentary Acts passed during 1706 and 1707 by the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland to put into The Kingdom of Great Britain, also known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain, was a State in northwest Europe, in existence from 1707 to 1800 In 1715 the long-reigning King Louis XIV died and was succeeded by the weaker and more feeble Louis XV. Early years Birth and ancestry Louis XIV was born in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye on September 5 1638 and bore the Heir apparent Louis XV (15 February 1710 &ndash 10 May 1774 ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774 These national transformations impacted Montesquieu greatly; he would later refer to them repeatedly in his work.

Soon afterwards he achieved literary success with the publication of his Lettres persanes (Persian Letters, 1721), a satire based on the imaginary correspondence of an Persian visitor to Paris, pointing out the absurdities of contemporary society. Persian Letters ( Lettres persanes) is a satirical work by Charles de Secondat baron de Montesquieu, recounting the experiences of Satire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and Performing arts In satire human Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city He next published Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur des Romains et de leur décadence (Considerations on the Causes of the Grandeur and Decadence of the Romans, 1734), considered by some scholars a transition from The Persian Letters to his master work. De l'Esprit des Lois (The Spirit of the Laws) was originally published anonymously in 1748 and quickly rose to a position of enormous influence. The Spirit of Laws (French De l'esprit des lois) is a Treatise on Political theory first published anonymously by Charles de Secondat In France, it met with an unfriendly reception from both supporters and opponents of the regime. The Roman Catholic Church banned l'Esprit – along with many of Montesquieu's other works – in 1751 and included it on the papacy's notorious Index. The Index Librorum Prohibitorum ("List of Prohibited Books" was a list of publications prohibited by the Roman Catholic Church. It received the highest praise from the rest of Europe, especially Britain.

Montesquieu was also highly regarded in the British colonies in America as a champion of British liberty (though not of American independence). British North America consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary Political scientist Donald Lutz found that Montesquieu was the most frequently quoted authority on government and politics in colonial pre-revolutionary British America. Political science is a branch of Social sciences that deals with the theory and practice of Politics and the description and analysis of Political systems ^[1] Following the American secession, Montesquieu's work remained a powerful influence on many of the American Founders, most notably James Madison of Virginia, the "Father of the Constitution. Secession (derived from the Latin term secessio is the act of withdrawing from an organization union or especially a political entity The United States of America —commonly referred to as the James Madison Jr (March 16 1751 – June 28 1836 was an American Politician, the fourth President of the United States (1809–1817 and one of the Founding The Commonwealth of Virginia ( is an American state The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme Law of the United States. " Montesquieu's philosophy that "government should be set up so that no man need be afraid of another" reminded Madison and others that a free and stable foundation for their new national government required a clearly defined and balanced separation of powers.

Besides composing additional works on society and politics, Montesquieu traveled for a number of years through Europe including Austria and Hungary, spending a year in Italy and 18 months in England before resettling in France. Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. He was troubled by poor eyesight, and was completely blind by the time he died from a high fever in 1755. Blindness is the condition of lacking Visual perception due to Physiological or Neurological factors He was buried in L'église Saint-Sulpice in Paris, France. Saint-Sulpice may mean The saints Sulpicius Severus (c 360 - c

Political views

Montesquieu's most influential work divided French society into three classes (or trias politica, a term he coined): the monarchy, the aristocracy, and the commons. Separation of powers, a term ascribed to French Enlightenment Political philosopher Baron de Montesquieu, is a model for the Governance A monarchy is a Form of government in which supreme power is actually or nominally lodged in an individual who is the Head of state, often for life or Aristocracy is a form of Government, where rule is established through an internal struggle over who has the most status and influence over society and internal relations Common land (a common) is a piece of land owned by one person but over which other people can exercise certain traditional rights such as allowing their livestock to graze Montesquieu saw two types of governmental power existing: the sovereign and the administrative. A Gold Sovereign is a Gold coin first issued in 1489 for Henry VII of England and still in production as of 2008 In Business, administration consists of the performance or management of business operations and thus the making or implementing of major decisions The administrative powers were the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation In Law, the judiciary or judicial system is the system of Courts which administer Justice in the name of the sovereign or State These should be separate from and dependent upon each other so that the influence of any one power would not be able to exceed that of the other two, either singly or in combination. This was radical because it completely eliminated the three Estates structure of the French Monarchy: the clergy, the aristocracy, and the people at large represented by the Estates-General, thereby erasing the last vestige of a feudalistic structure. The Estates of the realm were the broad divisions of society usually distinguishing Nobility, Clergy, and Commoners recognized in the Middle Ages Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given Religion. In France under the Ancien Regime, the States-General or Estates-General (French états généraux) was a Legislative assembly Feudalism, a term first used in the early modern period (17th century in its most classic sense refers to a Medieval Europe Political system composed

Likewise, there were three main forms of government, each supported by a social "principle": monarchies (free governments headed by a hereditary figure, e. A monarchy is a Form of government in which supreme power is actually or nominally lodged in an individual who is the Head of state, often for life or g. king, queen, emperor), which rely on the principle of honor; republics (free governments headed by popularly elected leaders), which rely on the principle of virtue; and despotisms (enslaved governments headed by dictators), which rely on fear. A republic is a State or Country that is not led by a hereditary Monarch, but in which the people (or at least a part of its people have impact on its Despotism is a Form of government by a single authority either an individual or tightly knit group, which rules with absolute political power A dictator is an Authoritarian ruler (eg Absolutist or autocratic) who assumes sole and absolute power without hereditary ascension such as an Absolute The free governments are dependent on fragile constitutional arrangements. Montesquieu devotes four chapters of The Spirit of the Laws to a discussion of England, a contemporary free government, where liberty was sustained by a balance of powers. Montesquieu worried that in France the intermediate powers (i. e. , the nobility) which moderated the power of the prince were being eroded.

Like many of his generation, Montesquieu held a number of views that might today be judged controversial. While he endorsed the idea that a woman could head a government, he held that she could not be effective as the head of a family. He firmly accepted the role of a hereditary aristocracy and the value of primogeniture. Primogeniture is the Common law right of the Firstborn son to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings His views have also been abused by modern revisionists; for instance, even though Montesquieu was ahead of his time as an ardent opponent of slavery, he has been quoted out of context in attempts to show he supported it. For the critical reexamination of historical facts see Historical revisionism. As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another

One of his more exotic ideas, outlined in The Spirit of the Laws and hinted at in Persian Letters, is the meteorological climate theory, which holds that climate may substantially influence the nature of man and his society. The Spirit of Laws (French De l'esprit des lois) is a Treatise on Political theory first published anonymously by Charles de Secondat Meteorology (from Greek grc μετέωρος metéōros, "high in the sky" and grc -λογία -logia) is the Interdisciplinary Climate encompasses the temperatures humidity rainfall atmospheric particle count and numerous other meteorogical factors in a given region over long periods of He goes so far as to assert that certain climates are superior to others, the temperate climate of France being ideal. His view is that people living in very warm countries are "too hot-tempered," while those in northern countries are "icy" or "stiff. " The climate of middle Europe is therefore optimal. On this point, Montesquieu may well have been influenced by a similar pronouncement in The Histories of Herodotus, where he makes a distinction between the 'ideal' temperate climate of Greece as opposed to the overly cold climate of Scythia and the overly warm climate of Egypt. This was a common belief at the time, and can also be found within the medial writings of Herodotus' times, including the 'On Airs, Waters, Places' of the Hippocratic corpus. One can find a similar statement in Germania by Tacitus, one of Montesquieu's favorite authors. The Germania ( Latin title De Origine et situ Germanorum, English for the Origin and Situation of the Germans) written by Gaius Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (ca 56 &ndash ca 117 was a senator and a Historian of the Roman Empire. In a different perspective Louis Althusser, in his analysis of Montesquieu's work ^[2], has pointed out the seminal character of the inclusion of material factors, such as climate, in the explanation of social dynamics and political forms

Notes

1. ^ "The Relative Influence of European Writers on Late Eighteenth-Century American Political Thought," American Political Science Review 78,1(March, 1984), 189-197. Louis Pierre Althusser (Pronunciation altuˡseʁ ( October 16, 1918 – October 22, 1990) was a Marxist philosopher.
2. ^ L. Althusser, Politics and History: Montesquieu, Rousseau, Marx, NLB, 1972.

Further reading

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• Pangle, Thomas, Montesquieu’s Philosophy of Liberalism (Chicago: 1989 rpt. This article is a general introduction to French literature For detailed information on French literature in specific historic periods see the separate historical articles in the Medieval French literature is for the purpose of this article Literature written in Oïl languages (particularly Old French and early Middle For more information on historical developments in this period see Renaissance, History of France, and Early Modern France. French literature of the 17th century &mdashthe so-called Grand Siècle &mdashspans the reigns of Henry IV of France, the Regency of Marie de Medici French literature of the 18th century usually refers to the literature written between 1715, the year of the death of King Louis XIV of France, and 1798 the year French literature of the nineteenth century is for the purpose of this article literature written in French from (roughly 1799 to 1900 French literature of the twentieth century is for the purpose of this article literature written in French from (roughly 1895 to 1990 Contemporary French literature is French literature roughly from the 1990s to Today. Chronological list of French language authors (regardless of nationality by date of birth ; 1973).
• Person, James Jr. , ed. “Montesquieu” (excerpts from chap. 8) in Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800, (Gale Publishing: 1988), vol. 7, pp. 350-52.
• Shackleton, Robert. Montesquieu; a Critical Biography. (Oxford: 1961).
• Schaub, Diana J. Erotic Liberalism: Women and Revolution in Montesquieu's 'Persian Letters'. (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1995).
• Spurlin, Paul M. Montesquieu in America, 1760-1801 (New York: Octagon Books, 1961).

List of works

• Les causes de l'écho (The Causes of an Echo)
• Les glandes rénales (The Renal Glands)
• La cause de la pesanteur des corps (The Cause of Gravity of Bodies)
• La damnation éternelle des païens (The Eternal Damnation of the Pagans, 1711)
• Système des Idées (System of Ideas, 1716)
• Lettres persanes (Persian Letters, 1721)
• Le Temple de Gnide (The Temple of Gnide, a novel; 1724)
• Arsace et Isménie ((The True History of) Arsace and Isménie, a novel; 1730)
• Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur des Romains et de leur décadence (Considerations on the Causes of the Grandeur and Decadence of the Romans, 1734)
• De l'esprit des lois ((On) The Spirit of the Laws, 1748)
• La défense de «L'Esprit des lois» (In Defence of "The Spirit of the Laws", 1748)
• Pensées suivies de Spicilège (Thoughts after Spicilège)

See also

• Liberalism
• Contributions to liberal theory
• French Government
• Napoleon

External links

• Free full-text works online
• Montesquieu in The Catholic Encyclopedia. Persian Letters ( Lettres persanes) is a satirical work by Charles de Secondat baron de Montesquieu, recounting the experiences of The Spirit of Laws (French De l'esprit des lois) is a Treatise on Political theory first published anonymously by Charles de Secondat Liberalism is a broad array of related ideas and theories of Government that consider individual Liberty to be the most important political goal This is a partial list of individual contributions to liberal political theory on a worldwide scale The government of France is a Semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of the fifth Republic, in which the nation declares Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe.
• Montesquieu in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
• Timeline of Montesquieu's Life

Preceded by Louis de Sacy

Seat 2 Académie française 1728–1755

Succeeded by Jean-Baptiste de Vivien de Châteaubrun

This is a list of members of the Académie française (French Academy by seat number L'Académie française, or the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. Year 1728 ( MDCCXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Year 1755 ( MDCCLV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or Jean-Baptiste Vivien de Châteaubrun (1686 Angoulême - Feb 16 1775, Angoulême was a French Playwright and a member of the

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