The ideals of liberty and equality, that were needed to overthrow Louis XVI, emerged first from the writings of important and influential thinkers of the Age of Enlightenment. Specifically, the writings of John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Baron de Montesquieu greatly influenced the revolutionaries in France.

He believed that the government should be based on the consent if the governed . He wrote a book known as ” Social Contract” . (7) Thus the ideas of the philosophers were a direct attack on privileges and feudal rights which protected the upper classes. They played a vital role in bringing about the revolution.

They helped rouse the people from inactivity and instilled in them a desire to root out social inequalities and set up a government responsive to their need. They played a vital role in focusing the discontent and bringing about the Revolution.

The philosophes (French for ‘philosophers’) were writers, intellectuals and scientists who shaped the French Enlightenment during the 18th century. The best known philosophes were Baron de Montesquieu, Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Denis Diderot.

Among them were Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu and Diderot. Their revolutionary ideas encouraged people to fight for their rights. They exposed the inefficiency of the monarch and his government and aroused the people to challenge authority.

Answer. Philosophers such as Voltaire , Diderot and Rousseau inspired the people to rise against all forms of inequality, injustice and corruption. They preached that real power rested with the people , and , therefore , a king should rule according to the will of the people.