Which two figures were major influences on the Age of Enlightenment due to their emphasis on human reason?

• A. John Locke and Isaac Newton
• B. Francis Bacon and Rene Descartes
• C. Thomas Hobbes and Voltaire
• D. Adam Smith and Montesquieu

Answer: (A)

Reason as a tool for understanding and improving the world is what the Enlightenment centers on. John Locke contributes to this by arguing that knowledge comes from experience and that individuals have natural rights and a voice in government, with reason guiding political legitimacy and social contracts. Isaac Newton provides the scientific counterpoint: complex phenomena operate under universal, discoverable laws that can be revealed through careful reasoning, mathematics, and systematic observation. Together, their ideas show how rational inquiry can illuminate both how we govern ourselves and how the natural world works, informing widespread hopes for progress, reform, and intellectual independence in the period.

Other pairings touch on similar themes, but Locke and Newton best illustrate the era’s broad reliance on reason to shape both politics and science.