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explain in brief the role of Revolutionary philosophers in bringing a change in French society

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The revolutionary philosophers played an important role in bringing a change in French society and creating the ground for the French Revolution.

1. Montesquieu proposed the division of power in the government between the legislature, executive and judiciary. This created strong public opinion against the autocratic monarchy of French.

2. Rousseau propagated the idea that government should be based on a social contract between the people and their representatives. Governments had to have popular legitimacy.

3. John Locke refuted the idea of divine right of the monarch and also made the case for the popular legitimacy of the government. 

Such philosophical ideas spread in French society through books and newspapers, and discussions in salons and coffee houses. The philosophers thereby contributed towards bringing change in France. 

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(i) The philosophers played an important role in the French Revolution. They inspired the common mass of France with their revolutionary ideas and prepared them to fight against injustices. 
(ii) They did not believe in the doctrine of the divine and absolute right of the monarch. In his Two Treatises of Government John Locke refuted this doctrine strongly. 
(iii) Rousseau carried the idea forward proposing a form of government based on a social contract between people and their representatives. 
(iv) In The Spirit of the Laws, Montesquieu proposed a division of power within the government between the legislative, the executive and the judiciary. 
(v) The ideas of these philosophers were discussed intensively in salons and coffee-houses and spread among people through books and newspapers. These were frequently read aloud in groups for the benefit of those who were illiterate. Thus, the philosophers contributed a lot in bringing of the French Revolution.

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