This video begins a three-part series on the French Revolution. The over-arching thesis is that the French Revolution was a religious crusade, and it was made successful by the contributions of three geniuses. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was the Poet of the Revolution who dreamed of a better world based on Reason. Maximilien De Robespierre was the Prophet who had the courage and conviction to lead his people into this new world. Napoleon Bonaparte was the Prince who had the skill and resolve to conquer this new world, and make the world bend to his vision. In this first talk, we examine the major thinkers of the Enlightenment (mainly Descartes, Kant, and Rousseau), and how their ideas and arguments would underpin and drive the French Revolution. References: 1. Meditations on First Philosophy by Descartes 2. Faust by Goethe 3. "What is Enlightenment?" by Kant 4. Emile by Rousseau 5. Discourse on the Origins of Inequality by Rousseau 6. The Social Contract by Rousseau