“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty
and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights,
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers
from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of
Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of
the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new
Government, laying its foundation on such principles and
organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most
likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” In two sentences,
Thomas Jefferson distilled two centuries of Enlightenment
Philosophy. The truths of which he speaks are, according to
Jefferson, so fundamental and not needing explanation as to be
self-evident. It is self-evident that there is a “Creator” It is
self-evident that humans are endowed by that Creator with
unalienable rights, meaning that man cannot