The Enlightenment themes were reason, progress and natural laws. From my perspective, John Locke's theory of tabula rasa, or blank slate, was one of the most controversial of all. Before he had let that idea out to the public, the traditional belief was that when one was born, he/she already knew right from wrong and had common sense. But once Locke publicized his thoughts, some people were upset and others were opened to the new ideas.
Other controversial ideas were the general themes of the Enlightenment Era, themselves. During the Pre-Enlightenment Era, beliefs were based on faith, supernatural laws and tradition. Obviously the change was controversial in and of itself. The philosophes brought new ideas and possibilities into the world, and it made some question their original views on life and made others, such as the church, hate the philosophes. The three main philosophes were Montesquieu, Voltaire and Diderot.
The philosophes impacted the lives of the europeans so vastly, that some of the ideas were carried on into modern-day belief systems.
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