Question

how did the writings of philosophers of the 17th and 18th centuries inspire the delegates attending the constitutional convention?

Answer 1

The writing of the philosophers of the 17th & 18th centuries inspire the delegates attending the constitutional convention by believing that that government should exist only by the consent of the government with the body of the framers of the constitution. 

Answer 2

I believe the answer is: Like these great thinkers, the framers of the constitution believed that gov. should exist only by the consent of the governed

.

Many of the philosophers in 17th and 18th century advocated the change of system of government from the monarch to the system where the citizens held the most control in society. Delegates attending the constitutional convention was inspired by these view and include some of the idea to the constitution.