Enlightenment 1/2 Flashcards
What was the Enlightenment?
An eighteenth century movement of intellectuals who were greatly impressed by the achievements of the Scientific Revolution
How did these intellectuals want to use reasoning?
To improve their society
What did Locke believe?
Knowledge is gained through senses and experiences, not inherited
What were the intellectuals of the Enlightenment called?
Philosophie
What did the philosophie do?
Apply reason to improve society
What did Baron de Montesquieu do?
He used the scientific method to find the natural laws that governed the social and political relationships of human beings.
What were Baron de Montesquieu’s views on government?
He thought that the best form of government was within the legislative, executive, and judicial powers. The separation of powers ensured that no group had more power than the other.
What document did Baron de Montesquieu’s system of government affect?
The U.S. Constitution
Baron de Montesquieu thought that a _______ with limited powers makes a country stable and secure.
monarchy
Baron de Montesquieu thought that people chose to live in a society due to the ______ __ ___.
fear of war
Baron de Montesquieu thought that everybody should live ____ and _____ under the law.
free, equal
Voltaire believed that social progress could be achieved through ______ and that no _______ should be immune to challenge by reason.
reason, authority
Voltaire wrote treaties on ______, ______, and _________. He also wrote more the 50 _____ and several books on history.
science, politics, philosophy, plays
What did Voltaire advocate for?
Freedom of speech, religion, and a separation of church and the state
What did Voltaire emphasize?
Tolerance, especially religious
Voltaire thought that a ______ where the _____ respected the rights of the people was the best type of government.
monarchy, king
Denis Diderot believe that man had no right to _______ others.
command
Denis Diderot stated that everybody deserves to enjoy _______.
liberty
Denis Diderot believed that any ______ or ______ should be under control and not overly demanding.
monarch, ruler
Denis Diderot believed that European governments had acquired their powers by using ________ and that those oppressed needed to _______ for their ________.
violence, fight, rights
What was Denis Diderot against?
Slavery
Adam Smith believed that the state should not interfere in __________ matters.
economic
What were the three roles Adam Smith gave to the government?
- protect citizens from invasion
- defend citizens from injustice
- public works, such as roads and canals
What is laissez-faire?
Letting the economy be free and not imposing restrictions
Rousseau believed that every man was born ______.
free
Rousseau believed that anyone whose will went against the people’s…
will be forced to be free (social contract)
Rousseau believed that _______ _______ should not decide the will of the people and that a ______ _______ where the people voted on the decisions for the country was the best.
elected officials, direct democracy
According to Rosseau, what was the most fundamental objective of a good government?
the freedom of all its citizens
What did Mary Wollstonecraft advocate for?
Women’s rights
Mary Wollstonecraft believed that men were not inferior to women, only because of what?
A woman’s lack in education
Name two ways Enlightenment ideas spread through literature.
- The growth of publishing, reading public increased and was targeted towards the middle classes
- Newspapers and magazines were developed for the general public
How did the salons contribute to the spread of Enlightenment ideas?
Invited guests gathered and took part in conversations on the new ideas of the philosophies.
Who participated at salon discussions?
Writers, artists, aristocrats, government officials, and wealthy middle-class people
What did Cesare Beccaria believe?
Punishments should not be exercises in brutality, and capital punishment was ineffective and wrong.
Hobbes thought that humans were naturally….
vainglorious, dominating others, and demanding their respect
Hobbes view of government were that
a government headed by a king was the best form that the sovereign could take
Hobbes believed that the social contract was….
an agreement only among the people and not between them and their king.
Hobbes thought that once the people had given absolute power to the king…
they had no right to revolt against him.
