Unit 5 (Enlightenment) Flashcards
Enlightenment
An eighteenth-century intellectual movement, led by the philosophies, that stressed the application of reason and the scientific method to all aspects of life
High Culture
The literacy and artistic culture of the educated and wealthy ruling class
Voltaire
French enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher famous for his wit, his criticism of christianity
Denis Diderot
French philosopher, art critic, and writer, co founder, chief editor and contributor to the encyclopedia
Popular Culture
As opposed to high culture, the unofficial written and unwritten culture of the masses, much of which was traditionally passed down orally and centered on public group activities such as festivals. In modern culture it means entertainment, recreation, and pleasures that people purchase as part of the mass consumer society.
Deism
Belief in the existence of a supreme being, specifically of a creator who does not intervene in the universe
Feminism
The belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes
John Locke
English philosopher and physician, one of the most influential on the enlightenment, “Father of Liberalism
Laissez-Faire
“Let them do as they please.” An economic doctrine that holds that an economy is best served Sejm the government does not interfere but allows the economy to self-regulate according to the forces of supply and demand.
Adam Smith
Scottish economist, philosopher, pioneer of political economy, and a key figure during the Scottish enlightenment
“Invisible Hand”
A metaphor describing the unintended greater social benefits and public good brought about by individuals acting in their own self interests.
David Hume
Scottish Enlightenment philosopher, historian, economist, librarian, and essayist, known for his influential system of philosophical empiricism, skepticism, and naturalism
Methodism
A group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity which derive their doctrine of practice and belief from the life and teachings of John Wesley. … They were named Methodists for “the methodical way in which they carried out their Christian faith”.
Mary Wollstonecraft
English writer, philosopher, and advocate of women’s rights
Natural Laws
A body of laws or specific principles held to be derived from nature and binding on all humans societies even in the absence of written laws governing such matters.
Madame Geoffrin
French salon holder who was one of the leading female figures in the French enlightenment
Natural Rights
Certain inalienable rights to which all people are entitled, including the right to life, liberty, and property, freedom of speech and religion, and equality before the law.
Salon
Gatherings of philosophers and other notables to discuss the ideas of the enlightenment; so called from the elegant drawing rooms(salons) where they met
Philosphe
French term for an enlightenment thinker
Skepticism
A doubtful or questioning attitude, especially about religion
Montesquieu
French judge,man of letter, historian, and political philosopher, source of theory of separation of powers
Pietism
A movement that arose in Germany in the 17th century whose goal was to foster a personal experience of god as the focus of true religious experience
Rationalism
A system of thought based on the belief that human reason and experience are the chief sources of knowledge
The social contract
A book in which Rousseaum theorized about the best way to establish a political community in the face of problems of commercial society
Separation of Powers
A doctrine enunciated by Montesquieu in the 18th century that separate executive, judicial, and legislative powers serve to limit and control each other
Neoclassicism
A late eighteenth century artistic movement that emerged in France, it sought to recapture the dignity and simplicity of the classical style of Ancient Greece and Rome
Rococo
An 18th century artistic movement that emphasized grace, gentility, lightness, and charm
A Vindication of the rights of women
Written by Mary Wollstonecraft, one of the earliest works of feminist philosophy
The Wealth of Nations
The magnum opus of Adam Smith, known as the birth of free market economics
The Spirit of the Laws(1748)
A treatise on political theory, as well as a pioneering work in comparative law, published in 1748 by Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu.
Letters on the English(1734, 1778)
French: Lettres philosophiques) is a series of essays written by Voltaire based on his experiences living in England between 1726 and 1729 (though from 1707 the country was part of the Kingdom of Great Britain). It was published first in English in 1733 and then in French the following year, where it was seen as an attack on the French system of government and was rapidly suppressed.
Emile
Rousseaus “best and most important works” became inspiration for new national system of education
The Social Contract (1762)
The Social Contract (1762), Rousseau asserts that democracy is incompatible with representative institutions, a position that renders it all but irrelevant to nation-states (see state). The sovereignty of the people, he argues, can be neither alienated nor represented.
