Modern World History 8.2 (The Enlightenment)

What is deism?

-An eighteenth-century religious philosophy based on reason and natural law. -Deism built on the idea of the Newtonian world machine. -In the Deists' view, a mechanic (God) had created the universe. -The universe was like a clock. God, the clockmaker, had created it, set it in motion, and allowed it to run without his interference and according to its own natural laws.

What was Diderot's main contribution to the Enlightenment? Describe it.

-Diderot's most famous contribution to the Enlightenment was the Encyclopedia, or Classified Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Trades -A 28-volume collection of knowledge that he edited. -Published between 1751 and 1772, -The purpose of the Encyclopedia, according to Diderot, was to "change the general way of thinking."

What was the separation of powers? What philisophe developed it?

-England governed through a separation of powers with three branches. -The branches were: the executive (the monarch), the legislative (Parliament), and the judicial (the courts of law) -In this separation, the executive, legislative, and judicial powers of the government limit and control each other in a system of checks and balances. -By preventing any one person or group from gaining too much power, this system provides the greatest freedom and security for the state. -This was developed by Montesquieu

What three roles did Adam Smith give the government?

-First, it should protect society from invasion (the function of the army). -Second, the government should defend citizens from injustice (the function of the police). -And finally, it should keep up certain public works that private individuals alone could not afford—roads and canals, for example—but which are necessary for social interaction and trade.

Who presented the social contract? What was it?

-Rousseau presented it -Through a social contract, an entire society agrees to be governed by its general will. Individuals who wish instead to follow their own self-interests must be forced to abide by the general will.

What were salons?

-Salons were the elegant drawing rooms of the wealthy upper class's great urban houses. -Invited guests gathered in these salons and took part in conversations that were often centered on the new ideas of the philosophes. -The salons brought writers and artists together with aristocrats, government officials, and wealthy middle-class people. -The women who hosted the salons were in a position to sway political opinion and helped spread the ideas of the Enlightenment.

What was a philisophe?

-The French word (meaning philosopher) that the intellectuals of the Enlightenment were called. -Not all philosophers were French, however -Few were philosophers in the strict sense of the term -They were writers, professors, journalists, economists, and above all, social reformers. -They came chiefly from the nobility and the middle class.

How were Enlightenment ideas spread to the literate elite of European society?

-The growth of both publishing and the reading public during the eighteenth century was noticeable. Books had previously been aimed at small groups of the educated elite. Now many books were directed at the new reading public of the middle classes, which included women and urban artisans. -An important aspect of the growth of publishing and reading in the eighteenth century was the development of magazines and newspapers for the general public. The first daily newspaper was printed in London in 1702. Newspapers were relatively cheap and were even provided free in many coffeehouses.

What is a free enterprise system?

-a system in which private businesses are able to compete with each other with little control by the government -believed by Adam Smith

What is the laissez-faire doctrine?

-the concept that the state should not impose government regulations but should leave the economy alone -french word meaning "to let (people) do (what they want)

Rousseau sought a balance between what two things?

1) heart and mind 2) emotions and reason

Name two places where Enlightenment ideas were spread.

1) salons 2) coffeehouses

What were Mary Wollstonecraft's two major arguments?

1)She noted that the same people who argued that women must obey men also said that government based on the arbitrary power of monarchs over their subjects was wrong. Wollstonecraft pointed out that the power of men over women was equally wrong. 2) Wollstonecraft further argued that the Enlightenment was based on an ideal of reason in all human beings. Therefore, because women have reason, they are entitled to the same rights as men.

Who were the Physiocrats?

A French group, who were interested in identifying the natural economic laws that governed human society.

What was the Enlightenment?

An eighteenth-century philosophical movement of intellectuals who were greatly impressed with the achievements of the Scientific Revolution.

According to Adam Smith, how would his ideas on economics affect a free and open market?

Businesspeople would make money overall.

Voltaire was well known for his criticism of what religion?

Christianity

What two people were Enlightenment intellectuals inspired by?

Isaac Newton, John Locke

What did Enlightenment thinkers infer because of Locke's idea of tabula rasa?

Locke's ideas suggested that people were molded by the experiences that came through their senses from the surrounding world. Enlightenment thinkers began to believe that if environments were changed and people were exposed to the right influences, then they could be changed to create a new, and better, society.

How did the Encyclopedia by Diderot become a weapon to the old French society?

Many of its articles attacked religious superstition and supported religious toleration. Others called for social, legal, and political reforms.

Who is seen as the founder of the modern European and American movements for women's rights?

Mary Wollstonecraft

What were the common words to the thinkers of the Enlightenment?

Reason, natural law, hope, progress

Because Isaac newton discovered the natural laws of the physical world through systematic investigation, what did Enlightenment thinkers believe they could do?

The Enlightenment thinkers reasoned that if Newton was able to discover the natural laws that governed the physical world, then by applying his scientific methods, they would be able to discover the natural laws that governed human society. If all institutions would then follow these natural laws, the result would be an ideal society.

What was Adam Smith's most famous work called?

The Wealth of Nations

What is a tabula rasa? Who believed in it?

The idea that everyone was born with a blank mind (tabula rasa) was argued by John Locke.

What are the social sciences?

areas such as economics and political science

To the philosophes, the role of philosophy was to...

change the world.

Who was the Encyclopedia sold to? (4 groups of people)

doctors, clergymen, teachers, and lawyers

Women, Wollstonecraft declared, should have equal rights in education, as well as in ____________ and ___________ life.

economic, political

In what area of belief were Voltaire and Diderot alike?

religious toleration

The Enlightenment thinkers, or philosophes, tried to change the world by...

using rational criticism.