Chapter 16

Deism

"A form of rationalism that admits a natural, rational religion, and therefore a belief in God, based on philosophical theology

Voltaire

(1694-1778) French philosopher. He believed that freedom of speech was the best weapon against bad government. He also spoke out against the corruption of the French government, and the intolerance of the Catholic Church.

Great Awakening

(1730s and 1740s) Religious movement characterized by emotional preaching (Jonathan Edwards & George Whitefield). The first cultural movement to unite the Thirteen Colonies. Associated with the democratization of religion.

Denis Diderot

(October 5, 1713 - July 31, 1784) a French Enlightenment figure best known for his work on the first encyclopedia.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

1712-1778. Major philosopher, literary figure, and composer of the Enlightenment era whose political philosophy influenced the French Revolution, development of liberal and socialist theory, and the growth of nationalism. Published "The Social Contract" in 1762, one of the most influential works on political philosophy in the Western tradition.

Enlightenment

18th century intellectual movement that emphasized the use of reason and the scientific method as means of obtaining knowledge

Encyclopedia

A collaboration of many Enlightenment writers that aimed to gather together knowledge about science, religion, industry, and society.

Philosophes

A group of French intellectuals who proclaimed that they were bringing the light of knowledge to their fellow creatures in the Age of Enlightenment., Body of Enlightenment thinkers. Most famous for writing "Encyclopedia", a handbook for Enlightenment ideas, etided be Denis Diderot. French term for philosophers.

Olympe de Gouges

A proponent of democracy, she demanded the same rights for French women that French men were demanding for themselves. In her Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen (1791), she challenged the practice of male authority and the notion of male-female inequality. She lost her life to the guillotine due to her revolutionary ideas.

Mary Wollstonecraft

British feminist of the eighteenth century who argued for women's equality with men, even in voting, in her 1792 "Vindication of the Rights of Women." Women's education.

Enlightened Despots

European rulers who sought to apply some of the reforms of the 18th century Enlightenment to their governments without giving up their own absolutist authority. These rulers were characterized by legal, administrative, and educational improvements when it suited the state and as a means to enhance its power. Examples of these rulers include Frederick the Great of Prussia (r. 1740-1786), Catherine the Great of Russia (r. 1762-1796), and Joseph II of Austria (r. 1780-1790).