swc 16

Mary Wollstonecraft

"A Vindication of the Rights of Man and A Vindications of the Rights of Women" supported equal rights for women. dedicated her life to social reform the imposed inequality between the sexes, is simply the first instance and foundation of the idea of social division with privileges reserved for some but not others

True

(T/F) Deism is the belief that God created the universe but plays no active part in running it.

True

(T/F) Denis Diderot developed the first Encyclopedia to spread Enlightenment ideas.

True

(T/F) John Locke is commonly regarded as the first philosophe.

True

(T/F) Salons, run by women, were an important way of spreading Enlightenment ideals.

True

(T/F) The philosophes firmly believed in the human ability to progress.

laissez-faire

Adam Smith called for the replacement of mercantilism with

supply and demand

Adam Smith redefined the idea of the market as a thing based on

Montesquieu

An Enlightenment thinker and writer whose most influential work was The Spirit of Laws, in which he analyzed the structures that shape law and characterized governments according to three types: republics, monarchies, and despotisms.

How would you summarize the theme of this chapter?

Any field of human endeavor, when examined rationally, could be understood; and anything that could be understood could be improved.

John Locke

English philosopher and political theorist known for his contributions to liberalism. Had great faith in human reason and believed that just societies were those that infringed least on the natural rights and freedoms of individuals. Sees all government as the expression of a social contract between the members and of a community. "Life, liberty, and property" - the essential role of the state is not to govern the people but to manage and administer its material wealth or property.

philosophes

Enlightenment writers - both continued and broadened the Scientific Revolution by carrying over the scientific method of inquiry from the functioning of the natural world to that of the human one. public intellectuals of the Enlightenment, applied to all regardless of their homeland represent a method of thinking rather than a body of thought - our actions traditions, beliefs, institutions, and values. Believed in human progress, the ability to always make life better.

deism

Enlightenment-era belief in a single and possibly benevolent God who created the cosmos—but who plays no active role in it. As a result, a dual policy of religious freedom and of freedom from religious intolerance is essential to human progress. The universe, from the moment of its creation, has operated solely according to rational principles. Churches have no right to command our obidience.

Who were John Locke and Pierre Bayle and how did they influence Enlightenment thought?

First great figures of the Enlightenment. A new set of values emerged as the necessary bases for civil society: the importance of law, the fundamental dignity of human life, the need for freedom of thought, the value of religious toleration, the supremacy of reason over tradition and superstition.

Pierre Bayle

French philosophe best known for his seminal work, the Historical and Critical Dictionary, published beginning in 1697. Launched an internationally influential campaign against religious intolerance.

Denis Diderot

French philosophe who was the guiding force behind the publication of the first encyclopedia. The Encyclopedia showed how reason could be applied to nearly all realms of thought and aimed to be a compendium of all human knowledge. Central force behind the Encyclopedia- new learning in science, philosophy, economics, law, technology, art, and religion technical skills

Kant "What Is Enlightenment?"

Help humanity grow "out of its self-inflicted immaturity." Immaturity results from man's failure "to use his own rational intelligence instead of being led along by someone else..."

separation of powers

In The Spirit of the Laws, Baron de Montesquieu developed the theory of

John Locke

In his Two Treatises on Government (1689), _______ defined the central function of government as the administration of the commonwealth.

salons

In urban, Enlightenment-era society, regular gatherings, often hosted by wealthy or aristocratic women in their own homes, to which philosophes, artists, and other cultural figures were invited to discuss ideas.

Grow out of its self-inflicted immaturity

Kant believed that the work of the philosophes would help humanity:

property

Locke argued that the state should set the terms by which those who possess _________ may keep it, transfer it, and manage it.

Who were the following individuals and what did they contribute to Enlightenment thought: Montesquieu, Adam Smith, Cesare Beccaria, Denis Diderot?

Montesquieu - the spirit of laws Adam Smith - free market Beccaria - rational self interest Diderot - encyclopedia of all the new learning

Spirit

Montesquieu's greatest work was The _______ of the Laws (1748), a treatise in which he argues that laws and legal systems, unlike the great laws of Nature that govern the cosmos, are human creations.

equal rights for women

Olympe de Gouges, a prominent philosophe, supported

Rousseau

One of the most important philosophes, he argued that only a government based on a social contract among the citizens could make people truly moral and free. goodness is the essential characteristic of all human beings. the power of the privileged derives from its enslavement and brutalization of the common man all the corruption and evil of this world, is the fault of society effort to retain our humanity in the face of the world's brutality that gives life meaning and makes it endurable general will - expresses the deepest and truest desires of the people, which will always promote the well-being of all.

majority of citizens

Rousseau developed the idea that legitimate government is determined by the General Will, which is

Adam Smith

Scottish economist and liberal philosopher who proposed that competition between self-interested individuals led naturally to a healthy economy. He became famous for his influential book The Wealth of Nations (1776). Said people should have to freedom to make their own economic choices and to reap the rewards of their own success. Free-market forces naturally will bring individual and social interests in line. secure the highest economic yield

some constitutional rights

The Acts of Toleration offered _____ to Jews in western Europe

What does the title of this chapter mean?

The Enlightenment describes an array of intellectual and cultural activities. Aimed to improve European life by setting its economic, political, religious, and social developments along paths dictated by reason and critical inquiry, rather than by tradition and faith.

Pierre Bayle

The concept that the choice of religious belief is a basic human right was developed by

philosophes

The intellectuals of the Enlightenment were the

the middle class

The main audience for the Enlightenment was

Voltaire

The pen name of François-Marie Arouet, leading philosophe and one of the most influential writers of the Enlightenment. doubted the essential goodness of mankind; believed in the possibility of human progress, but a progress directed by a political and intellectual elite (farmers, laborers, etc were degenerates) two principal concerns were religious tolerance and freedom of speech. crush religious superstition

bourgeoisie

The prosperous and primarily urban middle class of Enlightenment Europe

What final assessment of the influence and legacy of Enlightenment thought does Backman offer in his conclusion to the chapter?

They wanted a world based on merit and reasoned argument rather than inherited privilege.

Acts of Toleration

Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, laws promulgated to offer full or partial constitutional rights to Jews. popular prejudices against Jews remained common

Theology

Voltaire observed, "________ amuses me so. In it we see human insanity at its fullest."

deism

_________ advocated the existence of a God, but it did not presume to speculate on his precise nature.

According to Backman, what did the philosophes believe about the status of dispossessed or "unenlightened" social groups in their day (especially women, Jews, and the uneducated masses of Europe)? What role did women play in the Enlightenment? How did the Enlightenment affect European Jews? What did the philosophes suggest to do about the prevalence of poverty and social distress in 18th century Europe?

competing ideas and tensions existed about the lower orders of society as well, who still comprised the overwhelming bulk of the population. they spoke fervently against the injustices that made the lives of common peasants and laborers worse Aimed at the rational reform of polite society. women - were critical to the success of the enlightenment; helped propagate new ideas through large and regular salons jews - promotion of reason and tolerance appealed to jewish populations; supported the goal of fighting superstition and ignorance; favored integration in terms of law and governance

Lessing

playwright and philosopher; dramatized the plight of European Jewry presented Jewish characters who were more virtuous and kindhearted than their Christian neighbors hope for religious toleration the only solution to religious strife, is secular virtue

Olympe de Gouges

supported equal rights for women. wrote about the horrors of slave trade; changes in the laws regarding marriage and divorce "Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen"

Who were Voltaire and Rousseau? Why does Backman single them out in his treatment of Enlightenment thought? What did each think of the other?

the two most influential of all the Enlightened desperate for attention and praise, but they differed in their origins, temperaments, and styles. Rivals; Voltaire regarded Rousseau as vulgar, gullible, and naive Voltaire - human progress is directed by a political and intellectual elite Rousseau - goodness is the essential characteristic of all human beings.