Age of Enlightenment

Popular Sovereignty

A belief that ultimate power resides in the people.

Enlightenment

A movement in the 18th century that advocated the use of reason in the reappraisal of accepted ideas and social institutions.

encyclopedia

A set of books that includes the works of other Enlightenment thinkers. The goal was "to change the way people think" (Diderot)

Social Contract

A voluntary agreement among individuals to secure their rights and welfare by creating a government and abiding by its rules.

Natural Rights

the idea that all humans are born with rights. Which include the right to life, liberty, and property

Adam Smith

wrote the wealth of nations. Supported laissez-faire

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

"Social Contract" he explained an ideal society where each community member would vote on issues and majority would become one law.

Mary Wollstonecraft

A Vindication of the Rights of Women. Argued for equal education for boys and girls

Cesare Beccaria

Author of Of Crime and Punishment. He attacked both torture and capital punishment. He believed criminal justice should ensure speedy trial and sure punishment which was intended to deter further crime. Law was to secure the greatest good for the greatest number of human beings

John Locke

English philosopher who argued that people have natural rights including life, liberty, and property.

Voltaire

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.

Montesquieu

French political philosopher who advocated the separation of executive and legislative and judicial powers

Laissez-faire

Idea that government should play as small a role as possible in economic affairs.

Diderot

Published work of many philosphes in his Encyclopedia. He hoped it would help people think more rationally and critically.

philosophes

Writers during the Enlightenment and who popularized the new ideas of the time.

Enlightened Despot

a ruler that believed in Enlightenment ideas

Salon

a social gathering of intellectuals to discuss ideas

Thomas Hobbes

believed that people are born selfish and need a strong central authority

Separation of Powers

the division of power among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government