The Enlightenment in AP European History

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to the Enlightenment, significant thinkers, and their philosophies important for AP European History.

Enlightenment

A European intellectual movement in the 18th century that applied new methods of rational thinking to social and human institutions.

Rationalism

The belief that everything in human life could and should be subjected to the process of reason.

Montesquieu

A French philosopher who argued for the separation of government powers to avoid tyranny and encourage equality.

Voltaire

A famous Enlightenment thinker known for his criticism of social and religious institutions in France; he favored a guided form of absolutism.

Denis Diderot

A key figure in the Enlightenment who helped compile the Encyclopédie, a collection of Enlightenment thought with over 72,000 articles.

Natural Rights

Rights that individuals are born with, including life, liberty, and property, which cannot be taken away by governments.

Social Contract

An agreement among individuals to transfer some of their power to a government to protect their natural rights.

Mary Wollstonecraft

An Enlightenment thinker who wrote 'A Vindication of the Rights of Woman,' advocating for equal rights and education for women.

Adam Smith

A Scottish Enlightenment thinker who criticized mercantilism and advocated for free market economies through his work 'The Wealth of Nations.'

Deism

The belief that God created the universe but does not intervene in human affairs, contrasting with traditional Christian teachings.

Skepticism

The idea that all knowledge comes through sensory experience, developed by David Hume.

Atheism

The rejection of the belief in God, popularized during the Enlightenment period.

Pietism

A religious movement emphasizing personal experience and emotion in faith, which influenced the founding of the Methodist movement by John Wesley.