APEH unit 7: Age of Enlightenment

Enlightenment

Intellectual movement in the 18th century applying rationalized thinking and the scientific method to social institutions

French Philosophes

Intellectuals in France during the Enlightenment period

Montesquieu

Critic of absolutism, author of "The Spirit of the Laws"

The Spirit of the Laws

Advocates for separation of powers in government to prevent tyranny and promote equality

Voltaire

Influential Enlightenment writer who criticized social and religious institutions

Denis Diderot

Collaborator on the Encyclopedia, influencing Enlightenment thought

Salons

Private gatherings for intellectuals to discuss new ideas

Coffeehouses

Public spaces for intellectual discussions, similar to salons

John Locke

Believed in natural rights and social contract theory

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Author of "The Social Contract," emphasizing people's power in governance

Mary Wollstonecraft

Advocate for women's rights and education

Adam Smith

Critic of mercantilism, proponent of free market in "The Wealth of Nations"

Supply and Demand

Economic principle of self-interest guiding decision-making

Deism

Belief in a distant God, popularized by Voltaire, much like the Newtonian World Machine

David Hume

Scottish thinker known for skepticism and empiricism

Nuclear Family

Household structure of parents and children without extended family

Urbanization

Movement of people from rural to urban areas in the 18th century

Skepticism

doubting of religion and the Church

Cultural Relativism

Belief you shouldn’t judge people based on the standards of your own society/ culture

Economic Liberalism

built off the foundation of Laissez-Faire, the freedom of the economy for individuals from a free market economy