Enlightenment Era ID Terms

Enlightenment

An 18th-century intellectual movement that emphasized reason, science, and individual rights over superstition, tradition, and absolute authority. It sought to apply rational thought to government, religion, and society to improve the human condition.

Natural science

The study of the physical world through observation, experimentation, and the scientific method. Enlightenment thinkers believed understanding nature’s laws revealed God’s order and advanced progress.

Reason

The power of human thought and logic to uncover truth and solve problems. Enlightenment thinkers saw reason as the foundation of knowledge and moral progress.

Deism

The belief that God created the universe but does not intervene in its workings. Deists rejected organized religion and miracles, viewing nature and reason as the true revelation of God.

John Locke

English philosopher who argued that government exists to protect individuals’ natural rights to life, liberty, and property. His ideas became the foundation for modern liberal democracy.

Humans in a state of nature

Locke’s concept of people before government, living free and equal but insecure. To protect their rights, they formed governments through mutual agreement.

Two Treatises of Civil Government

Locke’s political work rejecting divine-right monarchy and asserting that legitimate government rests on the consent of the governed. It greatly influenced the American and French revolutions.

“Consent of the governed”

The idea that governments derive their authority from the people’s voluntary agreement. If rulers violate this trust, citizens have the right to change or overthrow them.

Natural rights

Fundamental rights inherent to all humans: life, liberty, and property (according to Locke).

Social contract

The agreement in which individuals consent to form a government to protect their rights.

Right to rebellion

Locke’s belief that citizens may revolt against tyrannical rulers who fail to uphold their natural rights. This principle inspired revolutionary movements in the 18th century.

Essay Concerning Human Understanding

Locke’s major philosophical work proposing that the mind is a blank slate shaped by experience. It rejected innate ideas and emphasized education’s power in forming character.

tabula rasa

Latin for “blank slate”; Locke’s theory that humans are born without inborn ideas or knowledge. Experience and environment write on this slate over time.

Religious toleration

The acceptance of diverse religious beliefs as essential for social peace. Locke promoted tolerance as a moral and political necessity in a pluralistic society.

Pierre Bayle

A French skeptic who exposed contradictions in religion and history in his Historical and Critical Dictionary. He argued that faith should be private and that morality could exist without religion.

Philosophes

French Enlightenment writers and thinkers who promoted reason, secularism, and reform. They used essays, satire, and public debate to challenge ignorance and authority.

Voltaire

A leading French philosophe known for his wit and criticism of religious intolerance and absolutism. He defended freedom of speech and religion, famously declaring, “Écrasez l’infâme!” (“Crush the infamous thing”).

“Écrasez l’infâme”

Voltaire’s phrase meaning “crush the infamous thing,” referring to religious intolerance and superstition.

Baron de Montesquieu, Spirit of Laws

Montesquieu’s work that argued political liberty depends on separating powers among branches of government. His theory of checks and balances deeply influenced modern constitutions.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

A French-Swiss thinker who believed civilization corrupted humanity’s natural goodness. His political and educational works emphasized emotion, equality, and the general will.

Social Contract, 1762

Rousseau’s book proposing that legitimate political authority rests on the general will of the people. Citizens collectively determine laws for the common good.

general will

Rousseau’s concept of the community’s shared interest that represents the true good of all. It requires individuals to place the public good above personal desires.

“noble savage”

Rousseau’s idea that humans are born pure and compassionate but corrupted by society. It reflected his belief in the moral superiority of natural simplicity.

Emile

Rousseau’s treatise on education advocating natural development and moral freedom. It emphasized learning through experience rather than strict discipline.

Denis Diderot, The Encyclopedia

A monumental collection of knowledge written by leading philosophes. It aimed to organize human understanding and promote reason, science, and reform.

Marquis de Beccaria

Italian criminologist who opposed torture and capital punishment in On Crimes and Punishments (1764). He argued that laws should deter crime and protect society, not seek revenge.

Physiocrats

French economists who believed that natural economic laws governed prosperity and that agriculture was the true source of wealth. They opposed mercantilism and government interference.

Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations

The founding text of modern economics arguing for free markets, competition, and limited government. Smith believed individuals pursuing self-interest benefit society as a whole.

laissez faire

“Let do”; the idea that governments should not interfere with the economy.

“invisible hand”

Smith’s metaphor for how individuals’ pursuit of self-interest unintentionally promotes social and economic good. It symbolizes the natural harmony of free markets.

salon movement

Elite gatherings, often hosted by women, where writers and thinkers exchanged Enlightenment ideas. Salons spread new philosophies throughout Europe’s educated classes.

Madame de Geoffrin

A leading salon hostess in Paris who supported the Encyclopedia project and helped fund many philosophes. Her gatherings became a hub for Enlightenment discussion.

Madame de Staël

A French-Swiss writer and salon leader who bridged Enlightenment rationalism and Romantic emotion. Her works, like On Germany, spread German philosophy and criticized Napoleon’s despotism.

Mary Wollstonecraft

British writer who argued for women’s education and equality in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792). She believed virtue and reason should be the same for men and women.

David Hume

Scottish philosopher who applied skepticism to human understanding, arguing that knowledge comes from experience, not reason alone. He questioned religion and the idea of certain causation.

Immanuel Kant

German philosopher who sought to reconcile reason and faith, urging individuals to think independently: “Dare to know.” He laid the groundwork for modern ethics and epistemology.

classical liberalism

Political philosophy emphasizing individual freedom, representative government, equality before the law, and economic freedom. It drew heavily on Locke and Smith’s ideas.

Enlightened Despotism

The practice of absolute rulers adopting Enlightenment reforms to strengthen their states. These monarchs promoted education, legal reform, and tolerance without surrendering power.

Frederick The Great

Enlightened monarch who modernized Prussia through religious tolerance, legal reform, and education. He called himself “the first servant of the state.”

“Diplomatic Revolution of 1756”

A major shift in European alliances where Austria allied with France and Prussia joined Britain. It set the stage for the Seven Years’ War.

Catherine the Great

Russian empress who embraced Enlightenment ideas, expanded education, and corresponded with philosophes. After the Pugachev Rebellion, she tightened control over peasants.

Pugachev Rebellion

A massive peasant revolt in Russia led by Emelian Pugachev. Its brutality convinced Catherine the Great to abandon many liberal reforms.