Enlightenment Philosophers

⚡️ ENLIGHTENMENT IDEAS FLASHCARDS (Concept-Only)

🕯 Voltaire

Card 1
Front: What did Voltaire believe about religion?
Back: Religion should be a personal choice, and tolerance is essential for peace.

Card 2
Front: How did Voltaire view authority?
Back: He opposed absolutism and censorship, believing in free thought.

Card 3
Front: What Enlightenment value did Voltaire defend most?
Back: Freedom of speech and expression.

Card 4
Front: How did Voltaire’s ideas inspire revolutions?
Back: Encouraged resistance to tyranny and support for civil liberties in France and beyond.

⚖ Montesquieu

Card 1
Front: What did Montesquieu think prevented tyranny?
Back: Division of power among branches of government.

Card 2
Front: What was Montesquieu’s goal for government?
Back: To create a balanced system that protects individual freedom.

Card 3
Front: How did his philosophy influence revolutions?
Back: Guided constitutional design in America and Latin America.

🌿 Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Card 1
Front: What did Rousseau believe about government and people?
Back: Government should follow the general will of the people.

Card 2
Front: What did Rousseau think corrupted humanity?
Back: Society and inequality, not human nature itself.

Card 3
Front: How did Rousseau influence revolutions?
Back: Inspired popular sovereignty and democratic equality.

🧠 Immanuel Kant

Card 1
Front: What did Kant say Enlightenment means?
Back: Having the courage to think for yourself using reason.

Card 2
Front: What did Kant believe about morality?
Back: Moral actions come from rational choice, not authority or tradition.

Card 3
Front: How does Kant’s philosophy connect to Enlightenment values?
Back: Encourages independent reasoning and moral freedom.

💭 David Hume

Card 1
Front: What was Hume’s main idea about knowledge?
Back: Knowledge comes from experience and observation, not faith.

Card 2
Front: How did Hume challenge traditional beliefs?
Back: He used skepticism to question religion and superstition.

Card 3
Front: What Enlightenment value does Hume represent?
Back: Empirical reasoning and critical inquiry.

⚖ Cesare Beccaria

Card 1
Front: What did Beccaria believe about punishment?
Back: It should be fair, quick, and aimed at reform, not revenge.

Card 2
Front: How did Beccaria view justice?
Back: Justice should protect rights, not display power.

Card 3
Front: What Enlightenment ideal does this reflect?
Back: Rational law and human dignity.

💰 Adam Smith

Card 1
Front: What did Smith believe about human behavior in economics?
Back: People naturally act in self-interest, creating prosperity.

Card 2
Front: What should the government’s role in the economy be?
Back: Limited, allowing free exchange to guide growth.

Card 3
Front: What Enlightenment value underlies Smith’s ideas?
Back: Freedom of choice and natural order in society.

💡 John Stuart Mill

Card 1
Front: What did Mill think about individual freedom?
Back: Each person should have maximum liberty unless harming others.

Card 2
Front: What did Mill value in society?
Back: Open discussion and diversity of ideas.

Card 3
Front: What Enlightenment principle did Mill continue?
Back: Rational freedom and progress through reason.

📚 Diderot

Card 1
Front: What Enlightenment value did Diderot promote?
Back: Human reason over superstition or tradition.

Card 2
Front: How did Diderot view knowledge?
Back: Knowledge should be shared to improve society.

Card 3
Front: What Enlightenment goal does this support?
Back: Education and rational progress for all.

🕊 Benjamin Franklin

Card 1
Front: What Enlightenment principle did Franklin emphasize?
Back: Rational improvement of society through science and civic action.

Card 2
Front: What did Franklin believe about government?
Back: It should serve the people’s welfare, not the ruler’s power.

Card 3
Front: What Enlightenment trait did Franklin model?
Back: Practical reason and progress.

👩‍🎓 Mary Wollstonecraft

Card 1
Front: What did Wollstonecraft believe about women?
Back: Women have equal capacity for reason as men.

Card 2
Front: What injustice did she challenge?
Back: Patriarchy and the idea that women exist only for men’s use.

Card 3
Front: What Enlightenment ideal guided her?
Back: Equality and rational education for all.

👑 Frederick II (the Great)

Card 1
Front: What made Frederick II an “enlightened” ruler?
Back: He valued reason, education, and tolerance in governance.

Card 2
Front: What was his main contradiction?
Back: Used Enlightenment ideals to strengthen monarchy, not liberty.

👑 Catherine II (the Great)

Card 1
Front: How did Catherine II apply Enlightenment ideas?
Back: Supported education and legal reform, but preserved autocracy.

Card 2
Front: What does her rule show about Enlightenment in monarchy?
Back: Selective use of Enlightenment to modernize without sharing power.

👑 Maria Theresa

Card 1
Front: What Enlightenment values did Maria Theresa apply?
Back: Education, rational administration, and central reform.

Card 2
Front: How did she differ from later reformers?
Back: Focused on order and efficiency, not full equality.

🎶 Mozart

Card 1
Front: What Enlightenment qualities are shown in Mozart’s art?
Back: Balance, harmony, and clarity, reflecting reason and order.

Card 2
Front: Why is Mozart considered part of the Enlightenment?
Back: His work expressed rational beauty and human emotion in unity.

🌍 Enlightenment + Revolutions Summary Cards

Card 1 – American Revolution
Front: Which Enlightenment ideas shaped American independence?
Back: Natural rights, consent of the governed, liberty, and separation of powers.

Card 2 – French Revolution
Front: Which ideas inspired the French Revolution?
Back: Equality, popular sovereignty, secularism, and freedom from tyranny.

Card 3 – Haitian Revolution
Front: How did Enlightenment ideas appear in Haiti?
Back: Liberty and equality applied to enslaved people demanding freedom.

Card 4 – Latin American Revolutions
Front: Which Enlightenment themes motivated independence movements?
Back: Self-rule, freedom from empire, and representative government.