The Enlightenment Flashcards
Grade 9 · Social Studies · Flashcards
Key terms and thinkers of the Age of Reason.
Flashcards
- Enlightenment
- 17th–18th century movement arguing that human reason is the path to truth and social progress.
- Natural rights
- Locke's idea that all people are born with rights to life, liberty, and property that government cannot legitimately remove.
- Social contract
- Locke and Rousseau's idea that government authority comes from an agreement with the governed; broken contracts justify revolt.
- John Locke
- English Enlightenment philosopher of natural rights and government by consent; inspired the Declaration of Independence.
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- Swiss-French philosopher of the social contract and popular sovereignty; influenced the French Revolution.
- Montesquieu
- French philosopher who proposed separating government into three branches to prevent tyranny.
- Voltaire
- French philosophe known for championing religious tolerance and freedom of speech through sharp satire and essays.
- Thomas Hobbes
- English philosopher who argued humans need a powerful social contract (government) to prevent natural chaos.
- Popular sovereignty
- The principle that legitimate government power derives from the consent of the governed.
- Philosophes
- French Enlightenment writers and thinkers who promoted reason, tolerance, and reform; compiled the Encyclopédie.
- Separation of powers
- Montesquieu's idea of dividing government into legislative, executive, and judicial branches, influencing the US Constitution.
- Encyclopédie
- Massive French Enlightenment reference work compiled by Diderot and others (1751–1772) to spread rational knowledge.
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