The Enlightenment: The Age of Reason
Global History and Geography II Name: ______
E. Napp Date: ______
List the five steps of the Scientific Method
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The Scientific Method is a process is based on experimentation, observation, and reason.
Surprisingly, the Scientific Method even encouraged philosophers to use reason or intelligent and organized thinking to combat superstition, ignorance, and tyranny. In fact, these philosophers called themselves “enlightened” because they believed that they had more wisdom than other people.
The Enlightenment was an important movement in the 18th century in Western Europe. It was inspired by the Scientific Revolution and the Renaissance. During the Renaissance, an important idea had developed. This idea was called humanism.
Humanism was an important Renaissance belief. It stated that the individual was important. Interestingly, humanists were usually practicing Catholics. They believed that to worship God was to worship God’s creation, man. Humanists wanted to recapture the creativity of the ancient Greeks and Romans. They wanted to celebrate man’s amazing capabilities.
So, the scientific spirit and the humanist spirit began to merge and encouraged philosophers to look creatively and critically at society and try to improve society.
Questions:
- What was the Enlightenment? ______
- When did the Enlightenment occur? ______
- What ideas inspired or encouraged the philosophers of the Enlightenment? ______
- Define humanism. ______
- What were the goals of the Enlightenment philosophers? ______
- Why was this period of Western European history called the Enlightenment? ______
- How does the Enlightenment still affect us today? ______
Enlightenment thinkers attempted to address the “evils” or problems of society.
Make a list of five problems confronting society:
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- ______
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So, problems still exist in society. During the Enlightenment, problems existed to. The following is a list of “problems” some Enlightenment thinkers wanted to address.
- Religious intolerance
Explain its meaning: ______
- Absolute monarchy
Explain its meaning: ______
- Lack of individual rights and freedoms
Explain its meaning: ______
Do these problems still exist? ______
Explain your answer: ______
“La Chute en Masse” or They all fall down…
Look carefully. Do you see the crowns? What do you think is the meaning of this drawing? ______
Of course, these two institutions were very powerful during the Age of Reason of the Enlightenment.
Identify these two institutions:
______
______
To encourage freedom and tolerance in the Age of Reason was to face great opposition from these institutions.
Why would these institutions oppose freedom and tolerance? ______
Voltaire on Universal Tolerance
Voltaire was an Enlightenment philosopher. He advocated or encouraged religious tolerance. The following is an excerpt from Voltaire on Universal Tolerance. This excerpt has been translated by Richard Hooker.
“It does not require great art, or magnificently trained eloquence (speech), to prove that Christians should tolerate each other. I, however, am going further: I say that we should regard all men as our brothers. What? The Turk my brother? The Chinaman my brother? The Jew? The Siam? Yes, without doubt; are we not all children of the same father and creatures of the same God?
Questions:
According to Voltaire, who are “our brothers”? ______
Why are they are brothers? ______
“But these people despise us; they treat us as idolaters (a person who worships idols or false gods)! Very well! I will tell them that they are grievously (seriously) wrong. It seems to me that I would at least astonish the proud, dogmatic Islam imam or Buddhist priest, if I spoke to them as follows:
Questions:
Why do “these people despise us”? ______
“This little globe, which is but a point, rolls through space, as do many other globes; we are lost in the immensity of the universe. Man, only five feet high, is assuredly only a small thing in creation. One of these imperceptible (barely seen) beings says to another one of his neighbors, in Arabia or South Africa: 'Listen to me, because God of all these worlds has enlightened me: there are nine hundred million little ants like us on the earth, but my ant-hole is the only one dear to God; all the other are cast off by Him for eternity; mine alone will be happy, and all the others will be eternally damned."
Questions:
How does Voltaire view Man? ______
“They would then interrupt me, and ask which fool blabbed all this nonsense. I would be obliged to answer, "You, yourselves." I would then endeavor to calm them, which would be very difficult.
“The inquisitor (a Catholic judge) responds, "There is a difference between your example and our practice. For us, it is a matter of the health of your soul. It is for your good that the director of the Inquisition ordains that you be seized on the testimony of a single person, however infamous or criminal that person might be; that you will have no advocate to defend you; that the name of your accuser will not even be known by you; that the inquisitor can promise you mercy, and immediately condemn you; that five different tortures will be applied to you, and then you will be flogged, or sent to the galleys, or ceremoniously burned.
Questions:
What could bring a person before the Inquisition or the Catholic Court for Heretics? ______
Once brought before the Inquisition, what was the accused denied? ______
“It is true that these absurd horrors do not stain the face of the earth every day; but they are frequent, and they could easily fill a volume much greater than the gospels which condemn them. Not only is it extremely cruel to persecute in this brief life those who do not think the way we do, but I do not know if it might be too presumptuous to declare their eternal damnation.”
Question:
According to Voltaire, what is extremely cruel? ______
Multiple-Choice Questions
One way in which Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Rousseau are similar is that they were
(1) philosophers during the Age of Enlightenment
(2) chief ministers during the French Revolution
(3) leaders of the Italian unification movement
(4) supporters of the Counter Reformation
- Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains.
- Everyone has the natural right to life, liberty, and property.
- Slavery, torture, and religious persecution are wrong.
During which period in European history would the ideas in these statements have been expressed?
A)The Pax Romana
B)The Age of Exploration
C)The Enlightenment
D)The Age of Imperialism
• Classical Greco-Roman ideas were revived.
• Wealthy patrons supported the arts and education.
• Humanism spread throughout Western Europe.
Which period in European history is most closely associated with these statements?
(1) Early Middle Ages (3) Renaissance
(2) Industrial Revolution (4) Hellenistic Period
Seventeenth-century scholars Galileo Galilei and René Descartes faced serious challenges to their scientific theories because their ideas
(1) were based on the Bible
(2) contradicted traditional medieval European beliefs
(3) relied only on teachings from non-Christian cultures
(4) were not supported by scientific investigations
Which statement expresses an idea of the Enlightenment?
(1) The king is sacred and answers only to God.
(2) History is a continuous struggle between social classes.
(3) Those who are the most fit will survive and succeed.
(4) All individuals have natural rights.
One contribution that John Locke made to Enlightenment philosophy was the idea that
(1) absolute monarchies should continue
(2) the punishment should fit the crime
(3) individual rights should be denied
(4) governments should be based on the consent of the people
Which statement best expresses an idea held by many Renaissance humanist philosophers?
(1) People should study worldly subjects as well as sacred matters.
(2) Governments should establish overseas empires.
(3) Individuals should withdraw from the world and study religion.
(4) Scholars should dedicate themselves to the study of life after death