Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution

Enlightenment Era

• The Enlightenment was a European era marked by a focus on reason, individualism, and skepticism towards traditional authority.
• This era led to significant advancements in various fields.

Philosophes

• Philosophes were thinkers who promoted reason, science, and social progress during the Enlightenment.

Scientific Revolution

• The Scientific Revolution was a time when people started using observation and experimentation to understand the world.
• This led to big discoveries in science and math.

Renaissance

• The Renaissance was a time in Europe when there was a renewed interest in art, literature, and learning from ancient times.
• This led to many important discoveries and creations.

Reformation

• The Reformation was a time when people broke away from the Catholic Church to start their own branches of Christianity.

Key Thinkers

• Thomas Hobbes believed that strong government was necessary to prevent chaos in society.
• John Locke believed in natural rights like life, liberty, and property.

Government and Politics

• A constitutional monarchy is a government where a monarch's powers are restricted by a constitution, sharing authority with an elected parliament.
• The Magna Carta was a document signed in 1215 in England that limited the power of the king and established certain rights for the people.
• A Bill of Rights is a list of fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed to citizens, often found in the constitutions of democratic countries.
• Social Contract is an implicit agreement among members of a society to cooperate for social benefits, usually by sacrificing some individual freedom for state protection and order.
• Natural Rights are rights inherent to human beings, not dependent on laws or customs, often including the rights to life, liberty, and property.
• Montesquieu's theory of the separation of powers advocates for dividing government authority into distinct branches to prevent tyranny.
• Separation of Powers is the division of government responsibilities into distinct branches to limit any one branch from exercising the core functions of another.
• Despotism is a form of government where a single authority, such as a monarch or dictator, holds absolute power, often ruling oppressively and arbitrarily.

Notable Thinkers

• Voltaire advocated for freedom of speech, religion, and separation of church and state, and criticized intolerance and injustice.
• Women of the Enlightenment, such as Mary Wollstonecraft and Emilie du Châtelet, participated in the intellectual and cultural movement, advocating for women's rights, education, and equality.

The Enlightenment era was marked by a focus on reason, individualism, and skepticism towards traditional authority, leading to significant advancements in various fields. The Scientific Revolution was a time of big discoveries in science.