The Enlightenment
Essential Questions
• Why did the scientific breakthroughs of the 16th and 17th
centuries have such a powerful effect on so many
Enlightenment figures?
• The Enlightenment saw “reason” as the sole trustworthy guide
to arriving at truth, not only about the natural world but also
about human society. Why was this seen as such a radical and
challenging idea in 18th-century Europe?
• Key Enlightenment thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes, John
Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau disagreed on many
matters—such as the nature of the individual, natural rights,
or the basis of legitimate government. What ideas did these
thinkers hold in common? Why did they disagree on so many
fundamental issues?
Essential Questions (continued)
• Aristocratic women such as Madame de Pompadour conducted
salons where Enlightenment thinkers discussed issues with
French aristocrats and other wealthy individuals. Why did
such gatherings attract so much support from the very groups
the Enlightenment often criticized?
• Why did a number of powerful European monarchs also show
great interest in Enlightenment ideas?
• How did the Enlightenment contribute to the age of
revolutions that began with the American Revolution and the
French Revolution?
What Was the Enlightenment?
The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement in Europe during the 18th century
that led to a whole new worldview.
What Is Enlightenment?
According to the 18th- century
philosopher Immanuel Kant,
the “motto” of the
Enlightenment was “Sapere
aude! Have courage to use
your own intelligence!”
(Kant, “What Is
Enlightenment?” 1784)
Immanuel Kant
The Scientific Revolution
The Enlightenment grew
largely out of the new
methods and discoveries
achieved in the
Scientific Revolution
The equatorial armillary, used for
navigation on ships
Francis Bacon and the Scientific Method
• The scientific method
• Observation and
experimentation
• Testable hypothesis
Sir Francis Bacon
Isaac Newton and the Scientific Method
• Used the scientific
method to make a range
of discoveries
• Newton’s achievements
using the scientific
method helped inspire
Enlightenment thinkers
Sir Isaac Newton
Enlightenment Principles
A meeting of French Enlightenment thinkers
• Religion, tradition, and
superstition limited
independent thought
• Accept knowledge
based on observation,
logic, and reason, not
on faith
• Scientific and academic
thought should
be secular
The Marquis de Condorcet
• French mathematician
• Sketch for a Historical
Picture of the Progress
of the Human Spirit