AP Euro Guided Reading Qs – Chapter 17: The Enlightenment Era (Required Assignment)
Reading pages 550 – 558
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What were the chief factors that brought about the Enlightenment?
How did Newton influence the Enlightenment?
What were Locke’s main ideas regarding human beings? Why were these ideas controversial?
What contributions did GB make to the Enlightenment?
What role did the “print culture” have on 18th c. European thought and culture?
What was a philosophe? How were they different than other “purveyors of knowledge?”
What does Kant claim is necessary for true “enlightenment” to occur?
Describe Voltaire and why he is considered a “father of philosophes?”
Reading Pages 558 – 571
1. Voltaire, referring to 18th c. religion, once said “Crush the Infamous Thing.” What
circumstances led him to take this position?
2. How was traditional European religious faith / practice viewed by the philosophes of the
Enlightenment Era? Cite several examples of how the era sought to change religion in the life
of European society.
3. Which Enlightenment thinkers sought to reform European society and how did each seek to
accomplish his goal?
4. Which Enlightenment thinkers sought to reform European political structure and how did each
seek to do so?
5. Identify and explain the criticisms Enlightenment thinkers had of the mercantilist empires of the
16th – 18th c.
Reading Pages 571 – 591
1. What role did many upper class women play in the spread of Enlightenment ideas?
2. Despite being “enlightened” how did various philosophes view women and their place in
society? Compare Rousseau, Montesquieu and Wollstonecraft, as well as others.
3. Describe and compare the Rococo and Neo-Classical art and architecture styles.
4. What makes a ruler an “Enlightened Absolutist?” Identify why Frederick II (Prussia), Joseph II
(Austria) and Catherine the Great (Russia) [a]could be considered “enlightened” as well as [b]
the limitations to their being considered “enlightened” and [c] the reactions to such ideas in
their nations
5. Describe the process of the disappearance of the political nation known as Poland in the 1700s.