Philosophers of the Enlightenment Quiz

Answer: Thomas Hobbes

The above describes Hobbes. He believed that in a state of nature, humans were evil and there would be chaos. He believed that a social contract needed to be formed between ruler and his people. He therefore supported absolute monarchy.

Answer: Baron de Montesquieu

Montesquieu liked the English system of government very much. He liked its separation of power in which the members of parliament, judges, and the monarch check and balance each other's power - though for propaganda purposes he exaggeated the effectiveness of this. Montesquieu greatly influenced the United States Constitution.

Answer: Francois Marie Arouet (Voltaire)

His pen name was Voltaire. He was jailed twice for lèse majesté (insulting the monarchy) and blasphemy. 'Candide' was a philosophical tale, a picaresque novel about Deism. Deism was a new idea that God created the world with its own set of laws. God made the world, then He left it alone.

Answer: Beccaria

One of his key contributions to thinking on criminal justice was his emphasis on the importance of the likelinhood of detection and conviction. He believed that in the 18th century very few criminals were actually caught and that the legal systems tended to savage the few who were caught. He stressed that if detection became more probable most punishments could be reduced.

Answer: John Locke

John Locke greatly influenced the American Revolution. His ideas that the government protects people's natural rights influenced the Declaration of Independence.

Answer: Rousseau

Not only did Rousseau accomplish all of the above, he also invented the 'confessional autobiography'. His autobiography was a highly emotional self confession of shame and humiliation.

Answer: Mary Wollstonecraft

Wollstonecraft was the grandmother of Mary Shelly, author of "Frankenstein".

Answer: Age of Reason

Thinkers during the Enlightenment believed that truth could be discovered through reason or logical thinking. They defined reason as thinking without intolerance, bigotry, and prejudice.

Answer: John Locke

James violated Locke's idea that government protects the natural rights of people. Thus he justified the Glorious Revolution.

Answer: Women's rights in the home

The book was about women's rights at home. One of its famous quotes is: "If absolute sovereignty be not necessary in a state, how come it to be so in a family? If all men are born free, how is it that all women are born slaves?" It was published in 1694.