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The Enlightenment Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
The Enlightenment Quizzes, Trivia

The Enlightenment History Trivia

The Enlightenment History Trivia Quizzes

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7 quizzes and 75 trivia questions.
1.
  Vampires of the Enlightenment editor best quiz   best quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Paradoxical as it may seem, the proudly rational era of the 18th century was also the heyday of popular belief in vampires.
Average, 10 Qns, stuthehistoryguy, Dec 24 12
Average
stuthehistoryguy gold member
4246 plays
2.
  15 Questions: The Enlightenment Multiple Choice Quiz   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 15 Qns
The Enlightenment was a great intellectual movement that ended up influencing the American system of government. Many people, however, know very little about it. Are you one of them?
Average, 15 Qns, broadwaygal, Sep 03 17
Average
broadwaygal
Sep 03 17
2571 plays
3.
  Philosophers of the Enlightenment   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
During the Enlightenment in Europe, many philosophers expressed new ideas in terms of government, laws, etc. Can you answer a few questions about these philosophers, their works, and beliefs?
Average, 10 Qns, rolfch1p, Nov 29 13
Average
rolfch1p
952 plays
4.
  Figures From 1700s Europe    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz is on figures from the European Enlightenment, centering on the second half of the eighteenth century, and from the French Revolution and the years directly following it.
Tough, 10 Qns, rj211, Sep 14 07
Tough
rj211 gold member
1925 plays
5.
  About the European Enlightenment    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz tests a basic comprehension of the European Enlightenment of the eighteenth century, with an emphasis on individual Enlightenment thinkers.
Tough, 10 Qns, seeker77, Dec 16 11
Tough
seeker77
412 plays
6.
  The Scottish Enlightenment   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
The Scottish Enlightenment was an 18th century intellectual movement which lasted from about 1720 to about 1800; it affected politics, art, literature and society across Europe and the World.
Very Difficult, 10 Qns, mnbates, Sep 14 07
Very Difficult
mnbates
643 plays
7.
  The Enlightenment Test    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Test your knowledge of the Enlightenment.
Tough, 10 Qns, socratessoul, Feb 11 13
Tough
socratessoul
2561 plays

The Enlightenment History Trivia Questions
1. Who wrote an essay titled "What is Enlightenment" (written originally in German)? He thought that his age was starting the emancipation of human consciousness from an immature state of ignorance.

From Quiz About the European Enlightenment

Answer: Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant's essay from 1784 denounced all church and state paternalism and held that people should be given freedom to use their own intellect. According to him, laziness, habit and cowardice have prevented a fuller freedom of thought. Kant was from Koenigsberg (the capital of East Prussia at that time) and lived from 1724 to 1804. He tried to embody the Enlightenment motto "sapere aude," a Latin phrase meaning "dare to know."

2. Which early Enlightenment philosopher, born in Ireland, wrote several important works and is considered one of the founders of the Scottish Enlightenment?

From Quiz The Scottish Enlightenment

Answer: Francis Hutcheson

Francis Hutcheson (1694-1746) wrote many essays and letters on aesthetics, moral philosopy, ethics, etc and is noted for such works as "Thoughts on Laughter" (a criticism of Thomas Hobbes), "Inquiry Concerning Moral Good and Evil"(1725) and "About the natural fellowship of mankind" (1730 - an inaugural lecture following his appointmnet to the Chair in Moral Philosophy at Glasgow University).

3. When did the Enlightenment take place?

From Quiz The Enlightenment

Answer: Mid-seventeenth to late eighteenth centuries

John Locke and Thomas Hobbes were two early Enlightenment thinkers, both living in the seventeenth century. Despite the fact that they both lived and worked in England pretty close in time, their theories about human nature are almost the complete opposite of one another.

4. Which country is traditionally regarded as the main center of the Enlightenment during most of the movement?

From Quiz The Enlightenment

Answer: France

However, the contribution of Scotland was also immense.

5. This philosophe was a French writer who wrote about government. He published "On the Spirit of Laws" in 1748. He especially admired Britain's government because of its inbuilt 'checks and balances'.

From Quiz Philosophers of the Enlightenment

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.

6. Which work by Adam Smith first gained him a reputation?

From Quiz The Scottish Enlightenment

Answer: The Theory of Moral Sentiments

Adam Smith (1723-1790) was a moral philosopher and, perhaps, the first political economist. His "Wealth of Nations" published in March, 1776 is still a profoundly influential book. The first publication which brought Adam Smith recognition was his "Theory on Moral Sentiments" which laid out much of his philosophy. The other two works mentioned were published posthumously.

7. Although not often credited for it, what country was responsible for the beginning of most Enlightenment thought?

From Quiz The Enlightenment

Answer: Scotland

8. This philosophe was exiled twice from France to England because he used satire against the French government. He used his quill pen to write many works on religious tolerance and freedom of speech. He wrote "Candide".

From Quiz Philosophers of the Enlightenment

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.

9. At which battle did Adam Ferguson, philosopher and historian gain the reputation that enabled him to become the principal chaplain of the 43rd Regiment of the Black Watch?

From Quiz The Scottish Enlightenment

Answer: Battle of Fontenoy

Adam Ferguson (1723-1816) his "Essay on Civil Society" is, perhaps, the first publication (in the "modern" era) to deal with sociology.

10. What cause did Mary Wollstonecraft fight for most ardently?

From Quiz The Enlightenment

Answer: Rights for women

Wollstonecraft was an early advocate for women's rights. Locke's idea of 'natural rights' did not completely apply to women. Females' natural rights only applied in the context of home and family. Wollstonecraft argued that the only reason that women did not seem to be as intelligent as men was because of their lack of education. She said that if girls were provided with free education as boys were, there would be no noticeable difference in their natures. At the same time, she admitted that women's first duties were in the home and with family. One fun fact: Her daughter was Mary Shelley, the author of "Frankenstein".

11. An early philosopher who inspired much of the Enlightenment thought and wrote a 'History of England' was?

From Quiz The Enlightenment

Answer: David Hume

12. This Italian philosopher wrote about crime and punishment. He didn't like the French judicial system. He advocated speedy trial, no torture, and definitely no capital punishment.

From Quiz Philosophers of the Enlightenment

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.

13. Which philosopher said that life without a strong government would be "nasty, brutish, and short"?

From Quiz The Enlightenment

Answer: Hobbes

Hobbes' view of human nature greatly conflicted with the other Enlightenment philosophers'. He thought that people, by nature, were violent and out of control. He was one of the few who thought that an authoritarian type of government would be the best for society as a whole.

14. Vigee-Lebrun, Fragonard, Greuze, and David were all painters during the time of the Enlightenment. What is the most obvious distinction that separates Vigee-Lebrun from the other three?

From Quiz Figures From 1700s Europe

Answer: Vigee-Lebrun was female; the other three were male.

Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun was the most successful female artist of the time. In fact, one of her patrons was Queen Marie Antoinette.

15. Enlightenment thought centered on?

From Quiz The Enlightenment

Answer: Scientific Method

16. For what work was James Burnett, Lord Monboddo justly famed?

From Quiz The Scottish Enlightenment

Answer: The Origin and Progress of Man and Language

James Burnett, Lord Monboddo (1714-1799) founded modern historical linguistics, he is also credited with being and evolutionary theorist inspiring Darwin, Robert Burns was in love with his daughter Eliza, Johnson and Boswell were friends.

17. One philosopher who was a source of early inspiration to Enlightenment thinkers, and who was given credit for saying 'I think, therefore I am' was?

From Quiz The Enlightenment

Answer: Rene Descartes

18. "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". Which Enlightenment philosopher had the greatest impact on this phrase from the Declaration of Independence, by Thomas Jefferson?

From Quiz The Enlightenment

Answer: Locke

Locke's exact words were "life, liberty, and property". Many reasons have been suggested as to why Jefferson replaced 'property' with 'pursuit of happiness'. One says that he wanted to emphasize that the people have the right to rebel against their government if they don't like it. Another popular theory is that some members of the Continental Congress felt that property might be somehow linked to slavery.

19. Whose pre-revolutionary pamphlet famously said that the Third Estate was 'everything'?

From Quiz Figures From 1700s Europe

Answer: Sieyes

Emmanuel Sieyes asked and answered the following: 'What is the Third Estate? Everything... And what has it been until now in the political order? Nothing.' This statement was fuelled by the fact that the Third Estate included the vast majority of the population in France, but was only given a single vote against the single vote of the clergy and the single vote of the nobility. Thus, while representing the majority, the Third Estate was inevitably the minority vote. The other three men were controller-generals under Louis XVI.

20. One of the most controversial Enlightenment authors, who was imprisoned in the Bastille and later exiled to England for offending a French nobleman?

From Quiz The Enlightenment

Answer: Voltaire

21. This female philosopher fought for women's participation in politics and education. She wrote "A Vindication of the Rights of Women" in 1792. She also argued that women should be able to become more than just nurses, but also doctors.

From Quiz Philosophers of the Enlightenment

Answer: Mary Wollstonecraft

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

22. Which idea, taken from Montesquieu, became an integral part of the American system of government?

From Quiz The Enlightenment

Answer: checks and balances

In "The Spirit of Laws", Montesquieu introduced the idea of checks and balances. Separation of powers was also praised by him. Montesquieu was French. He did extensive research on many different governments. Interestingly, he misunderstood the British system of government, crediting it with a much greater degree of separation of powers than it had and with 'checks and balances' that were largely fictitious. He was a propagandist as well as a philosopher.

23. Which French Enlightenment thinker espoused a clear-cut sexual division of labor, asserting that public life should be for men while women were to follow the path of private virtue, modesty and child-rearing?

From Quiz About the European Enlightenment

Answer: Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Rousseau abandoned his own children to the care of a religious orphanage, and he was conservative regarding the proper role of women in society. The Enlightenment left an ambiguous legacy for women and not all Enlightenment thinkers supported equal rights for women. But some women did consistently voice their rights. For example, Olympe de Gouges was a French playwright, feminist and abolitionist who consistently fought for women's rights. She was executed for her outspokenness during the Reign of Terror in the turbulent years of the French Revolution.

24. What was another name for the Enlightenment?

From Quiz Philosophers of the Enlightenment

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.

25. Who was James Watt's partner whose financial support was critical in the development of the steam engine?

From Quiz The Scottish Enlightenment

Answer: Matthew Boulton

Matthew Boulton (1728-1809) was a manufacturer, craftsman and engineer who got into partnership with James Watt (1736-1819) when Dr John Roebuck (1719-1794), unable to pay a debt of £1,200, gave Boulton his share of Watt's engine. William Murdoch (1754-1839) was the inventor of gas lighting and got his first important job with Boulton and Watt (because Boulton liked his wooden hat)in 1777. He became a partner at Boulton and Watt in 1810. Joseph Black (1728-1799) was Watt's distinguished teacher.

26. Who was the most popular American philosopher? Hints: he traveled around Europe and was very popular there. He was sixty-eight years old at the time of the First Continental Congress.

From Quiz The Enlightenment

Answer: Ben Franklin & Franklin & Benjamin Franklin

Franklin was an example to the people of Europe of the fact that one did not have to be high-born to be intelligent. He was almost entirely self-taught, and was well regarded by politicians and philosphers in Europe. When he was asked after the Continental Congress what kind of government would have, he answered, "A republic, if you can keep it." These words showed that he truly believed that the people needed to take an active part in their government if it was to succeed.

27. This highly controversial thinker and author of 'The Nun' was also an atheist. Who was he?

From Quiz The Enlightenment

Answer: Diderot

28. Which Enlightenment thinker condemned judicial torture and the death penalty as cruel and inefficient?

From Quiz About the European Enlightenment

Answer: Cesare Beccaria

Beccaria's work "On Crimes and Punishments" (1764) went through six editions within eighteen months. Americans like John Adams and Thomas Jefferson praised this work as well as French luminaries like Voltaire. Some monarchs of this time, like Joseph II, did implement Beccaria's idea that the death penalty was useless and savage. But judicial torture was still common in many countries in the age of the Enlightenment.

29. Who wrote "Two Treaties on Government", a book which justified the overthrowing of James II in the Glorious Revolution?

From Quiz Philosophers of the Enlightenment

Answer: John Locke

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

30. What did Thomas Reid (1710-1796) do that influenced the course of philosophy and the Scottish Enlightenment?

From Quiz The Scottish Enlightenment

Answer: He founded the Scottish School of Common Sense

The Scottish School of Common Sense was a response to the writings of Hume, Locke, Berkeley etc and influenced the likes of Charles Peirce, the US pragmatist. "The Physiology of the Human Mind" was written by Thomas Brown (1778-1820) who was a metaphysicist and philosopher. Modern comparative linguistics was founded by James Burnett, Lord Monboddo. The "Encyclopedia Britannica" was edited by William Smellie (1740-1795) and originally appeaqred in 100 weekly instalments between 1768 and 1771.

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