Enlightenment philosophy

Enlightenment philosophy is a body of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century European thought that used reason and empirical inquiry to question inherited authority and advocate political and social reform.

Scientific Revolution: A transformation in European natural philosophy from the sixteenth through seventeenth centuries, marked by observation, experiment, and mathematical explanation. Its methods and discoveries gave Enlightenment thinkers models for investigating society and nature.
John Locke: An English philosopher whose writings defended natural rights, religious toleration, and government by consent. His account of rights and consent became a major source for liberal political arguments.
Separation of powers: A constitutional principle that divides governmental authority among distinct branches. Montesquieu's analysis turned resistance to concentrated power into an institutional arrangement.
Absolutism: A system of government that concentrates sovereign authority in a ruler or ruling institution. Enlightenment critiques challenged the claim that political authority should be unchecked.
American Revolution: The struggle from 1765 to 1783 in which Britain's mainland North American colonies won independence. Its declarations and political institutions drew on arguments about rights and consent.
Empiricism: The view that experience is a primary source of knowledge. It grounded Enlightenment accounts of knowledge in observation rather than inherited doctrine.
Voltaire: A French writer and philosopher known for criticizing religious intolerance and arbitrary authority. His satire and advocacy of toleration made criticism of clerical and political power widely visible.
Freedom of speech: The liberty to express opinions without undue restraint or punishment by authority. Enlightenment defenses of inquiry made open criticism central to reform.
Mercantilism: An early modern economic doctrine favoring state management of trade and accumulation of national wealth. Economic reformers disputed its controls and proposed different accounts of prosperity.
French Revolution: A period of political upheaval in France beginning in 1789 that ended the monarchy and transformed French society. Revolutionaries invoked popular sovereignty and equality while exposing tensions in reformist ideals.

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