Age of Enlightenment

What is the Age of Enlightenment?

• Using knowledge and logic to make sense of the world

• Realizing that there is only one true God

• Going back to the key elements of ancient mythologies

• Finding the balance between change and tradition

Historians debate over the exact time period that Age of Enlightenment came to be. One pointed to the influence of French thinker Rene Descartes, whose famous phrase reflected the beliefs of the Age of Enlightenment: cogito, ergo sum. What does this quote mean?

• Seize the day.

• I came, I saw, In conquered.

• I think, therefore I am.

• Live. Laugh. Love.

What do you call the fierce belief that opinions and actions should be based on what makes logical sense rather than a religious belief or an emotional response?

• Rationalism

• Impressionism

• Anarchy

• Satire

Along with rationalism, what else started to rise during the Age of Enlightenment that forever changed the course of mankind?

• Invention of money

• Global warming

• Scientific advancements

• Love triangles

According to the ideals of the Enlightenment, how can progress be achieved?

• Through money, wealth and control

• Through reason, freedom and science

• Through nature, spirituality and God

• Through explorations of space and understanding the stars

To arm people with knowledge to make wiser and more rational decisions, what did Frenchman Denis Diderot invent, which circulated between 1751 and 1772?

• An encyclopedia

• The television

• A satirical newspaper

• A novel

By understanding and defining the absolute laws of gravity and mass, this person was a major influence in the Age of Enlightenment because he proved that with a mathematical approach to life, things will make sense. Who is he?

• Isaac Newton

• John Locke

• Denis Diderot

• William Shakespeare

Which two major American documents are byproducts of ideas from the Enlightenment?

• Declaration of Independence

• US Constitution

• Magna Carta

• Beowulf

What did Martin Luther contribute to the Age of Enlightenment?

• Explained that science is achieved through logic and not faith

• Challenged the authority of the Catholic church

• Invented the telescope

• Conquered India, marking the start of British colonialism

Whereas the Dark Ages had oral literature and Renaissance had plays, what form of literature started to develop during the Age of Enlightenment?

• Encyclopedias

• Modern novels

• Newspapers

• Short stories