1. What did Thomas Hobbes mean by the state of nature, and why did he believe a powerful sovereign authority was necessary?

2. How did Hobbes's experiences during the English Civil War influence his political philosophy?

1. What are natural rights according to Locke, and where do they originate?

2. How did Locke's concept of the social contract differ from Hobbes's, particularly regarding the purpose of government?

3. What did Locke mean by the idea that people's minds are a blank slate, and why was education important to his political theory?

1. What did Rousseau mean by his statement that 'man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains'?

2. How did Rousseau's concept of the general will differ from other Enlightenment thinkers' views on government, and what dangers did it potentially create?

3. How did Rousseau's views on education differ from those of other Enlightenment thinkers?

4. What were Rousseau's views on women's roles in society, and how did Mary Wollstonecraft challenge them?

1. What was Voltaire's main critique of the French clergy and aristocracy, and what slogan did he use to express his opposition to the church?

2. How did Voltaire's experience in England influence his political and social views?

3. What was Voltaire's argument in Candide regarding Enlightenment optimism about human progress?

1. What was the Encyclopédie, and why was it controversial despite its goal of cataloguing human knowledge?

2. How did Diderot's Encyclopédie spread Enlightenment ideas despite attempts at censorship?

1. What was Montesquieu's theory of the separation of powers, and what example did he use to illustrate this concept?

2. How did Montesquieu's ideas about checks and balances influence the American founders?

1. What were Beccaria's main arguments against torture and capital punishment in his treatise On Crimes and Punishments?

2. How did Beccaria's deterrence theory reflect Enlightenment views about human nature and rationality?

1. What were coffeehouses and salons, and what roles did they play in spreading Enlightenment ideas?

2. How did female salonnieres contribute to the Enlightenment movement?

3. What were academies, and how did institutions like the Royal Society and French Academy support scientific advancement?

4. What was Freemasonry, and how did it function as a network for spreading Enlightenment ideas?

1. How did improvements in printing technology and literacy rates contribute to the spread of Enlightenment ideas?

2. What was the Republic of Letters, and how did it help overcome censorship efforts?

1. What was natural religion, and how did it challenge the revealed religion of the Christian church?

1. What is deism, and why did it appeal to educated elites during the Enlightenment?

1. What was Baron d'Holbach's argument about God and religion in The System of Nature?

1. What was David Hume's skeptical approach to knowledge and religion, and how did it differ from deism and atheism?

2. How did Hume's skepticism threaten both religious authority and core Enlightenment principles?

1. What was Methodism, and why did it appeal to working-class people in England?

1. What were the main characteristics of Pietism, and how did it respond to Enlightenment thought?

2. How did Pietism influence educational reforms and missionary work in 18th-century Europe?

1. What did physiocrats believe about the sources of wealth, and how did they challenge mercantilist theory?

2. What did Anne Robert Jacques Turgot mean by laissez-faire, and how did this concept challenge government regulation of the economy?

1. What was Adam Smith's main argument about the source of national wealth, and how did it differ from mercantilist and physiocrat theories?

2. What did Adam Smith mean by the invisible hand, and how did it explain how economies function without central authority?

3. What role did Smith believe government should play in a capitalist economy?