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Based on the most recent scholarship, this book provides students and interested lay readers with a basic introduction to key facts and current controversies concerning the Enlightenment. One of the most significant developments in world history, the Enlightenment transformed Europe by promoting reason over faith and advancing skepticism, the scientific method, and intellectual inquiry. It reshaped political and cultural history and formed the foundation for many of today''s institutions. The Enlightenment: History, Documents, and Key Questions is a one-stop reference that serves high school and undergraduate students in learning about the background of the Enlightenment. The book also provides readers with key insights into the distant origins of American democracy and technology-based innovation.The text''s coverage of the Enlightenment from the late 17th century to the late 18th century in both Europe and its American colonies supports Common Core critical thinking skills for English Language Arts/World History and Social Studies. The inclusion of primary source documents and original argumentative essays work in conjunction with secondary material such as topical entries to engage readers'' minds and to give them a fuller understanding the myriad factors that led to the Enlightenment as well as its lasting effects.>
List of contents
Alphabetical List of EntriesTopical List of EntriesHow to Use This BookPrefaceTimelineHistorical OverviewThe Enlightenment: A to ZPrimary Documents
Baruch Spinoza: "On the Nature and Origin of the Emotions," from
Ethics (1677)
John Locke: "Of the Beginnings of Political Societies," from
Second Treatise on Civil Government (1689)
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz: The Leibniz-Clarke Correspondence (1717)
Montesquieu: "On Monarchies," from
The Spirit of the Laws (1748)
David Hume:
An Enquiry into the Principles of Morals (1751)
Denis Diderot: "Enjoyment" (Jouissance), from the
Encyclopédie (1751-1765)
Rousseau: From
Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (1755)
Adam Smith: From
The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759)
Voltaire: "Ancients and Moderns," from
Philosophical Dictionary (1764)
Cesare Beccaria: From
On Crimes and Punishments (1764)
Catherine the Great: From
Instructions to the Legislative Commission (1767)
Edward Gibbon: From
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776)
The Declaration of Independence (1776)
Immanuel Kant: From
What Is Enlightenment? (1784)
Thomas Paine: From
The Age of Reason, Part II (1795)
Key Questions
Question 1: Was There an Enlightenment for Women?
Question 2: Was the Enlightenment Secular?
Question 3: Was the Enlightenment Democratic?
Selected Annotated BibliographyIndexAbout the Author and Contributors
About the author
William E. Burns is a historian who lives in the Washington, D.C., area.
