Question

The enlightenment period key terms

Answer 1

The following terms describe key principles of the Enlighment era:

• Reason over superstition and dogmas was the main principle of the Enlighment. It was the era of racionalizing everything and of the development of the scientific method.
• Civil rights which were defined in Bills of Rights so that they could be ensured by the goverment
• Social contract. This principle was mainly developed by the Enlighment philosopher Rousseau. It arose in opposition to absolut monarchs whose power was supposed to be legitimized because God had granted it to them. In turn, it establishes that the power of a state was in hands of its citizens, and they have the right to transfer it to political representatives through suffrage.
• Division of powers. This principle was mainly developed by the Enlightment philosopher Montesquieu. It states the need of dividing the power of the state in three branches: legislative, executive and judiciary, and of establishing a supervision system to ensure than none of the branches gathers enough power to overrule the others.