Deck 21: The Age of European Enlightenment

Question 1

Copernicus's main contribution to the Scientific Revolution was

A)On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres.
B)On the Motion of Mars.
C)Dialogue on the Two Chief Systems of the World.
D)The Starry Messenger.

Answer 1

On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres.

Question 2

Johannes Kepler

A)vigorously opposed Copernican theory.
B)publicized the Copernican theory by writing popular books.
C)provided data to help prove the Copernican theory.
D)devised mathematical formulas to explain the Copernican universe.

Answer 2

publicized the Copernican theory by writing popular books.

Question 3

Galileo Galilei

A)On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres.
B)Dialogues on the Two Chief Systems of the World.
C)On the Motion of Mars.
D)The Starry Messenger.

Answer 3

Dialogues on the Two Chief Systems of the World.

Question 4

The Scientific Revolution was revolutionary in the sense that it

A)physics.
B)chemistry.
C)biology.
D)astronomy.

Question 5

Galileo publicized his findings and the arguments for the Copernican system in numerous works,the most famous of which was his

A)gravity.
B)geocentrism.
C)Neo-Platonism.
D)elliptical planetary orbits.

Question 6

Francis Bacon's contribution to the Scientific Revolution can best be described as the

A)how and why blood circulates.
B)how genes are transmitted.
C)how the planets move in an orderly fashion.
D)why people die from particular diseases.

Question 7

An advantage of the Copernican system was that it

A)vigorously opposed Copernican theory.
B)publicized the Copernican theory by writing popular books.
C)provided data to help prove the Copernican theory.
D)devised mathematical formulas to explain the Copernican universe.

Question 8

Newton's great work was called

A)identical
B)contradictory
C)complementary
D)competitive

Question 9

Kepler's revolutionary theories included

A)promotion of the potentially unlimited possibilities of empiricism.
B)rediscovery of the importance of ancient thought.
C)establishment of new scientific techniques and tools.
D)founding of the Royal Society of London.

Question 10

Which is the best descriptor of the relationship,according to Newton,between mathematics and Baconian empiricism?

A)were traditionally barred from the institutions of European intellectual life.
B)exercised little influence over courtly patronage systems.
C)possessed little interest or aptitude for empirical methods.
D)were excluded from participating in artisan culture because of their lack of physical strength.

Question 11

In the 16th and 17th centuries,the area of scientific advancement that most captured the learned imagination was

A)a new emphasis on empirical observation.
B)the suggestion that the earth moved around the sun in a circle.
C)the use of the telescope to compile accurate astronomical data.
D)the suggestion that the orbits of planets were elliptical.

Question 12

Tycho Brahe

A)vigorously opposed Copernican theory.
B)publicized the Copernican theory by writing popular books.
C)provided data to help prove the Copernican theory.
D)devised mathematical formulas to explain the Copernican universe.

Question 13

John Locke believed that human beings were

A)integrally involved with day-to-day events in the world.
B)like a divine ruler,deciding the fates of individual subjects.
C)a servant to human whim and desire.
D)like a divine watchmaker,who had set nature to work.

Question 14

The political thinkers during the Age of Enlightenment provided philosophical support for all of the following forms of government except

A)involved thousands of people in the pursuit of scientific goals.
B)set the standard for evaluating knowledge in the Western world.
C)rejected all traditional knowledge in favor of new discoveries.
D)led to the replacement of the craftsman with the scientist.

Question 15

Women did not make significant contributions to the Scientific Revolution primarily because they

A)innately flawed because of original sin.
B)blank slates-having no inborn ideas.
C)a product of their genetic makeup (nature)and their environment (nurture).
D)born with complete knowledge of the universe.

Question 16

The writers and critics who fostered the attitude of change and reform during the Enlightenment were called

A)separation of church and state.
B)mercantilism.
C)absolute monarchy.
D)reforming society through the application of reason.

Question 17

Copernicus's theory is explained in his treatise entitled

A)coordinated with the established university curriculum.
B)explained planetary movement with more mathematical consistency and elegance.
C)fit closely with Aristotelian physics.
D)provided a physical space for heaven and God.

Question 18

Toland and other deists regarded God as

A)the progressive increase of knowledge was the key towards making the world a more perfect place.
B)the revival of knowledge from the ancient world would set them apart from their predecessors.
C)knowledge is relative to the society from which it emerges and can as easily be lost as found.
D)the obtainment of knowledge was the highest calling of God.

Question 19

The major scientific question that Newton solved was

A)Gravitas.
B)Gravity and Planetary Motion.
C)Principia Mathematica.
D)Physical Properties of the Universe.

Question 20

Enlightenment thinkers believed that

A)muckrakers.
B)utilitarians.
C)philosophes.
D)enlightened despots.

Question 21

During the Enlightenment,salon culture

A)their inability to obtain a proper education.
B)the threat they posed to male domination in politics.
C)their reputation for a lack of virtue.
D)All of these answers are correct.

Question 22

In The Spirit of the Laws,Montesquieu admired which constitution as the wisest?

A)government decree.
B)the needs of society.
C)the forces of supply and demand.
D)a system of barter and exchange.

Question 23

According to Rousseau,

A)the equality of all humans
B)the importance of freedom of speech
C)the application of knowledge for the greater good
D)the centrality of scientific reasoning

Question 24

Which of the following was not a principle of deism?

A)was not a primary concern of the philosophes.
B)would theoretically help to end the conflicts within Christianity,according to Voltaire.
C)was opposed by Voltaire.
D)was immediately implemented by the monarchs of Europe.

Question 25

Rousseau's doctrine of the general will led him to conclude that

A)women should be educated for a position subordinate to men.
B)women are equal to men in virtually all respects.
C)women should be included in both social and political life.
D)only minimal contact should occur between the two sexes.

Question 26

The slogan "Crush the Infamous Thing" refers to

A)intellectual underachievement.
B)war.
C)religious persecution.
D)both war and religious persecution.

Question 27

Adam Smith's four stage theory

A)the individual is more important than the state.
B)some people must be forced to be free.
C)the best form of government is a constitutional monarchy.
D)morality is less important than wealth.

Question 28

"Enlightened absolutism" is a term used to describe the

A)veneer for the exercise of autocratic power.
B)means to strengthen the military power of relatively backwards states.
C)truly benign rule based upon beliefs in the importance of justice and prosperity.
D)All of these answers are correct.

Question 29

The philosophes objected to Christianity for all of the following reasons except that:

A)suffered from a lack of individual will power.
B)granted greater freedom to women.
C)had more efficient political institutions.
D)was artistically bankrupt.

Question 30

The "enlightened absolutism" of the rulers of the 18th century can best be described as a

A)Frederick II of Prussia.
B)Louis XIV of France.
C)Catherine II of Russia.
D)Joseph II of Austria.

Question 31

The Encyclopedia project was led by

A)Enlightenment thought was diffused over the Continent.
B)European governments initiated serious attempts at press censorship.
C)it popularized scathing criticism of existing institutions.
D)major innovations in marketing and book sales inspired other publishers.

Question 32

In Candide,Voltaire attacked

A)Diderot.
B)Voltaire.
C)Montesquieu.
D)Rousseau.

Question 33

The publication of the Encyclopedia affected European culture in all of the following ways except:

A)Science proves that God does not exist.
B)God favors a rational morality.
C)Rewards and punishments are meted out in the afterlife.
D)Nature has a rational order.

Question 34

According to Mary Wollstonecraft,women's perceived inferiority resulted primarily from

A)policies of rulers who embraced the reforms of the philosophes.
B)philosophical movement to discover the ideal state.
C)discovery of scientific truth through empirical methods.
D)proper educational program for prospective European rulers.

Question 35

In the Turkish Embassy Letters,Lady Montagu stated that Islamic culture (as compared to European)

A)the French
B)the English
C)the Roman
D)the German

Question 36

Diderot's condemnation of European imperialism focuses primarily on European violation of what Enlightenment principle?

A)provided a pivotal role for women as purveyors of new ideas.
B)relegated women to frivolous roles as hostesses of tea parties.
C)limited the influence of women to the domestic sphere.
D)promoted the principle of equality for women of all social classes.

Question 37

Voltaire believed that the improvement of society was necessary and possible,but he

A)Bentham's view of the legal system.
B)Montesquieu's attitude toward the French monarchy.
C)Catherine the Great's attitude toward Poland.
D)Voltaire's attitude toward the church.

Question 38

Religious toleration

A)it bred a fanaticism that led people to commit crimes in the name of religion.
B)its doctrines were not being supported by the monarchs of Europe.
C)it was internally divided,which led to political divisions among countries.
D)it served to turn the population into mindless followers.

Question 39

Although they disagreed on many issues,the fundamental principle shared by all Enlightenment thinkers was the belief in

A)did not believe that the lower classes could ever be raised beyond their lot in life.
B)was not sure that it would be permanent.
C)was prone to contradiction on this point.
D)did not openly press this point in his writings.

Question 40

Laissez-faire economic thought argues that wealth ought to be distributed according to

A)gave philosophical justification to a European sense of superiority.
B)implied that the highest historical stage of society was an age of mass consumption.
C)favored the role of farmers and agriculture in economic life.
D)suggested that all societies follow different paths of social and economic development.

Question 41

Discuss the economic ideas of mercantilism and compare and contrast those ideas with the ideas of Adam Smith.Which set of ideas is more influential today?

Question 42

What were some of John Locke's most important ideas? Most specifically,discuss his views contained in Essay Concerning Human Understanding,Two Treatises of Government,and Letter Concerning Toleration.How would you evaluate John Locke's influence on modern thought?

Question 43

Why does the text argue that Voltaire was the most influential of the philosophes?

Question 44

What roles did women play in the world of the Scientific Revolution? How and why were a few women able to transcend these roles?

Question 45

The European Enlightenment scholar who had the greatest direct influence on the U.S.Declaration of Independence was

A)were able to marry without permission from their lord.
B)were able to vote.
C)were owned by their lords.
D)became landowners.

Question 46

Under the reforms of Joseph II,Austrian peasants

Question 47

How well do the terms "enlightened" and "absolutist" fit the policies of rulers such as Frederick II,Catherine II,and Joseph II? What do you think motivated their reforms? What does the partition of Poland indicate about the spirit of "enlightened absolutism"?

Question 48

How did the Enlightenment change basic Western attitudes toward reform,faith,and reason? What were the major formative influences on the philosophes? How important were Voltaire and the Encyclopedia in the success of the Enlightenment?

Question 49

All of the following were considered enlightened absolutists except

A)Prussia,Austria,and Russia.
B)Germany,Czechoslovakia,and the Ukraine.
C)Germany,Austria,and Russia.
D)Prussia,Russia,and France.

Question 50

Construct a debate between Rousseau and Montesquieu.How would each thinker criticize the other's plan for reform? Which philosophy do you prefer?

Question 51

The primary aim of Russian expansion in the 17th and 18th centuries was to

A)Rousseau.
B)Montesquieu.
C)Locke.
D)Hobbes.

Question 52

What was the Scientific Revolution,and why is that term in some ways a misnomer?

Question 53

Discuss European attitudes toward Islam during the Enlightenment.Did the philosophes' animosity towards Christianity affect their perception of the Muslim religion? How much did they actually know about contemporary Muslim society and culture?

Question 54

How did Europeans tend to view themselves in relation to the other peoples of the world? What do you think were the major bases for this belief? What role did the Enlightenment play in changing European perceptions of their role in the world?

Question 55

What are the ideological links between Copernicus,Galileo,Kepler,Newton,and Brahe? Explain how each of these natural philosophers built upon the work of his predecessors.

Question 56

In the eighteenth century,Polish territory was divided between

A)unite the Slavic people in a single empire.
B)secure navigable ports.
C)counter threats from the rising powers in Asia.
D)prevent internal revolts from destabilizing the government.

Question 57

Compare and contrast the Ptolemaic and the Copernican systems.Are they different from a technical or a conceptual perspective? What are the philosophical and religious implications of embracing one or the other?

Question 58

How did Enlightenment thinkers view the role of women? How much,if at all,did the Enlightenment affect the position of women in European society? Was their treatment of women a continuation or departure from their other beliefs?

Question 59

Why did the philosophes consider organized religion to be their greatest enemy? Discuss the basic tenets of deism.On what grounds did deists criticize traditional Christianity? How did they try to improve upon traditional beliefs?