| Term |
Description |
| Isaac Newton |
(1642-1727); physicist, questioned traditional thought for a more scientific one. |
| John Locke |
(1632-1704); psychologist; wrote "An Essay COncerning Human Understanding" |
| "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding" |
(1690) personality results from life experiences, which in turn shapes character; humans can take charge of their own destiny |
| tabula rasa |
blank page |
| Samuel Johnson |
(1709-1784); writer, publisher, essayist |
| philosophes |
the eighteenth century writers and critics who forged the new attitudes favorable to change |
| Voltaire |
(1694-1778)Francois-Marie Arouet;poet and playwrite; exiled to England; "Letters on the English"; "Elements of the Pilosophy of Newton"; |
| Madame de Chatlet |
(1706-1749) mathematician, helped write "Elemnts of the Philosphy of Newton"; Voltaire's mistress |
| "Letters on the English" |
indirectly criticized French government by comparing it to the English liberties. |
| Deism |
belief in the existence of a God on the evidence of reason and nature only, with rejection of supernatural revelation |
| "Christianity Not Mysterious" |
(1692); John Toland; early diest publication; |
| Gotthold Lessing |
(1729-1781); "Nathan the Wise" |
| David Hume |
(1711-1776); "Inquiry into Human Nature" (1748); "Philosphical Dctionary"(1764); |