One thing that might disappoint you in this chapter is that Hampson generally does not identify the thinkers whom he mentions. Who are Fontenelle, Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, D'Holbach, etc.? You may have come across many of the names in other contexts, but do not worry if you do not recognize them. In one way or another, they represent Enlightenment thought.

As for philosophe, you can probably figure out what it means from the context. In the Encyclopédie ou Dictoinaire raisonné des sciences, des arts, et des métiers (28 vols., 1751-1772), one of the most impressive monuments to Englightement thought, a philosophe is defined as someone who "trampling on prejudice, tradition, universal consent, authority, in a word, all that enslaves most minds, dares to think for himself."

1. What is deism?

2. Did Enlightenment thinkers (philosophes) evince a unified, homogeneous approach to understanding and improving the world around them?

3. Hampson claims that the Enlightenment was "the gateway to the modern world." Do you agree? Consider Enlightenment thought on
(a) the place of the human person in the universe
(b) economy and society
(c) politics

4. Did the Enlightenment have anything to do with the French Revolution?