Key Terms for Enlightenment

3. an implicit agreement by members of a society whereby they give up individual freedoms in exchange for social benefits
4. an economic system in which market forces are unregulated and unrestricted
5. a political and social philosophy that promotes individual rights, civil liberties, democracy, and free enterprise.
6. the idea that Jews should be granted equal rights with other citizens of the state
9. the idea that one's own religion is not the sole and exclusive source of truth. Someone with a pluralistic mindset thus acknowledges that at least some truths and true values exist in other religions. Another conception of religious pluralism is that two or more religions with mutually exclusive truth claims are equally valid; this may be considered a form of either toleration (a concept that arose as a result of the European wars of religion) or moral relativism (which is the idea that morals are socially constructed).
10. rights that are not dependent on laws and customs of any government. Rights that cannot be given and taken away.
11. The division of the powers of a government into separate branches with the intent that each branch can check and balance the others. Executive, legislative, judicial. Coined by Montesquieu.

1. a form of government where the ruler, usually a monarch, has completely unlimited and unchecked power
2. an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.
7. a period of European history characterized by philosophical discussions questioning the status quo
8. the theoretical state humans existed in prior to forming governments and societies