## TL;DR

The Enlightenment (18th century, 'Age of Reason') championed reason, science, individual rights, and skepticism of authority. Key thinkers: Locke (natural rights), Montesquieu (separation of powers), Voltaire (civil liberties, religious tolerance), Rousseau (social contract), Kant ('Sapere aude!' — dare to know). Fueled American and French Revolutions.

## Core Explanation

Locke: tabula rasa (blank slate), life/liberty/property. Montesquieu: Spirit of the Laws (1748) — legislative/executive/judicial branches. Rousseau: general will, man born free but everywhere in chains. Adam Smith (Wealth of Nations, 1776): invisible hand, division of labor. Encyclopédie (Diderot & d'Alembert, 1751-72): compendium of all knowledge, 71,818 articles. Salons: intellectual gatherings led by women (Mme Geoffrin).

## Further Reading

- [The Enlightenment (Dorinda Outram, 4th Ed)](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/enlightenment/B4B9824B7A8ED96285F706D33EA9625A)