Department: Humanities and Social Sciences

Major: __________________________________________________
Course: _______________________

Semester: II

Summative test

Professor: Ricardo Fidalgo

Name : ______________________________________________ Grade:_____
Read the text carefully and answer all the questions as suggested.

Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment, sometimes called the Age of Reason, refers to the time of the
guiding intellectual movement, called The Enlightenment. It covers about a century and a half
in Europe, beginning with the publication of Francis Bacon's Novum Organum (1620) and
ending with Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason (1781). The Enlightenment
advocated reason as a means to establishing an authoritative system of aesthetics,ethics,
government, and even religion, which would allow human beings to obtain objective truth about
the whole of reality. The age of Enlightenment is considered to have ended with the French
Revolution, which had a violent aspect that discredited it in the eyes of many. The legacy of the
Enlightenment has been of enormous consequence for the modern world. The general decline of
the church, the growth of secular humanism and political and economic liberalism, the belief in
progress, and the development of science are among its fruits.Taken to its logical extreme, the
Enlightenment resulted in atheism.
Political thought
Europe had been ravaged by religious wars; when peace in the political situation had been
restored, after the Peace of Westphalia(1648) and the English Civil War (1642-1651), an
intellectual upheaval overturned the accepted belief that mysticism and revelation are the
primary sources of knowledge and wisdomwhich was blamed for fomenting political
instability. Instead, the Age of Reason sought to establish axiomatic philosophy as a foundation
for stability.
The seventeenth century saw the birth of some of the classics of political thought,
especially Thomas
Hobbes' Leviathan (1651),
andJohn
Locke's Two
Treatises
of
Government (1690). They were basically against the notion of the divine right of the kings,
according to which the king derives his right to rule from the will of God and not from any
temporal authority, including the will of his subjects, the aristocracy, or any other estate of the
realm, so that any attempt to depose the king or to restrict his powers runs contrary to the will of
God.
Hobbes argued that it is by natural law and contract that sovereignty is to be transferred to the
king or monarch, because it is ultimately derived from the people and not from the divine right.
Locke proposed an even more democratic view, maintaining that the purpose of authority is to
protect human equality and freedom. According to him, citizens agree to a "social contract" that
places an authority over them, but if that authority ceases to care for their welfare,
independence, and equality, then the contract is broken and it is the duty of the members of
society to overthrow the ruler. Other political thinkers include Montesquieu (1689-1755)
and Jean-Jacques
Rousseau (1712-1778).
Montesquieu defined three
forms
of
government: Republics, monarchies, and despotisms, and undoubtedly preferred republics
where, according to him, the three governmental powers of legislative, executive, and judicial

are to be separated. Rousseau's Du contrat social (1762) presented his theory of the just state
centering on the general will of the people expressed in the laws.
I. Reading Comprehension
1. What are the main legacies of enlightenment in religion and politics nowadays?
2.Who are the main thinkers of this period and what contributions did they give in the realm of
world politics?
3. Compare and contrast Rousseaus theory to Thomas Aquinas theology of Gods existence.
Which one seems more logical? Justify.
4. How does Thomas Hobbes and John Lockes views differ from absolute monarchs like Louis
XIV attitude? How did Hobbes argue against divine attributes of kings? How did his view
contribute to the establishment of republic?
5. Comment on the following statements:
a) The western society has benefited and also been spoiled because of the unlimited freedom
gained as the result of enlightenment.
b) The political instability in Guinea is due to lack of separation of governmental powers as
advocated by Montesquieu. This author was right. One cannot have political stability in
democracy without different branches functioning in independent manner.
II. Vocabulary
1. Find in the text words or phrases with the same meaning as:
a)
b)
c)
d)

Heritage (1st paragraph) _________________________

Related to God (3rd paragraph)____________________
Must (last paragraph)____________________________
Revolution( 2nd paragraph)________________________

III. Grammar- Complete the sentences with present perfect or present perfect progressive
with ever, how long, since, for, just, already and yet.
a) Q: ________________________________ (you/ study) Portuguese?
A1: _________________________________ (I/study) Portuguese_________ 13 years.
A2 :___________________________________(I/study ) Portuguese _______ I was
six.
b) Litos- Lets go and visit Tom in the hospital.
Paula- There is no need. ______________________________ (he/die)
c) Q: ______________________________(your parents/ discover) the truth ________?
A1: Yes, ______________________________________ the truth.
A2: No, ____________________________________ the truth _________.
IV. Composition
Choose on of the following topics and write a short composition
Topic 1: Politics in Cabo Verde/Topic 2: The enlightenment and Secularism

Topic 3: The enlightenment legacy in CV political system