1. In what ways did Diderot's idealization of the culture of Pacific islanders challenge traditional Christianity?
2. How might a person who did not subscribe to the ideas of the Enlightenment have criticized Diderot's argument regarding the noble savage?
3. What impact did the Enlightenment have on Western culture and politics?
4. What were the main features of Enlightenment thought and how did it present a threat to the old order?
5. How did subordinate social groups, most notably the rural peasantry and those who lived in the towns, challenge the aristocracy during the late eighteenth century?
6. What is the basis of Condorcet's optimism that human beings are progressing toward perfection?
7. What is the basis of Rousseau's contention that the human species was degenerating?
8. Do you think modern Western society is progressing or deteriorating?
9. What social groups belonged to the aristocracy and how did they exercise their power and influ-ence during the eighteenth century?
9. How did subordinate social groups, most notably the rural peasantry and those who lived in the towns, chalknge the aristocracy during the late eighteenth century?
10. What were the main features of Enlightenment thought and how did it present a threat to the old order?
11. What impact did the Enlightenment have on Western culture and politics?