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Difficulty: MediumEnlightenment Thought and Social Contract Theories

"Our hopes for the future condition of the human race may be reduced to three important points: the destruction of inequality between different nations; the progress of equality in one and the same nation; and lastly, the real improvement of man. ... Will all nations one day approach that state of civilization which the most enlightened, the most free, the most exempt from prejudices, as the French and the Anglo-Americans, have already attained? Will the vast distance which separates these people from the servitude of nations subjected to kings, from the barbarism of African tribes, from the ignorance of savages, little by little disappear?"

Marquis de Condorcet, French philosopher, Sketch for a Historical Picture of the Progress of the Human Mind, 1795

The views expressed in the passage are most directly an application of which of the following Enlightenment principles?

  1. A
    The application of Social Darwinism to justify civilizing missions in non-European societies.
  2. B
    The defense of mercantilist economic policies to maintain imperial control over trade networks.
  3. The belief in the capacity of human reason to drive societal progress and eliminate inequality.Answer
  4. D
    The advocacy for a violent overthrow of the capitalist system by the working class.

Answer

The belief in the capacity of human reason to drive societal progress and eliminate inequality
The correct answer is correct because Condorcet's writing epitomizes the late eighteenth-century Enlightenment belief in the inevitability of human progress and the potential of all societies to improve through reason and education. He argues that inequalities between nations and classes will eventually disappear as rational principles spread globally.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the passage to identify the author's primary theme, focusing on terms like 'progress of equality' and 'real improvement of man.'
The author expresses a strong optimism that all human nations will gradually progress toward equality, rationality, and freedom.
This establishes the core argument of the historical source.
2
Relate this theme to the key concepts of the Enlightenment intellectual movement.
The theme directly corresponds to the Enlightenment belief in human progress, education, and the perfectibility of society through reason.
This matches the historical context and the philosophical origins of the text.
3
Evaluate the choices to identify the correct principle while eliminating distractors based on chronological or conceptual mismatches.
The option centered on human reason driving progress is correct, while those referencing Social Darwinism, Marxism, and mercantilism are eliminated because they represent later ideologies or opposing systems.
This confirms the correct choice under exam-like conditions.

Key Concept

Enlightenment Thought and Social Contract Theories
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Enlightenment Thought and Social Contract Theories

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