Fill in the blank.

During the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, European scientists and philosophers had begun to think about ____________, ______________, and _____________ in new ways.

These thinkers believed that through the power of __________, human society could be understood, improved, and perhaps even perfected. This view of the world is also known as ______________. Rationalism was not restricted to Europe. It influenced important American thinkers such as ____________________, ________________, and ___________________ as well.