AP World History Practice Exam 2025 – The Comprehensive All-in-One Guide to Exam Success!

In the context of the Enlightenment, individualism primarily refers to the emphasis on the importance of individual rights and freedoms. This philosophical movement encouraged people to think for themselves, value personal autonomy, and recognize the inherent dignity of each person. Enlightenment thinkers, such as John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, argued that individuals have natural rights that must be protected by governments, and that personal freedom is essential for human flourishing. This focus on individual rights laid the foundation for modern democratic principles and human rights doctrines that prioritize the individual's role within society.

The notion of prioritizing community values over personal interests does not align with the principle of individualism prevalent in Enlightenment thought. Similarly, advocating for totalitarian governance contradicts the central idea of individualism, as it typically entails the suppression of personal freedoms in favor of state control. Finally, while Enlightenment thinkers did challenge existing forms of authority, the idea of outright rejection of all authority is not representative of the movement as a whole, which instead sought to reform and improve systems of governance to better protect individual rights.