Final answer:
The Enlightenment encouraged people to question traditional authority, recognize natural rights, and engage in social contracts.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Enlightenment, a philosophical and intellectual movement that emerged in the 17th and 18th centuries, encouraged people to question traditional authority. Enlightenment thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau challenged the existing political and social order, advocating for individual rights and liberty. They proposed that individuals had natural rights which should be protected by the government. The Enlightenment also promoted the idea of a social contract, where individuals willingly gave up some of their natural rights in exchange for the protection and benefits of society.