"Reason is to the philosopher what grace is to the Christian... Other men walk in darkness; the philosopher, who has the same passions, acts only after reflection; he walks through the night, but it is preceded by a torch. The philosopher forms his principles on an infinity of particular observations. He does not confuse truth with plausibility; he takes for truth what is true, for forgery what is false, for doubtful what is doubtful, and probable what is probable. The philosophical spirit is thus a spirit of observation and accuracy." ~ Dumarsais, French philosopher and grammarian; a major contributor in the age of enlightenment.
Anybody willing to know, what was the enlightenment period must understand that it was an era, a great historical phase, when reason, argument and critical thinking was considered more valuable than the superstitious beliefs, blind faith and irrational thinking. It was so not so for the past hundreds of centuries. Religious and traditional theories about life and society existed in western philosophy for a long time. Clergymen dominated the thinking of people and science wasn't in the purview anywhere.
What Was the Enlightenment About
The major theories and concepts about life, no matter how superstitious and vague, were widely accepted before the enlightenment period. The age of enlightenment marked the end of such hypocrisy and irrational thinking about concepts of Universe, life and living. So what kind of movement was the enlightenment? It was a major shift in thinking about traditional beliefs and values that had been in existence for hundreds of centuries. With the breed of some genius enlightenment thinkers coming to defend theories of science and promote reasoning, as a major tool for growth, the enlightenment period kick started a major development phase for western society. The waves of enlightenment started from Europe and spread in England, USA and gradually spread all across the world.
Those who're wondering 'what was the enlightenment period', must understand that it was the 18th century that is regarded as the era of enlightenment but its roots go back to the 13th and 15th century. It all started from the recuperation of Aristotelian logic by Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century. We all know about the famous Greek philosopher, Aristotle who challenged faith and beliefs of the clergymen, by brilliance of logic. Thomas sharpened the Aristotelian logic and in the centuries to come, majorly, the 15th to 17th century, the world witnessed a new breed of scientific thinkers.
It was during these periods that the world was stormed by scientific revolution with Nicolaus Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler Galileo Galilei and Issac Newton inventing some of the most foundational theories in classical sciences. However, the Catholic Church never accepted tools of logic for combating ignorance, superstition and tyranny to build a better, peaceful and prosperous world. So what was the enlightenment - it was an end to stupidities of blind faith and sheer irrationality when it came to acceptance of life.
The mere emergence of logic and reason as a tool to end the irrational beliefs of churches became a world wide phenomena and even entered Europe in full storm. So philosophers call the 17th century, as the 'Age of Reason'. What followed this age of reason is the 'Age of Enlightenment', in the 18th century. Some of the most prominent philosophers whose thinking dominated the 'Age of Reason' were Rene Descartes (1596 - 1650), Benedict Spinoza (1632 - 1677), Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626), Thomas Hobbes (1588 - 1679), John Locke (1632 - 1704), David Hume (1711 - 1776), Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712 - 1778) and Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804).
'What was the enlightenment and what effect did it have in the colonies'? The enlightenment era was a more intense representation of the age of reason. The enlightenment spread in European colonies and even in England and it began to transform people's view about modern science, religion and thoughts. As per 'enlightenment' - tools of logic like modern science, understanding of society and similar works can create a more balanced society, that can become prosperous. Social inequality can be eliminated by making growth and development as a major priority in every area.
During the enlightenment age, Encyclopédie, one of the greatest publications ever known in human history that moved on to transform the social and political scene of world, in particular Europe and France, was published. In this Encyclopédie, a large number of philosophers contributed their article. In understanding 'what is enlightenment and its influence', one should consider the fact the Encyclopédie became the basis of French Revolution in 1919 and it also gave rise to theories of Capitalism, that is a popular form of economy in today's era. The American enlightenment that led to the drafting of the Declaration of independence was dominated by theories and thoughts of enlightenment.
Much of our present day thinking is based on logic, modern science and rationality. Some notable names during the age of enlightenment were the geniuses like Denis Diderot (1713 - 1784), Jean le Rond d'Alembert (1717 - 1783), François-Marie Arouet a.k.a Voltaire (1694 - 1778), Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712 - 1778), Gotthold Lessing (1729 - 1781), Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804), Thomas Paine (1737 - 1809) and Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826).
Through the above information, you must have got some insights about 'what was the enlightenment movement'. In culmination, it can be said that the age of enlightenment brought an end to the domination of churches and religious dogmas.
Anybody willing to know, what was the enlightenment period must understand that it was an era, a great historical phase, when reason, argument and critical thinking was considered more valuable than the superstitious beliefs, blind faith and irrational thinking. It was so not so for the past hundreds of centuries. Religious and traditional theories about life and society existed in western philosophy for a long time. Clergymen dominated the thinking of people and science wasn't in the purview anywhere.
What Was the Enlightenment About
The major theories and concepts about life, no matter how superstitious and vague, were widely accepted before the enlightenment period. The age of enlightenment marked the end of such hypocrisy and irrational thinking about concepts of Universe, life and living. So what kind of movement was the enlightenment? It was a major shift in thinking about traditional beliefs and values that had been in existence for hundreds of centuries. With the breed of some genius enlightenment thinkers coming to defend theories of science and promote reasoning, as a major tool for growth, the enlightenment period kick started a major development phase for western society. The waves of enlightenment started from Europe and spread in England, USA and gradually spread all across the world.
Those who're wondering 'what was the enlightenment period', must understand that it was the 18th century that is regarded as the era of enlightenment but its roots go back to the 13th and 15th century. It all started from the recuperation of Aristotelian logic by Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century. We all know about the famous Greek philosopher, Aristotle who challenged faith and beliefs of the clergymen, by brilliance of logic. Thomas sharpened the Aristotelian logic and in the centuries to come, majorly, the 15th to 17th century, the world witnessed a new breed of scientific thinkers.
It was during these periods that the world was stormed by scientific revolution with Nicolaus Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler Galileo Galilei and Issac Newton inventing some of the most foundational theories in classical sciences. However, the Catholic Church never accepted tools of logic for combating ignorance, superstition and tyranny to build a better, peaceful and prosperous world. So what was the enlightenment - it was an end to stupidities of blind faith and sheer irrationality when it came to acceptance of life.
The mere emergence of logic and reason as a tool to end the irrational beliefs of churches became a world wide phenomena and even entered Europe in full storm. So philosophers call the 17th century, as the 'Age of Reason'. What followed this age of reason is the 'Age of Enlightenment', in the 18th century. Some of the most prominent philosophers whose thinking dominated the 'Age of Reason' were Rene Descartes (1596 - 1650), Benedict Spinoza (1632 - 1677), Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626), Thomas Hobbes (1588 - 1679), John Locke (1632 - 1704), David Hume (1711 - 1776), Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712 - 1778) and Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804).
'What was the enlightenment and what effect did it have in the colonies'? The enlightenment era was a more intense representation of the age of reason. The enlightenment spread in European colonies and even in England and it began to transform people's view about modern science, religion and thoughts. As per 'enlightenment' - tools of logic like modern science, understanding of society and similar works can create a more balanced society, that can become prosperous. Social inequality can be eliminated by making growth and development as a major priority in every area.
During the enlightenment age, Encyclopédie, one of the greatest publications ever known in human history that moved on to transform the social and political scene of world, in particular Europe and France, was published. In this Encyclopédie, a large number of philosophers contributed their article. In understanding 'what is enlightenment and its influence', one should consider the fact the Encyclopédie became the basis of French Revolution in 1919 and it also gave rise to theories of Capitalism, that is a popular form of economy in today's era. The American enlightenment that led to the drafting of the Declaration of independence was dominated by theories and thoughts of enlightenment.
Much of our present day thinking is based on logic, modern science and rationality. Some notable names during the age of enlightenment were the geniuses like Denis Diderot (1713 - 1784), Jean le Rond d'Alembert (1717 - 1783), François-Marie Arouet a.k.a Voltaire (1694 - 1778), Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712 - 1778), Gotthold Lessing (1729 - 1781), Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804), Thomas Paine (1737 - 1809) and Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826).
Through the above information, you must have got some insights about 'what was the enlightenment movement'. In culmination, it can be said that the age of enlightenment brought an end to the domination of churches and religious dogmas.
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