What is Enlightenment? The term “enlightenment” is defined by “a movement in the 18th century that advocated the use of reason in the reappraisal of accepted ideas and social institutions”. Before the seventeenth and eighteenth century, the state and the church were the primary institutions that influenced how people perceived society as well as how they were governed. Dogma, blind faith, and superstition plagued the prominent notions of society and therefore logic and reasoning were obsolete. In the beginning of the seventeenth century, a counter revolution began which was established on the principles of reason, logic, criticism and freedom of thought.
Enlightenment thinkers had three main long term beliefs that helped to shape America’s government. The first was belief in progress. The idea of progress was born after the scientific revolution, which influenced people to use human reason to solve social problems. Secondly, it caused people to stop looking at their church for guidance and to start using reason and logic to solve problems. The Enlightenment thinkers also wanted to abolish religious superstitions and promote tolerance of all religions.
As we see in this segment of Document 6 “Reason is in the estimation of the philosopher what grace is to the Christian. Grace determines the Christian's action; reason the philosopher's.” the philosophers of the Enlightenment strove to explain everything by means of logic and reason which was a mindset that was pioneered during the Scientific Revolution. Essentially, Enlightenment thinkers took the rational mindset from scientific discoveries of the Scientific Revolution and began to apply it to society. Isaac Newton's discoveries established the principles of the Enlightenment. At the time, discovery was looked at with skepticism as people had become accustomed to the bible being the only source of information about the world.
This is seen in the Bible when miracles occur and also when god punishes the world. This suggests that this concept of god may be subject to change and that he is affected by the world. God is also changed by prayer as he is happier with his creation when they live peacefully, and they pray to and worship God. The Prime mover contrasts sharply. He is self-contemplatory therefore does not think about the world and is transcendent, hence he is not subject to cause and effect.
Mike Rule Intro to human service Historical essay The Rise Of philosophy and Individualism American philosophy in the early nineteenth century was an enterprise shaped by beliefs in common sense, moral feeling, and self-culture. In addition to being decisively influenced by democratic values, however, Philosophy in antebellum America was also divided by controversies about the roles science and faith would play in constituting knowledge. Scientific empiricism, Protestant theology, and Romantic literary theory contended
Stanley James Granz writes about the origins of postmodernism in his book A Primer on the Postmodern: “Many historians place the birth of the modern era at the dawn of Enlightenment... it became the God of human intellectual quest to unlock the secrets of the universe in order to master nature for human benefit and create a better world”. (Granz, 1996) It is important to familiarize ourselves with Enlightenment in order to understand postmodernism. The term is used within the European philosophy and refers to the time we know now as the Age of Reason. An example of the quizzical, curious state of minds of people living in this era can look no further than the first encyclopaedias, which were compiled and published during this period. Rather than be content with what history had taught them, they would seek the truth, rather than settle for superstition and fear.
In his view, the Church's first and foremost goal isn't the individual experience, but rather the ability for humans to create the Kingdom of God on earth. For Raushenbusch this could be done through what he called the “social gospel.” “Since the Kingdom is the supreme end of God, it must be the purpose for which the church exists.”[7] By living each day in love, humans should theoretically be able to live like Jesus Christ and in turn reform society. This focus was influenced by many factors. One prevalent factor, which led to this sense of urgency toward social reform, was the migration of the population. In Emerson's time, the majority of American citizens lived in rural areas.
Tozer emphasizes the power of worshiping God. He criticizes a large number of Christians for their substitutes for worship. The reason for man’s existence is to worship God for how loving he is. What man does in the day must be somehow focused toward worshiping God in order to fill the role in his creation. Humans lack true worship for a few reasons.
Kant shows this by using an example “If I have a book, which understands for me, a pastor who has a conscience for me, a physician who decides my diet, and so forth, I need not trouble myself.” (Kant 1) It reveals people’s shortages, laziness and cowardice, perfectly, which lead to a lack of using their own reason and gaining knowledge. Another important theme in Enlightenment is the
The classical theory is a product of the Enlightenment period which is a period of history spanning roughly from 1517 to 1789. The Enlightenment period, or Age of Reason period, was charachterized by a direct intellectual challenge to the theological worldview. This challenge to the theological view was brought about by Enlightenment thinkers who promoted a more scientific view. Most Enlightenment thinkers drew many of their ideas from the Greek or Classical philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. These classical thinkers derove their reasonning from personnal observations.