Successes of the Enlightenment

562 Words3 Pages
HUM 2249-46B Successes of the Enlightenment The Enlightenment was the time period in which the many cultural and social changes occurred due to the many thoughtful processes of reason and analysis. Not only that, but it promoted the scientific method, challenged ideas grounded in tradition, faith or superstition, and advocated the restructuring of governments and social institutions based on reason. Enlightenment philosophy also stressed that liberty and equality were natural human rights. Along with this, a unique twist of individualism rather than the traditional ways of thinking could be well-associated with the Age of Enlightenment. As a result, Jefferson, Montesquieu, Locke, and other members of the founding generation were deeply influenced by this 18th-century European intellectual movement. These philosophers were exposed to some of the leading thinkers of the Enlightenment who believed rational thought and useful knowledge guaranteed an optimistic outlook of hope and promise of a better future. Not only that, but the many culminating revolutions that revolved - the Scientific Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, etc. - as well as a great environmental awareness were many factors as a result of the Enlightenment. Jefferson drew upon his education in law and Enlightenment philosophy in order to compose the Declaration of Independence, a treatise that focused on liberty and slavery. In the Declaration, Jefferson announced the creation of a new American nation led by its people. He presented Americans as self-governing people who are committed to the principles of liberty and equality against the British tyranny. Fiero transcribes Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence in her fourth book of the Humanistic Tradition, “All men are created equal,” and the importance of this ideal necessitated that “it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish the
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