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.
During the 1800’s, there were many new scientific developments that sparked interest in the new fields that were opening up. There had been many new developments by Crosse, Darwin, Galvani, and other scientists, concerning biological evolution (or ‘natural science’ as it had been known) and electricity. She frequently references contemporary novels from the Romantic period, such as Coleridge and,
On the other hand, the nobility had many rights. Today it’s greatly known that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were well influenced from the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment thinkers argued against these traditions, and called for individual freedoms, governments of the people, and religious freedom. They were "enlightened" because they believed that humans could answer questions for them, and sought ways to put this philosophy into practice. John Locke, an Enlightenment thinker, highly influenced the Declaration of Independence.
Europe, the Middle East, and China developed new ways of thinking and understanding the world. They were motivated by a sense of empowerment and confidence in human capacity. The Axial Age was a movement from a pessimistic view of the world to one of great reliance on reason and self discovery. In consequence, the Axial Age was essentially an ideological revolution where many philosophers developed innovative ways of thinking about religion, science, and politics. In what concerns religion, the greatest paradigm shift was monotheism.
Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the seemingly modern, theological humanistic approach to the Christian world posed a need for a new and fresh way of thinking as it related to the hierarchical order. Challenging to the current, traditional world order, this new order escorted in a period called the Enlightenment. This period was a time of scientific awakening centered around France. During this period theorists undertook the big topics such as social and moral theory and the role of mankind in the world. In addition, during this period, numerous developments were made, the outlook of humans as related to God was shifted, and a wide host of logical ideas were being debated in huge forums.
Although many "Enlightened Thinkers", or philosophers, such as Hume, Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau, Newton, Smith, Galileo and Montesquieu had contradicting attitudes toward human nature and politics, they all played a key role in the development of the ideas, which set a foundation for many modern countries to evolve from. England and France, for example, were both strongly influenced by the ideas and reforms brought upon by several crucial historical figures of the time, as their governments and other ideas were formed based upon certain principles from the individuals. "There is no crueler tyranny then that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name
During the Renaissance, there were many scientific advances and discoveries. Weapons and armory also improved to help soldiers fight. The Renaissance Period started around the fourteenth century and ended around the beginning of the seventeenth century. New information was rediscovered by Christian scholars due to the growth of trade and crusades (Centers of Inventions ?). The West learned many things from Arabian thinkers who had a much greater level of scientific success.
The Enlightenment Era: All over the Map With the great leaps that were made in the areas of math and science during the 1600’s by such great names as Isaac Newton, a new era was ushered in called the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment predominated during the 18th century in England and France, although its ideals also held power in the rest of Europe and into America. Enlightenment thinkers borrowed their ideas of evidence-based rationality from Newton, who conducted his scientific experiments with a focus on evidence and concrete data. His focus was on the tangible natural world with an avoidance of the supernatural and unproven. (Kleiner 589) John Locke was also an important influence on Enlightenment thought as he focused on the goodness of the individual and his natural rights.
The traditional conflict was replaced by a balance between Catholicism and natural science. * Independence: the modern Catholicism re-positioned itself: expanding its space of its own existence and seeking the value of its existence. The Catholicism has realized that Catholicism and science could co-exist. * Dialogue: To some extent, the dialogue is a competition of the right of modern discourse. Catholic Church used more knowledge of modern social sciences, such as history, anthropology, sociology and economics, to play a positive role in modern society, such as solving international issues.
It brought about the end to the dark ages and led to a new wave of knowledge that swept through all of Europe. It also came with the rediscovery of ancient Greek and Roman texts. They prompted explorers to go further and explore more than anyone had before. The difference that the Europeans had wanted was that they wanted a Christian influence to be included in the exploration. Columbus was the first to explore proving that the world was in fact not flat.