On one hand, the Enlightenment views saw God as a far away figure that did not interfere with the lives of humans. The Enlightenment was a period of intellectual growth that tried to explain the true nature of mankind and how it progresses. One of the most important theorists for The Enlightenment was John Locke. John Locke created a theory called tabula theory, which had important assumptions about human nature and undermined Christian assertion that humankind was inherently sinful. Another person who also criticized some of the religious views was Pierre Bayle.
Gordon Wood’s The Radicalism of the American Revolution provided an interesting and insightful view into the changes that were wrought by the struggle to create a republic on North American soil. Wood’s central thesis was that the political reform movement ushered in by the Revolution caused a deep social revolution, which changed the nature of American society and had a powerful impact on everything that the United States has undertaken throughout its entire existence. According to Wood, the Revolution caused America to run through several different phases of development, moving from the social organization of a monarchical society to that of a republican society and finally ending up as a democratic society that ultimately distressed many of the Revolution’s leaders. Wood claimed that the political reorganization in America changed how citizens viewed one another and had a subtle, but deep and profound change on their social relationships. Further, the American Revolution was a radical movement that changed the world in a way that shook it to its foundations by challenging the concept of aristocracy in the Western World that had existed for two thousand years and completely changed the political and social landscape in the United States and the world forever.
Enlightenment Influences The Enlightenment period brought about a lot of change for life thereafter. The Enlightenment philosophers and writers influenced literature, creative arts, government documents, and much more. Some ideas from the Enlightenment were: the need for a new government structure, with “consent of the people”. Freedoms from oppression, power of democracy were key ideas during the Enlightenment period. Balance of power and natural rights were also ideas birthed during this period.
Simply put, the fine-tuning argument contends that the universe was designed to ultimately create human beings. Fine-tuning is an argument which is able to contest one of the atheist’s own theories to disprove God. This will be explained in more detail later in this paper. In response to this, McCloskey says the cosmological argument “does not entitle us to postulate an all-powerful, all-perfect, uncaused cause.” As mentioned before, the cosmological argument is but one part of a concurrence for the existence of God. It does not prove God’s existence; it argues that there must be a necessary being which created the universe.
Alison Martin Britain How important was political opportunism as a reason for Britain becoming more democratic between 1851 and 1928 ? Between 1851 and 1928 Britain evolved into a democracy. This happened due to various reasons. Some historians believe that the most important reason for parliamentary reform was political opportunism, whereas other historians believe that it was other factors that caused Britain to become a democracy. The other factors were: the long term legacy of the French revolution, the impact of the industrial revolution on British society, the new voting system which replaced the outdated one.
This proceeds with the question; what advancements are moral? I believe that any science, innovation, study, or sort of exploration must be morally just, intended to better our understanding of the world, and be created with intention to improve any part of society. For example, the formation of the first rocket ship was monumental in bringing exploration to the new frontier and impacted our society for the better. Therefore this invention would be considered moral and for positive advancement. On the contrary, the scientific creation of something such as the nuclear bomb could be considered scientific expansion for the worse as it can provide horrible outcomes and is lethal if put in the wrong hands; thus classified as
Following the scientific revolution, a new way of thinking was born. This new approach, known as the Enlightenment, sought out new ideas about government, economics, religion, and education. The Enlightenment, also known as the age of reason, reached its peak in the mid 1700’s and brought great change to the world. The ideas of the Enlightenment were based on that of philosophers; men who analyzed the divine rights of monarchs, union of church and state, social equality, and the idea of a more democratic government. Men such as John Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Voltaire, and Beccaria were the main people whose ideas influenced the Enlightenment and the birth and independence of the United States.
Rational knowledge is often derived from syllogisms. Unless both the major and minor premises of syllogisms are sound, the logical conclusions drawn from the rational thoughts are unsound. Scientists cannot rely on rational knowledge alone because rational knowledge involved only form and not content (Jackson, 2009). Empirical knowledge is gained through objective observations and a person’s experience in relation to his or her senses (Jackson, 2009). A person who relies on empirical knowledge only believes what can be detected by his/her senses (sight, sound, taste, etc.).
What were the ideas expressed during the Enlightenment? How did they spread?- A philosophical movement in eighteenth-century Europe that fostered the belief that one could reform society by discovering rational laws that governed social behavior and that were just as scientific as the laws of physics. 3. What were Benjamin Franklin’s achievements?- Some of Benjamin's greatest achievements are later in life when he became a premier statesman. He was elected to the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1750 where his principal duties were voyaging to London to represent the colony before the English parliament.
Enlightenment Thinkers The scientific revolution caused a breakthrough for the Enlightenment in the eighteenth century, giving great examples of social and political methods as a form of stepping stones for new theories and ideas. A selected few Enlightenment thinkers pressed on their suggestions of natural rights and human powers strongly. These thinkers created new viewpoints for everyone to see reason and understand that every person is of equal importance. John Locke stated that the people and the government have an imaginary form of contract; stating that if the government is not fulfilling their part, then the people can overthrow the government and create a new one. The Frenchman, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, opinioned that in order for