Social Studies 9 Enlightenment Essay In what ways did the Enlightenment Upset the Balances of Society? The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement during the 17th and 18th century. The Enlightenment changed the way people thought about their society and the entire world. The effort to discover the natural laws that govern the universe led to scientific, political, and social advances. People became more reasonable, individual and skeptical. This movement formed a history-changing force to disturb the society and brought new visions for the future. Firstly, during the Enlightenment, people started to use reasoning to discover the world. For the first time, people began to think about the laws governing the world. They found that nature has its own order and humans could only discover it through curiosity and science. This challenged a lot of the old institutions, especially the Roman Catholic Church, which insists it is the only source of truth. People were not happy with what the priest said, but …show more content…
People found out that they had the right to think differently about the church. If people thought what the priest said was incorrect, they could choose not to follow it. They had the freedom of thought. Since people had the doubt about the church and priests, they decided to share their ideas with others by forming reading clubs and coffeehouses. Without the priest or government officials to monitor them, people could freely express and discuss their ideas of the Enlightenment. Individual freedom also led to self-improvement. Since people were motivated to make the world a better place, they decided to improve their personalities and their social status. This motivation helped form a better society. Since people have the free will to think, to say, and to improve, this made them want to end the rule of the church, which ultimately upset the
The great thinkers of the time period brought some very radical changes into the world. They based all of their ideals on the principle that are men are equal. As a result of the freedoms they wanted, people would be able to do as they pleased and further the sciences, as long as it did not hurt the common good. They led the world into several revolutions that brought about great change. The people of the Enlightenment wanted to break down the barriers that separated the classes and shift the balance of power to the people.
Enlightenment ideas questioned traditional rule which resulted in revolutions and rebellions Criticized role of religion Insisted on importance of reason (reason vs revelation) Enlightenment thinkers (Locke or Montesquieu) created ideas about individual or natural rights Challenged existing authority for rights (suffrage, abolishment of slavery, end of serfdom) In 18th century, people developed sense of commonality based on customs, culture, language, religion, territory Influence of nationalism caused majority of people to form an independence nation, free from colonial possessions.
Emerging scientific advances proved to be harmful to the church as the more people could understand the less they believed what was not understood (500). Travel of the time also aroused more questions; learning about other places and how other cultures functioned stirred cultural skeptics (501). Philosophes were part of this new enlightenment. Philosophes are regular people who were social reformers (502). More than just the upper elite were pondering and altering their behavior.
Thinking changed in response to the Enlightenment politically,economically, and socially. The Enlightenment was a broad international intellectual movement that occurred in the 18th century. Heavy influencers of this period of reason and individualism rather than tradition were Rene Descartes, John Locke, and Sir Isaac Newton. These Influencers were known as the Philosophes whom were critics of the Old Regime and developed new ideas about government,economics and religion to help reform society. Emmanuel Kant described the Enlightenment as “A man leaving his self-cause immaturity”.
The Enlightenment was a social growth movement that spread though Europe during the 1700's. The Enlightenment influenced the world with ideas. It's eager participants thought they were irradiating human understanding and culture after the Middle Ages. The Enlightenment included the rise of reason, scientific method, and liberty. The American and French Revolutions were influenced by the Enlightenment's ethics and marked the pinnacle of its influence and the start of its decline.
The Enlightenment was a major turning point in European society because it changed the whole outcome of all of Europe. In the beginning, before the Enlightenment, nobody thought for themselves, and it was the monarchy and/or the Catholic Church's job to tell people what to think and do. The Enlightenment resulted in people beginning to think for themselves and start to form their own opinions and beliefs that go against the Church and the monarchy. The Enlightenment thinkers used science and philosophical theories to express what they believed in and used the new thoughts to help them solve their problems.
The Enlightenment challenged older patterns, by having people think about basic things of the world, in a different perspective. People started to see the world through scientific methods instead of religious methods. The Enlightenment was exactly the opposite of what religious ideas were all about. Everyone in Europe has been taught about religion and of its content. The enlightenment changed the way people looked at nature and earth.
The Enlightenment caused people to start questioning and thinking of different types of governments such as a democracy. This was unlike the Age of Absolutism where people did whatever the King said and didn’t question it. During the Enlightenment people began to speak out against the government
The enlightenment was a period of much intellectual and social growth. The way the people looked at the world changed. The people started to believe that all men were equal and free. The Declaration of the Rights of Man states “ men are born and remain free and equal in rights.” During the time period people had previously not thought of every person being equal.
The Enlightenment Philosophers were brilliant people who did things that changed the world. The Enlightenment is a story about four philosophers who each had a different story and background. Their main idea was to say what needed to change and happen because of what they believed in. The Philosophers main idea is that they all believe in individual rights and they want to make things right about what they believe was right. John Locke talks about how the state of nature and government worked during his time.
Many cultural changes took place during the Enlightenment era in Europe. “This period is also sometimes referred to as the Age of Reason and is considered to begin with the close of the Thirty Years’ War in 1648 and ended with the French Revolution in 1789” (Encyclopedia). During the Enlightenment, citizens began to rethink the norms of society. Rulers were trying to reform old policies of the government and try to make it stronger. During the Age of Reason, thinkers believed that people should ensure in social justice and happiness in the world.
The Enlightenment supported the public use of one 's reason and mind to be free at all times. The worldview of the Enlightenment imposed an everlasting effect on society. The worldview also caused all of society to challenge their own understanding and to express themselves and their
To sum up the Enlightenment in one sentence, it most closely refers to the individual thinking and action of man, without the need of help or guidance, in order to learn and develop through both good and bad experiences throughout one's life. Also known as the “Age of Reason,” The Enlightenment challenged what man would think like no other movement in natural history. The Enlightenment came about in the midst of the Scientific Revolution where religion, politics, economics, and even social life were challenged through factual evidence and reason. This leads to one of the most challenged and important topics in human history...religion. The effect that the ideas and premise of the Enlightenment had on religion changed the way people thought
The Enlightenment was a period during the 1600 and 1700s where authority, power, government and law was questioned by philosophers. The causes of the Enlightenment was the Thirty Years’ War, centuries of mistreatment at the hands of monarchies and the church, greater exploration of the world, and European thinkers’ interest in the world (scientific study). A large part of the Enlightenment was natural law, which was the belief that people should live their lives and organize their society on the basis of rules and precepts laid down by nature or God; the principles of the Enlightenment in the 1600s through the 1700s influenced the development of the USA by advocating religious and social freedom, freeing the people from oppression, and providing
The study of life in general was more understood than ever before, as medicine and facts took the place of the church’s widespread information based on religious works instead of facts. This era lead to the Enlightenment period, in which independent thought and the strong demand for facts and new information came from the general population. Math, science, medicine, philosophy, discussing thoughts and new information, politics, and physics were the main focus of this time. In essence, this period of time was the manifestation of the Scientific Revolution, allowing for the main principles that were discovered about the world were being put into practice, allowing for further discovery and a need for religious tolerance to make way for science. It allowed the population to use logic instead of outdated ideas from history.