Essay on The Enlightenment - 1351 Words

The Enlightenment Throughout Europe and the new American colonies in the 18th century there was a great movement in thought. This trend that preceded the French Revolution is known as the Enlightenment. Revolutionary writers and thinkers thought that the past held only darkness and ignorance, they began to question everything. Enlightened thought entered, or intruded, into all aspects of life in the 1700s. Governments were drastically reformed, art and literature changed in scope, religion was threatened, the study of science spread, nature was seen in a new light, and humanity evolved greatly. This new way of thinking was propelled by curiosity and observations of society and nature. The Enlightenment was a desire for human†¦show more content†¦Never the less, this time period sparked many important changes in thought. In countries such as France, where the Enlightenment thrived, the Catholic Church felt very threatened by the philosophes and their new age thinking. Through the teachings of the Bible, religion has attempted to appease people’s natural curiosities. In Genesis 1:1-31, the Story of Creation is told to satisfy people’s desire to know how they came to be. Throughout history, the Church has explained tragedies such as the plague and miracles such as rain and harvests as divine intervention. When philosophes of the Eighteenth Century began observing natural phenomena themselves and questioning long accepted ideas, the Church began to worry. A country built around religion cannot survive if its subjects lose their faith. Prior to this era, people questioned nothing that was explained by their church. Farmers accepted bad seasons because their minister told them that they were being punished. No one looked at nature as its own force. In fact, people feared nature beca use God controlled it. People were inferior to God and the Church and had no confidence in free thought. During the Enlightenment, people actually began looking to nature for answers; religion took a back seat. Through this revolution of thought and the study of nature, people for the first time gained confidence in themselvesShow MoreRelatedThe Enlightenment1278 Words   |  6 Pages World Literature The Enlightenment’s Impact on the Modern World The Enlightenment, Age of Reason, began in the late 17th and 18th century. This was a period in Europe and America when mankind was emerging from centuries of ignorance into a new age enlightened by reason, science, and respect for humanity. This period promoted scientific thought, skeptics, and intellectual interchange: dismissing superstition, intolerance, and for some, religion. Western Europe, Germany, France, and Great BritainRead MoreWhat Is Enlightenment1120 Words   |  5 PagesIn his essay titled What is Enlightenment? Immanuel Kant defines enlightenment as mans leaving his self-caused immaturity. 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