...The so-called long Age of Enlightenment in Europe, stretching from the mid-17th century into the 1830s, engendered new political, economic and social ideals and generated knowledge across the arts and sciences. But part of its impetus was outside of Europe. Dorinda Outram likens the European Enlightenment to" a world drama of cross-cultural contact" that "triggered anxieties" for Europeans about the nature of being civilized (Outram, 2004). To the 17th century English philosopher John Locke, an early archetype of an enlightened thinker, the discovery of the New World of America "enlarged the sphere of contemplation" about "civilized man" and his "savage ancestors" (Locke, 1690). There was more to discover. The scientific journeys of exploration around the Pacific in the 18th century by James Cook, another archetypal figure of the Enlightenment, were significant in creating the imagination and knowledge of the age. Although the Enlightenment was a European phenomenon, its scope became global as the scholars of Europe attempted to classify and order the peoples, plants and animals of other worlds as well as map their landscapes. Maori scholar Linda Tuhiwai Smith succinctly sums up the process: "They came, they saw, they named, they claimed" (Tuhiwai Smith, 2001, p. 80). 'Discovery' was the watchword of the Enlightenment (Porter, 2000), realised only by a few Europeans but imagined by many others and evident in the fashion for paintings of drawing room explorations with globes ahd...
Words: 606 - Pages: 3
...Enlightenment Starting in the mid 1700’s to 1800’s a movement had set in based on rational thought and reason, it was known as the Enlightenment era also known as the Age of Reason. This era created ideas that shaped the political, economic and social institutions in the United States. Men in this era such as Thomas Paine, who was a politician and philosopher, Thomas Jefferson our third president as well as an apostle of agrarian, and Benjamin Franklin, author, scientist, philosopher, and statesman. All these men emphasize the importance of using reason and logic instead of superstition or ignorance. They focus on creating and writing, science, politics and other subjects in this era which influence decades to come (Age of Enlightenment, 2011). In today’s society these ideas have become relevant. Thomas Paine influences the Enlightenment politically and socially, because of his beliefs he was damned by many people in both America and England. Thomas Paine was born in England; he was a corset maker and excise officer in England, although showed interested in philosophy and science. He later in life then met up with Benjamin Franklin in London and soon after he sailed to Philadelphia. He found work in 1775 in the Pennsylvania Magazine writing articles and essays “on democracy, universal suffrage, and revolution, shaping the unheard of idea of democracy into the freedom the citizens of so many countries know today”. Unfortunately some of his writing landed him in jail to which...
Words: 274 - Pages: 2
...This essay explains three key features of the Age of Enlightenment that include liberalism, rationalism and equality. These key features will be explained in terms of how they reflect specific assumptions about children and education. Furthermore to evaluate how these ideas have impacted children’s education in both the past and the present. Liberalism requires members of society to develop liberal ideas such as individualism and independence amongst the likes of John Locke who wrote a book called ‘Some thought Concerning Education’ (1893) which emphasises the significance of early education in the home. “upbringing in the home is crucial for the development of good character” (May, 1997, p. 3). Rationalism is another imperative feature of the Age of Enlightenment as people used theory to make sense of human development along the likes of Rousseau. His book, ‘Emile’ is about the development of a young boy becoming a man using his ideas for child rearing. “education should be a response to the child’s curiosity and interest to natural world.” (May, p. 39-40, 2005) This theory was put into practice by Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi who was so impressed with his ideas that “he attempted to rear his child according to Rousseau’s principles” (May, 1997, p. 11). The Enlightenment implies equality necessary for females to be educated alongside men to allow for equal opportunity. In Wollstonecraft’s book ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Women’ (1792) she protests for women’s rights...
Words: 1186 - Pages: 5
...Today, the age of enlightenment is commonly thought of as a large shift in political and social views that sparked great leaps for social justice, equality, and science. The age of enlightenment is often studied alongside the French Revolution as a marker of the period and the shift in social and political beliefs. While most textbooks focus on a pro enlightenment view, following the French Revolution, there is a much more diverse set of opinions that are often ignored. These opinions can be broken into four categories of thought. Those who believe the enlightenment was created with reason, those who believe it was a natural process, those who believed the enlightenment created a docile society, and those who thought that the enlightenment was destructive. These four beliefs, while being diverse in thought, are geographically diverse being rooted in Germany,...
Words: 1424 - Pages: 6
...came to believe that “reason” was a better guide than faith or tradition. To them, “reason” was the light that burned the darkness away and showed the way to the truth. Hence, the 18th century was labeled as the Age of Enlightenment. The Age of Enlightenment is one of the main causes of the the American and French revolutions, it is also considered as a predecessor to the Industrial Revolution. The Age of Enlightenment was influenced by the ideas of several different revolutionary thinkers, but two of the biggest thinkers of the seventeenth century, Isaac Newton and John Locke, are often referred to as the “father of Enlightenment”. The American Enlightenment, more moderate than in...
Words: 1002 - Pages: 5
...The Age of Reason better known as The Age of Enlightenment is a period of time during the 17th and 18th century, based in Europe, where people looked for ways to improve society by discussing political, religious, economic, and social questions. It was full of great new ideas which helped form the Democratic society we live in today. In this paper, I will discuss many of the great ideas some of the more famous philosophers had and the general idea they shared. The main idea of the enlightenment was natural rights (rights that are given people not by society but nature) and every person had the ability to reason. The most famous thinkers of this time where John Locke, Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet), Adam Smith, and Mary Wollstonecraft. Voltaire believed that people had the natural right to practice whatever religion, you didn't have to accept the religion just be tolerant of it. By doing so this could be used as an economic boom, such as the Royal exchange in London in which people from all over Eurasia would come and exchange goods. By doing so it made products only available in one area available in multiple, giving greater access to these items. “If only one religion...
Words: 1042 - Pages: 5
...The Age of Enlightenment was the period of scientific Awakening; The Age of Enlightenment was mainly around France. The enlightenment attacked the church head on focusing issues that have been avoided in the past. This took courage to try to defy the church. The Enlightenment let people question anything such as “was the earth the center of the universe” like the church said it was or is the Earth flat. There were 4 main areas which changed occurred was in Religion, Intellectual, Economic, and political. In religion, Questioning of Catholic beliefs and Protestantism led to tolerance for new ideas occurred. In, Intellectual, Free intellectual inquiry resulted from widespread opposition to religious intolerance, the French revolution led to 'age...
Words: 451 - Pages: 2
...The Age of Enlightenment was an intellectual and scientific movement of 18th century Europe where it was acceptable for people to question anything. This is when the church started being questioned. Through many philosophers and documents, I view the Age of Enlightenment as a positive effect for the Christian faith. Thomas Paine, a proponent of Deism as a philosophy of natural religion, wrote a document comparing Deism with the Christian religion. He states, “But the Church of Rome could not erect the person called Jesus into a Savior of the world without making the allegories in the book of Genesis into fact, though the New Testament, as before observed, gives no authority for it” (Paine, 3). Paine believes that there isn’t enough proof to say that Jesus was a real man. For Paine and all the other Deists, the stories of Jesus in the New Testament isn’t enough proof of Jesus’ existence....
Words: 742 - Pages: 3
...Hattar 3 Anthony Hattar SAO Herr Human Culture and Thought II November 2015 CP 5 In the Enlightenment Age there was a huge shift in how people thought. Intellectually people began to change their views on the world and society. This was happening because of new methods and discoveries that were achieved in the Scientific Revolution in the 16th and 17th centuries. This created a snow ball effect, small discoveries led to bigger ones and before the world knew if two centuries of philosophy and innovation had occurred. Things that probably had a huge impact where earth science and astronomy. Examples of is this the armillary sphere. It is an instrument that models the celestial sphere with respect to the horizon of an observer. It is made up of rings representing the great circles on the celestial sphere such as the horizon, the celestial equator, the colures and the ecliptic. They can be adjusted to any latitude and can be used either as an instrument of observation or as a tool of demonstration. This tool helped aid in navigation. Because of this tool people were able to navigate farther at sea. This exposed to people to new things. Creating the desire of things that people normally wouldn?t have. One can only associate this with a better life. Trade was created opening up more wealth for people. Because of things like this...
Words: 637 - Pages: 3
...The Beginning of the eighteenth century saw a momentous shift in culture, known as the ‘Enlightenment.’ The inspiration for fashion art and culture began to be drawn from Paris, which saw a shift of influential power from Versailles. The latest fashion coming through at the time had a far greater impact on society, affecting not only royalty and aristocrats but also middle and lower classes. The single most influential figure in the establishment of Rococo fashion was the mistress of Louis XV’s, Madame Pompadour. Her adornment of pastel colours, floral motifs and light stripe characterised by opulence, grace, playfulness and lightness, became known as Rococo. In Europe, the eighteenth century was a period of intellectual, social, and political tumult, referred to as the Age of Enlightenment. The notion of democracy arose and would ultimately replace the monarchical power structure in Europe. The second major development in academic life was the rise of scientific journals and encyclopedias. These publications were often produced by the academies themselves...
Words: 599 - Pages: 3
...Top Ten Assignment The Enlightenment and Romanic Ages produced numerous masterpieces in art, music, architecture, and literature which people still enjoy today. These opus magnums along with the philosophies during the two periods are reflections of the developments in world events and cultural patterns. This paper will present two pieces of art, music, architecture, literature, and philosophy from the Enlightenment and Romanic Ages that best represents the developments patterns from that time. Philosophy in the Enlightenment Age focused on an individual’s right to life and liberty. One example of a philosopher from this age is Thomas Jefferson. He famously wrote the Declaration of Independence (1776) that the Continental Congress signed declaring the United States free from the oppression of England. The document begins with, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” (us history, 2013). Another such example of philosophy during the Enlightenment Age are the works of Thomas Paine. He wrote two of the most highly influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution. One such pamphlet is Common Sense (1776) (us history, 2011) the all-time bestselling book that advocates America’s independence from Great Britain. Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine were chosen as examples because we believe the Declaration...
Words: 1558 - Pages: 7
...On merriam-webster.com the word enlightenment is defined as “the state of having knowledge or understanding : the act of giving someone knowledge or understanding”. When applied to an era, such as The Age of Enlightenment, it denotes a cultural and intellectual increase. The Age of Enlightenment was located in Western Europe and was fueled by the desire of people to question anything and everything. Before the Enlightenment nobody questioned hypotheses of the past because there was a feeling of regression as time passed. As Enlightenment thinkers questioned many thoughts through their literature one that appears numerous times is the idea of good and evil. During The Age of Enlightenment writers like Moliere and Voltaire really explored the idea of good and evil. Moliere explores the idea of good and evil through his play Tartuffe. In Tartuffe Dorine speaks about Orgon saying “But what's evil is seeing the deception and upheaval of the master and everything he owns”(P.20 L.37). When Dorine says this it sounds as if Orgon is turning evil, which challenges the traditional beliefs that humans are naturally evil. For example, during Medieval times the popular belief was humans needed to believe in God and follow biblical rules to save their souls. By the...
Words: 492 - Pages: 2
...that dominated in the society of that time. People were tired of the inviolable order that reigned in their life. Almost all countries were monarchies. It meant that life of people was limited and subjected to the kings’ rule. People were oppressed and did not have their needs satisfied. These were the main causes of the French Revolution in 1789 and the Industrial Revolution in England. The aim of people to be free in their opportunities and to raise the living standard drove them in their struggle. Thus, all these events show that people wanted to escape from the established order and, perhaps, to abstract from the daily routine and to pay more attention to their feelings and inner world. The Age of Enlightenment that ruled in the eighteenth century was also called the Age of Reason. The reason was considered the basis of all due to it science developed rapidly. However, despite the irrefutable benefit of this period in Europe’s history, the lack of attention to human soul was tangible and prevented the society from the spiritual development. Thus, we can say that Romanticism was a trend that reflected people’s need in the attention to their emotions. With the help of Romanticism people revolted against...
Words: 564 - Pages: 3
...Enlightened Literature on Human Nature The Age of Reason, also known as the Enlightenment, was a movement in which the power of reason was employed to rethink and reform society as a whole as well as various other concepts of human existence. During that time period (about 1650-1800), numerous thinkers such as John Locke, Isaac Newton and Voltaire exercised reason to challenge the basis of their society, which was built on the premise of an Almighty God. Prior to the Enlightenment, the answer to countless questions was only known to God and God alone; however, with the deterioration of this presumption, man was left to discover everything he once believed to be incomprehensible. These noble men questioned religion, science, mathematics and eventually came to question how men should be governed, how money and economics should function and how the human race should operate. The examination of mankind led to many varying philosophies that depicted men as wild, blood-thirsty beasts of passion or sensible, upright creatures, creating juxtaposition. Many forms of writing were directly influenced by the social and philosophical measures this time period contained. Articulated in the literature was man’s questioning of every idea that was once certain, promoting the desire to examine human nature. The influx of knowledge and reason combine with the rebuttal against the idea of an omniscient deity heavily influenced Enlightenment literature. With the invention of the printing press...
Words: 1519 - Pages: 7
...What was the Enlightenment’s most important contribution to the age of Atlantic Revolution? * The establishment of reason, logic, and rationality in society was the Enlightenment’s most important contribution to both the age of Atlantic Revolution and to the future of society as a whole. * This is not to say that people of reason and logic did not previously exist; however, due to religious superstition, controlling governments, socioeconomic rank, poverty, and prejudice, society was not conducive to the development of new ideas, especially those that promoted change. * Many philosophers believed that reason alone could reveal archetypical truths about the world and life. * This led to the explosion of using science (thus logic and reason) to try to explain natural phenomena. * This implies that people went against the belief that the supernatural and godly works are solely responsible for every aspect of life (and outcomes of decisions) * Thus came the idea that we, as humans, can control our own destiny with our own decisions, and that we might not have a set, predestined life. * Atheism becomes an important aspect to the Enlightenment * God’s role becomes reduced in the minds of many people – from the ultimate controller of absolutely everything to an idle watcher of events and determiner of afterlife * Reason and logic also led to a literary explosion * Filled with novel ideas coming...
Words: 478 - Pages: 2
