European enlightenment

A detailed Summary of European enlightenment


The Enlightenment was an 18th century European intellectual movement in which ideas concerning God, reason, nature, and man were combined into a world view that instigated revolutionary developments in art, philosophy, and politics. Although there are many separate stages to this period, it has been termed "the Enlightenment" for simplicity. The Enlightenment was characterized by the use of reason and rational thought. The goals of rational man were considered to be knowledge, freedom, and happiness. Three critically important factors to this movement were: a revulsion against monarchical power and clerical absolutism; a new freedom of publishing and rise of a new public and secular culture; impact of the scientific revolution, particularly with Isaac Newton's book, Principia (1867).

When Principia was published, censorship or imprisonment for ideas disliked by the ch


The Enlightenment period came to an end in western Europe after the outbreak of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic era revealed the costs of it's political program and the lack of commitment in those whose speech was more liberal than their actions.

Encyclopedie and the U.S. Constitution are representative documents of the Age of Reason. The leaders of enlightenment began to secure new freedoms. They sought to impose an ordered freedom on political and social institutions. The promoters of science and religious tolerance were prepared to attack in print the attitudes and beliefs that stood in the way of tolerance, freedom, and rationality. As aggressive intellectuals and reporters, they earned the nickname "philosophes" meaning philosopher.

Representative of the Enlightenment are such thinkers as Voltaire, J.J. Rosseau, Montesquieu, Adam Smith, Swift, Hume, Kant, G.E. Lessing, Bec

Some common words found in the essay are:
Age Reason, Enlightenment Enlightenment, Greeks Romans, Defeating Spanish, Isaac Newton's, Revolution Napoleonic, French Revolution, Duke Wellington, II Prussia, Waterloo Enlightenment, french revolution,

Approximate Word count = 602
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

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