The Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was a period that took place after the Renaissance and is characterized by profound changes in mind and attitude of many Europeans. For centuries before, the Roman Catholic Church was a dominant force in society. People believed that by accepting the hardships there were in life, and devoting themselves to God, they could expect a better afterlife. However, at the start of the Renaissance, people began to question the ideas of Christianity. The church authority was gradually being undermined by people such as Copernicus and Galileo, who had new ideas about the universe and Rene Descartes, who said that everything should be doubted until it is proved. At the start of the seventeen hundreds, came the Age of Enlightenment. During this time, there existed a strong desire for knowledge, willingness to exchange new ideas, and a belief that rational thought and action could help solve problems. German Philosopher, Immanual Kent said "The Enlightenment is man's emergence from his nonage," nonage meaning immaturity. Man had become mature enough to find his own way. The people became leaders, instead looking at antiquity, and following the ancient Greek traditions and ideas. There w
It is evident that the Enlightenment period was generally a time of extreme changes in many aspects including science, technology, religion and human attitude. Although it did not include many people, the discoveries and transformations effected everyone. These realizations gave people confidence in themselves. It was a time was all people could hope for a utopia in their after life, regardless of their sex or status in society. These revolutionary changes were so remarkable, they gave birth to the modern world. In addition to a religious revolution that took place during the Enlightenment, there was also a scientific revolution. This revolution was significant in that it took away the old ideas of supernatural power and fate and replaced them with revolutionary discoveries that gave a start to the modern knowledge we have today. Many assumptions about the universe and the human body were changed when innovative discoveries by people such as Johanis Kepler and Issac Newton were made. More focus was put on logic and fact, using science and math to explain things, rather then to God and the supernatural and uncontrollable. Issac Newton made such significant discoveries as that the planets revolved around the sun, his gravitational laws and his laws of motion allowed a better understanding of the universe. Human body discoveries such as the flow of blood through the heart were made and therefore allowed scientists to discover why and how the heart beats. These discoveries did not only reveal how the body functions, yet it gave people a better comprehension of death and diseases that were previously blamed on superstitious occurrences. The philosophers played a large role in bringing out the radical change during the Enlightenment
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Approximate Word count = 1182
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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