Enlightnment

A detailed Summary of Enlightnment

The enlightenment was a great time of change in both Europe and

America. Some of the biggest changes, however, happened in the minds of

many and in the writings of many philosophers. These included some of

the beliefs of David Hume, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant, and

Francois Voltaire. Writers during this time focused on optimism, which

is the opinion to do everything for the best (Chaney 119), and the best

for these philosophers was to stretch the minds of the ordinary.

David Hume was Scottish and was born on April 26, 1711 and died

in 1776. He states that he was not born into a rich family and was born

into the Calvinist Presbyterian Church. However, after being influenced

by the works of Isaac Newton and John Locke he began to draw back from

the Church. He writes in Enquiry, "The idea of God, as meaning an

infinitely intelligent, wise and good Being, arises from reflecting on

the operations of our own mind, and augmenting, without limit, those

qualities of goodness and wisdom." (Pomerleau 214) The questions he

brought up against religion were that concrete experiences must lead us

was deism, which is that god created the universe and then allowed it to

conditions that the revolution was based on (Chambers 669). His ideal

from traditions that were once held very high ("The Enlightenment,"

exist to anyone. He also states that "it is morally necessary to assume

to realize that their lives could mean more than just what the higher

realizes that both of these cause the mind to start with some given

is really about. This brings us to the next philosopher, Immanuel Kant.

Approximate Word count = 1563
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous

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