Today those ideas serve as the cornerstone of the world's strongest democracies. Political Upheaval: Europe reached a state of near-constant conflict in the 1500s, as leaders fought over land, resources, and competing interpretations of Christianity. The Enlightenment challenged the traditional hierarchical ideals such as a kings divine right to rule, the privileges of nobility, and the political power of religion. Enlightenment thinkers similarly called for a separation of church and statethe idea that government should not interfere in religious affairs, and vice versa. 0000006075 00000 n This cultural movement led to many new developments, ideas, and inventions in science, art, politics and philosophy. <>/Border[0 0 0]/Contents()/Rect[72.0 612.5547 220.1777 625.4453]/StructParent 2/Subtype/Link/Type/Annot>> xref Luther claimed that every individual possessed a connection with God and that the Church did not monopolize the path to salvation. Enlightened rationality gave way to the wildness of Romanticism, but 19th-century Liberalism and Classicismnot to mention 20th-century Modernismall owe a heavy debt to the thinkers of the Enlightenment. Political and intellectual leaders in Britains thirteen American colonies used Enlightenment values to justify their declaration of independence in 1776. The fundamentals of European liberal thought, including the right of the individual, the natural equality of all men, the separation of powers, the artificial character of the political order (which led to the later distinction between civil society and the state), the view that all legitimate political power must be representative and based on the consent of the people, and liberal interpretation of law that leaves people free to do whatever is not explicitly forbidden, were all developed by Enlightenment thinkers. We strive for accuracy and fairness. Age of Enlightenment - New World Encyclopedia There were many new ideas, and various influential thinkers that inspired new invention and also inspired revolutions. Some historians and philosophers have argued that the beginning of the Enlightenment is when Descartes shifted the epistemological basis from external authority to internal certainty by his cogito ergo sum(1637). The latter was much discussed but had few proponents. News of the United States Enlightenment-inspired revolution ricocheted around the world. Omissions? All four of the Enlightenment philosophers emphasized peoples personal freedom in choosing their own political, religious, economic, and societal alignments, as long as in attaining their natural rights, people didnt infringe on others, because in doing so, they will benefit the whole society. It also helped the masses realize that they did not need the church or monarchy, and enlightenment thinkers were able to assemble a following to stop people of power taking advantage of those who were not quite as powerful.
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