explain the enlightenment.

Question

everything from the beginning of the enlightenment to 1794 when Maximilian Robespierre was executed

Answer 1

Hi Alyssa,

 

That's a pretty difficult question to answer all at once, but I think I can get you started. In general, the Enlightenment can be seen as a revolution of reason. Many philosophers, thinkers and scientists like Spinoza, Locke, Voltaire, and Newton were taking traditional beliefs and calling them into question, all through the use of logic and reason. They largely rejected the dogmatic teachings and explanations of older scientists and cultural and religious institutions like the Catholic church, and gave birth to the scientific method, a new, empirically-based method of evaluating truth claims. Newton completely changed the study of the physical world with a whole new language to describe it (namely, mathematics), taking us out of the center of the universe, while Kant revised how we think about what orders the world, and placed those ordering principles in the mind of humans, instead of "out there" in the world, or in the mind of God. While closely tied to the scientific revolution, the Enlightenment saw revolutions in literature, art, politics, and many other fields which pushed up against and sometimes outright rejected previous idea of decency, ethics, taste, and government.

 

If I were you, Alyssa, I would start by reading the Wikipedia page on the "Age of Enlightenment" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment). I want to be clear that you should NOT cite that source, but merely use it to get an idea of what the Enlightenment is all about, and then follow the bibliographic links to take you to more reliable sources.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Derek