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    The Enlightenment

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    Samuel Naf
    The Enlightenment Period was an era between 1660-1800 that emphasized reason, science, and humanism. Key thinkers like Isaac Newton, Voltaire, and Rousseau promoted rational thought and challenged traditional institutions like the Church. They believed that science and logic could reveal universal truths about the natural world and human society. The Enlightenment influenced political and social reforms, including the American and French Revolutions, and advocated for natural rights, religious tolerance, and representative government.

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    The Enlightenment

    Uploaded by

    Samuel Naf
    25 views2 pages
    The Enlightenment Period was an era between 1660-1800 that emphasized reason, science, and humanism. Key thinkers like Isaac Newton, Voltaire, and Rousseau promoted rational thought and challenged traditional institutions like the Church. They believed that science and logic could reveal universal truths about the natural world and human society. The Enlightenment influenced political and social reforms, including the American and French Revolutions, and advocated for natural rights, religious tolerance, and representative government.

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    Notes on the Enlightenment period

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    The Enlightenment Period was an era between 1660-1800 that emphasized reason, science, and humanism. Key thinkers like Isaac Newton, Voltaire, and Rousseau promoted rational thought and challenged traditional institutions like the Church. They believed that science and logic could reveal universal truths about the natural world and human society. The Enlightenment influenced political and social reforms, including the American and French Revolutions, and advocated for natural rights, religious tolerance, and representative government.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    25 views2 pages

    The Enlightenment

    Uploaded by

    Samuel Naf
    The Enlightenment Period was an era between 1660-1800 that emphasized reason, science, and humanism. Key thinkers like Isaac Newton, Voltaire, and Rousseau promoted rational thought and challenged traditional institutions like the Church. They believed that science and logic could reveal universal truths about the natural world and human society. The Enlightenment influenced political and social reforms, including the American and French Revolutions, and advocated for natural rights, religious tolerance, and representative government.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 2

    The Enlightenment Period

    1. Describe the key characteristics of the period.


    - Aka. “Age of Reason”
    - The Enlightenment period began around 1660 with the crowning of Charles II
    until the beginning of the 19th century and the reign of Victoria.
    - It links with the Renaissance, where a great sense of humanities unfulfilled
    potential had developed, and the Enlightenment was the realization of the
    tools and strategies to achieve that potential. The Renaissance was the seed
    and the Enlightenment was the blossom.
    - Enlightenment period revolved around ideas of what the human mind was
    capable of through scientific methodology. It was a celebration of rational and
    philosophical ideas.
    - The enlightenment influenced many of the rational lines to run the society,
    which was partly the reason of the French Revolution
    - This period challenged many old ways – eg. The Power of the Church
    - Rise of neoclassicism (A style of art that appropriates classical models from
    the ancients)

    2. Make a note of the important/significant writers of this period.


    - Isaac Newton
    - Benjamin Franklin
    - Denis Diderot
    - Voltaire
    - Jean-Jacque Rousseau

    3. What societal effects affected this period?


    The Enlightenment period impacted society by introducing the idea that
    humans could use reasoning to discover the laws of the world and the rights of
    mankind.
    Promotion of equality and order that is equal.

    Basic vocabulary of rights:


    “Natural rights”
    “State of nature”
    “Civil society”
    “Social contract”

    If affected all of society – ie. Politics and religion.


    The Enlightenment Period
    An example of how this period was influenced by these ideas is Isaac Newton
    demonstrating that gravity and mass kept the planets in orbit, successfully
    challenging the Greek
    Ideology that the stars and planets followed the gods as they moved.
    Another example is Cotton Mather who cleared up small pox which was
    commonly mistaken for being a witch. He did this by advocating the benefits
    and the usage of vaccinations through scientific research.

    Religious Authority in Society


    This new period advocated for people with lower social rankings to have the
    power to change the rule of government if the current government didn’t fulfil
    its duties to the people.
    In the past, people who were ranked lower than a – eg. king, they would not
    be able to question or go against whatever the king did. In the Enlightenment
    period, this however changed as this dude suggested that the government
    should make decisions based on what the people wanted. This also advocated
    for the change that no one person should be in power but instead, groups
    representing the people.

    4. What were some of the important texts created during this period?
    - Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe
    - Poor Richard’s Almanack, Benjamin Franklin
    - Encylopédie, Denis Diderot
    - Candide, Voltaire
    - Esquisse d'un tableau historique des progres de l'esprit humain, Nicholas de
    Condorcet
    - On Crimes and Punishments, Cesare Beccaria
    - The Social Contract, Jean-Jacque Rousseau

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