Enlightenment Or The Age Of Reason Essay

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The Enlightenment or the Age of Reason was a considered a revolution of human thinking that stressed powers of the mind. Enlightenment sprawled across Europe during 1660-1770 and is contributed to what is called the Scientific Revolution and its “father” John Locke. The Enlightenment thinking revolved around rationalism, science, and individualism. It was this Enlightenment that two groups called rationalists and empiricists emerged, questioning Europeans age-old thinking and shifting the thoughts and actions of politics, science, and philosophical thinking. Individuals’ way of thinking was becoming more open to independent thought permeating society with an overwhelming amount of new knowledge. In session 2 and 3 Enlightenment is considered “a great period of optimism in the power of reason without accountability to ancient authority.” Hence, the powers of the mind. The new knowledge that was being shared during the Enlightenment era, produced many great works and contributions, but this essay will focus on solely upon books and/or essays produced by authors such as Voltaire (1694-1778) and …show more content…

Enlightenment was insistent upon logical reasoning and encourages the separation of God or religion from ethical thinking. This separation is exemplified in Voltaire’s 1759 work Candide. This publication of Voltaire’s work critiques the idea of an omnipresent God and mocking old-age of thinking. The major Enlightenment themes in Candide are: anti-optimism, anti-monarchy, anti-philosophy, and anti-religion (Session 2 and 3 Discussion). The sole focus of Candide is the belief in man and its independence than upon

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