"The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, was an intellectual and philosophical movement that occurred in Europe, especially Western Europe, in the 17th and 18th centuries, with global influences and effects."
The Age of Enlightenment was a period marked by significant progress in philosophical thought. It consisted of a wide range of philosophical theories that sought to challenge traditional beliefs and ideas of the time.
Rationalism: The theory or belief that reason is the primary source of knowledge and that knowledge is acquired through reasoning and logical deduction.
Empiricism: The belief that knowledge comes primarily from experience and observation, rather than from innate ideas or deduction.
Skepticism: The attitude of doubt or uncertainty towards claims or beliefs about knowledge, truth and morality.
Epistemology: The branch of philosophy concerned with the nature, sources, and limits of knowledge.
Metaphysics: The branch of philosophy concerned with the study of reality and existence, including questions about the nature of being, time, space, and causality.
Ethics: The branch of philosophy concerned with the study of right and wrong, good and evil, and moral principles.
Political Philosophy: The study of government, politics, and power, including questions about the nature of the state, the role of the individual and the relationship between the two.
Social Contract Theory: The theory that individuals agree to give up some of their natural freedom in exchange for protection and security provided by a government or society.
Utilitarianism: The theory that the action which maximizes happiness or pleasure for the greatest number of people is the morally right action.
Deontology: The theory that morality is based on following rules and fulfilling one's duty, rather than consequences.
Empiricism: A philosophical approach that emphasizes the importance of empirical evidence and experience in forming beliefs and knowledge.
Rationalism: A philosophical approach that emphasizes the importance of reason and logic in forming beliefs and knowledge.
Skepticism: A philosophical approach that questions the validity of knowledge claims and emphasizes the importance of doubt and critical thinking.
Idealism: A philosophical approach that emphasizes the importance of ideas and mental constructs in forming beliefs and understanding the world.
Materialism: A philosophical approach that emphasizes the importance of material objects and physical processes in forming beliefs and understanding the world.
Utilitarianism: A philosophical approach that emphasizes the importance of maximizing well-being and happiness for the greatest number of people.
Existentialism: A philosophical approach that stresses the importance of individual experience, freedom, and responsibility in forming beliefs and understanding the world.
Marxism: A philosophical approach that emphasizes the importance of economic and social factors in forming beliefs and understanding the world.
Feminism: A philosophical approach that emphasizes the importance of gender equality and women's experiences in forming beliefs and understanding the world.
"The Enlightenment included a range of ideas centered on the value of human happiness, the pursuit of knowledge obtained by means of reason and the evidence of the senses, and ideals such as natural law, liberty, progress, toleration, fraternity, constitutional government, and separation of church and state."
"A variety of 19th-century movements, including liberalism, socialism, and neoclassicism, trace their intellectual heritage to the Enlightenment."
"The ideas of the Enlightenment undermined the authority of the monarchy and the Catholic Church and paved the way for the political revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries."
"Philosophers and scientists of the period widely circulated their ideas through meetings at scientific academies, Masonic lodges, literary salons, coffeehouses, and in printed books, journals, and pamphlets."
"The Enlightenment was preceded by the Scientific Revolution and the work of Francis Bacon and John Locke, among others."
"European historians traditionally date its beginning with the death of Louis XIV of France in 1715 and its end with the 1789 outbreak of the French Revolution."
"Many historians now date the end of the Enlightenment as the start of the 19th century, with the latest proposed year being the death of Immanuel Kant in 1804."
"The central doctrines of the Enlightenment were individual liberty and religious tolerance, in opposition to an absolute monarchy and the fixed dogmas of the Church."
"The concepts of utility and sociability were also crucial in the dissemination of information that would better society as a whole."
"The Enlightenment was marked by an increasing awareness of the relationship between the mind and the everyday media of the world."
"The Enlightenment was marked by an emphasis on the scientific method and reductionism, along with increased questioning of religious orthodoxy."
"Some date the beginning of the Enlightenment to the publication of René Descartes' Discourse on the Method in 1637, featuring his famous dictum, Cogito, ergo sum ('I think, therefore I am')."
"Others cite the publication of Isaac Newton's Principia Mathematica (1687) as the culmination of the Scientific Revolution and the beginning of the Enlightenment."
"An attitude captured by Kant's essay Answering the Question: What is Enlightenment, where the phrase Sapere aude (Dare to know) can be found."
"The ideas of the Enlightenment undermined the authority of the monarchy and the Catholic Church and paved the way for the political revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries."
"Ideals such as natural law, liberty, progress, toleration, fraternity, constitutional government, and separation of church and state."
"The concepts of utility and sociability were also crucial in the dissemination of information that would better society as a whole."
"Philosophers and scientists of the period widely circulated their ideas through meetings at scientific academies, Masonic lodges, literary salons, coffeehouses, and in printed books, journals, and pamphlets."
"A variety of 19th-century movements, including liberalism, socialism, and neoclassicism, trace their intellectual heritage to the Enlightenment."