4. the Enlightenment, a European philosophical movement of the l7th and 18th centuries, characterized by belief in the power of reason and by innovations in political, religious, and educational doctrine. [1660–70].
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The ideas of the Enlightenment have had a major impact on the culture, politics, and governments of the Western world. Originating about 1650 to 1700, it was sparked by philosophers Baruch Spinoza, John Locke, Pierre Bayle, Voltaire and physicist Isaac Newton. Ruling princes often endorsed and fostered figures and even attempted to apply their ideas of government in what was known as enlightened absolutism.
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Age of Enlightenment. The Age of Enlightenment was a cultural movement of intellectuals in the 17th and 18th centuries, which began first in Europe and later in the American colonies. Its purpose was to reform society using reason, challenge ideas grounded in tradition and faith, and advance knowledge through the scientific method.
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The Enlightenment was, at its center, a celebration of ideas – ideas about what the human mind was capable of, and what could be achieved through deliberate action and scientific methodology. Many of the new, enlightened ideas were political in nature.
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The Enlightenment was believed to be the realization of the tools and strategies necessary to achieve that potential. The Renaissance was the seed, while the Enlightenment was the blossom. The idea of a “public,” an informed collection of citizens invested in the common good and preservation of the state, reached fruition during the Enlightenment. Curiously, the coffee shop or cafe café became the unofficial center of this new. entity
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1. (Philosophy) the Enlightenment an 18th-century philosophical movement stressing the importance of reason and the critical reappraisal of existing ideas and social institutions.
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2. Enlightenment A philosophical movement of the 1700s that emphasized the use of reason to scrutinize previously accepted doctrines and traditions and that brought about many humanitarian reforms. Used with the.
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Enlightenment. n. 1. (Philosophy) the Enlightenment an 18th-century philosophical movement stressing the importance of reason and the critical reappraisal of existing ideas and social institutions.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/The+Enlightenment
In Europe, Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau were the torchbearers of Enlightenment literature and philosophy. Rousseau was a strong advocate for social reform of all kinds. He more or less invented the autobiography as it is known today.
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The Enlightenment. The Enlightenment, sometimes referred to as the Age of Reason, was a confluence of ideas and activities that took place throughout the eighteenth century in Western Europe, England, and the American colonies.
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define the enlightenment period
The enlightenment period is defined as an 18th-century philosophical movement stressing the importance of reason and the critical reappraisal of existing ideas and social institutions.