Enlightenment (Age of Enlightenment) An intellectual movement which began in England in the seventeenth century,
but then spread to have eventual influence over all sections of the world. The
term "Enlightenment," rooted in an intellectual skepticism to
traditional beliefs and dogmas, denotes an "illumined" contrast to the
supposed dark and superstitious character of the Middle Ages. From its
inception, the Enlightenment focused on the power and goodness of human
rationality. Some of the more characterisitic doctrines of the Enlightenment
are: 1) Reason is the most significant and positive capacity of the human; 2)
reason enables one to break free from primitive, dogmatic, and superstitious
beliefs holding one in the bonds of irrationality and ignorance; 3) in realizing
the liberating potential of reason, one not only learns to think correctly, but
to act correctly as well; 4) through philosophical and scientific progress,
reason can lead humanity as a whole to a state of earthly perfection; 5) reason
makes all humans equal and, therefore, deserving of equal liberty and treatment
before the law; 6) beliefs of any sort should be accepted only on the basis of
reason, and not on traditional or priestly authority; and 7) all human endeavors
should seek to impart and develop knowledge, not feelings or character.
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by: CTNS
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