The Enlightenment period was from 1685 to 1815. Enlightenment, French siècle des Lumières (literally “century of the Enlightened”), German Aufklärung, a European intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries in which ideas concerning God, reason, nature, and humanity were synthesized into a worldview that gained wide assent in the West and that instigated revolutionary developments in art, philosophy, and politics. The Enlightenment thinkers also discussed other ideas that are the founding principles of any democracy—the idea of the importance of the individual who can reason for himself, the idea of equality under the law, and the idea of natural rights.

The Enlightenment era saw a general turn away from the dominance of the church and the supernatural, with a reduction in belief in the occult, literal interpretations of the Bible and the emergence of a largely secular public culture, and a secular “intelligentsia” able to challenge the previously dominant clergy. According to Hobbes, all societies needed a form of authorities to control these people and prevent them from going crazy basically.
Very few scientific and artistic disciplines were left untouched by the Enlightenment thinkers and their new ideas.

Earlier philosophers whose work influenced the Enlightenment included Bacon and Descartes. In this chapter, you will explore the Enlightenment. The Age of Enlightenment was preceded by and closely associated with the scientific revolution. The Enlightenment influenced the American Revolution by proposing thoughts and ideas that questioned traditional leadership and led to a new constitution. The Enlightenment was the root of many of the ideas of the American Revolution. The new outlook put great trust in reason as the key to human progress. The French philosophers of the Enlightenment Era didn't play an active role in the events of the revolution, but their ideas inspired the revolutionary movement. The Enlightenment 35.1 Introduction In the last chapter, you learned about the Scientific Revolution. Through a combination of philosophy, politics and communications, the Enlightenment prompted societal reform. The American Revolution was the time period where America tried to gain its independence from England. Mary Wollstonecraft, one of few female thinkers of the time, was an English writer, philosopher, and advocate of women’s rights. The Enlightenment thinkers also discussed other ideas that are the founding principles of any democracy—the idea of the importance of the individual who can reason for himself, the idea of equality under the law, and the idea of natural rights.