The Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was a period that took place after the Renaissance and is characterized by profound changes in mind and attitude of many Europeans. For centuries before, the Roman Catholic Church was a dominant force in society. People believed that by accepting the hardships there were in life, and devoting themselves to God, they could expect a better afterlife. However, at the start of the Renaissance, people began to question the ideas of Christianity. The church authority was gradually being undermined by people such as Copernicus and Galileo, who had new ideas about the universe and Rene Descartes, who said that everything should be doubted until it is proved. At the start of the seventeen hundreds, came the Age of Enlightenment. During this time, there existed a strong desire for knowledge, willingness to exchange new ideas, and a belief that rational thought and action could help solve problems. German Philosopher, Immanual Kent said "The Enlightenment is man's emergence from his nonage," nonage meaning immaturity. Man had become mature enough to find his own way. The people became leaders, instead looking at antiquity, and following the ancient Greek traditions and ideas. There w
His ideas constituted things such as fighting for everyday English to be used rather than Latin, and he stated that God could be reached anywhere, at anytime, as opposed to only in the church. Explorers such as Christopher Columbus, with the compass found that the world, in actuality, was round, and not flat. There were strict rules that went along with religion and the church that could not be defied by the people or they would be defying the greatest power; God. He wrote the 95 Thesis, and, although it was banned, eventually gave freedom to religion. More focus was put on logic and fact, using science and math to explain things, rather then to God and the supernatural and uncontrollable. Martin Luther, was a prominent person in this revolution. Although it did not include many people, the discoveries and transformations effected everyone. The philosophers rebelled against the usual political procedures. Issac Newton made such significant discoveries as that the planets revolved around the sun, his gravitational laws and his laws of motion allowed a better understanding of the universe. Many assumptions about the universe and the human body were changed when innovative discoveries by people such as Johanis Kepler and Issac Newton were made. There were crowded cities, with extreme poverty. The enlightenment was a time was people began to question politics, religions and society. Man had finally become mature enough to find his own way, and to understand his own nature and the natural world. These revolutionary changes were so remarkable, they gave birth to the modern world.
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