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The '''Enlightenment''' was a philosophical movement in the 1700s characterized by [[rationalism]], or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".  Advances in science had led to principles and laws that were knowable and unchanging as described within a naturalistic framework. This idea of knowledge that could be observed apart from a direct explanation dealing with God led to a change in philosophical ideals, where man could shape and determine his own destiny including areas outside of science such as social and political realities.  In a sense mans' view of his own ability to bring about change and a trust in himself to determine what that change needed to be crystalized in the thought process of the times among the philosphical elite.

The '''Enlightenment''' was an 18th-century movement in European (and American) [[philosophy]] and intellectual life generally, that emphasized the power or reason and science to understand and reform the world. Some classifications also include 17th-century philosophy, usually called the [[Age of Reason]]. The style it favored is called "classical" (as opposed to the earlier Baroque and the later Romantic styles). The Enlightenment saw major advances in philosophy, the sciences (especially physics, chemistry and mathematics), economics, political theory, geography (especially exploration), and technology (especially the origins of the [[Industrial Revolution]].

Writers during the Enlightenment assumed that science, beginning in the late 1600s with [[Isaac Newton]], could be duplicated in other fields through a systematic and logical approach. Some of the "enlightened" authors of the period even criticized [[Christianity]] as they adopted God in a [[deist]] form that allowed for removing His influence in everyday affairs, and thus the course of the human development was left to human ingenuity.  While much of the population of the times remained Christian, the ideas of enlightenment philosophy creating a greater freedom took root in England, France, and the American colonies.  Enlightenment thought combined with Christian values provided the intellectual foundations of the [[American Revolution]] in which much of Jefferson's Declaration of Independence borrowed human rights of expression put forth by [[John Locke]].   

 

 

 

 

 

Writers during the Enlightenment assumed that science, beginning in the late 1600s with [[Isaac Newton]], could be duplicated in other fields through a systematic and logical approach.  

Some of the "enlightened" authors of the period even criticized [[Christianity]] as they adopted God in a [[deist]] form that allowed for removing His influence in everyday affairs, and thus the course of the human development was left to human ingenuity.  While much of the population of the times remained Christian, the ideas of enlightenment philosophy creating a greater freedom took root in England, France, and the American colonies.   

Enlightenment thought, especially the version known as [[Republicanism]], together with Christian values provided the intellectual foundations of the [[American Revolution]]. Thus Thomas Jefferson's [[Declaration of Independence]] (1776) borrowed human rights themes first developed a  century before by of expression put forth by [[John Locke]].   

According to researcher Rodney Stark, "The 'Enlightenment' [was] conceived initially as a propaganda ploy by [[militant atheism|militant atheists]] and [[humanism|humanists]] who attempted to claim credit for the rise of [[natural science|science]] [through promulgating] the falsehood that science required the defeat of [[religion]].'<ref>Stark, Rodney, "For The Glory of God:

According to researcher Rodney Stark, "The 'Enlightenment' [was] conceived initially as a propaganda ploy by [[militant atheism|militant atheists]] and [[humanism|humanists]] who attempted to claim credit for the rise of [[natural science|science]] [through promulgating] the falsehood that science required the defeat of [[religion]].'<ref>Stark, Rodney, "For The Glory of God:

There is no formal time period for when the Enlightenment ended just as there is no specific time for when it began.  The reality of the [[French Revolution]] is often seen as an ending point when the ideals meeting a reality of Europe torn by decades of war dampened much of the glitter.  While the Enlightenment spirit was interwoven into the successful creation of the United States, the difficulties in Europe showed that the ideas alone were not the answer that was being sought.  

There is no formal time period for when the Enlightenment ended just as there is no specific time for when it began.  The reality of the [[French Revolution]] is often seen as an ending point when the ideals meeting a reality of Europe torn by decades of war dampened much of the glitter.  While the Enlightenment spirit was interwoven into the successful creation of the United States, the difficulties in Europe showed that the ideas alone were not the answer that was being sought.  

== See also ==

== References ==

*[[Greek Philosophy]]

*[[Platonism]]

*[[Hellenistic]]

* Buchan, James. ''Crowded with Genius: The Scottish Enlightenment: Edinburgh's Moment of the Mind'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Crowded-Genius-Scottish-Enlightenment-Edinburghs/dp/006055889X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230458920&sr=8-4 excerpt and text search]

* Cassirer, Ernst. ''The Philosophy of the Enlightenment.'' 1955. a highly influential study by a neoKantian philosopher [http://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Enlightenment-Ernst-Cassirer/dp/0691019630/ref=pd_sim_b_img_1 excerpt and text search]

*  Fitzpatrick, Martin  et al., eds. ''The Enlightenment World.'' (2004). 714pp; 39 essays by scholars [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=107997736# online edition]

* Goodman, Dena. ''The Republic of Letters: A Cultural History of the French Enlightenment'' (1994) 338 pp [http://www.questia.com/library/book/the-republic-of-letters-a-cultural-history-of-the-french-enlightenment-by-dena-goodman.jsp online edition]  

* Hazard, Paul. ''European thought in the eighteenth century: From Montesquieu to Lessing'' (1965)

* Kors, Alan Charles. ''Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment'' (4 vol. 1990; 2nd ed. 2003), 1984pp [http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Enlightenment-4-vol-set/dp/0195104307/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198743087&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]; also [http://www.oxfordreference.com/pub/views/home.html complete text online at www.oxfordreference.com] by a leading conservative scholar

* Outram, Dorinda. ''The Enlightenment''(1995) 157pp [http://www.amazon.com/Enlightenment-New-Approaches-European-History/dp/0521425344/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198753098&sr=1-27 excerpt and text search]

* Porter, Roy.  ''The Enlightenment'' (2nd ed. 2001) [http://www.amazon.com/Enlightenment-Second-Studies-European-History/dp/0333945050/ref=sr_1_30?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198753098&sr=1-30 excerpt and text search]

* Porter, Roy.  ''The Creation of the Modern World: The Untold Story of the British Enlightenment.'' 2000. 608 pp.  [http://www.amazon.com/Creation-Modern-World-British-Enlightenment/dp/0393322688/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198753023&sr=1-13 excerpt and text search]

*  Staloff, Darren.  ''Hamilton, Adams, Jefferson: The Politics of Enlightenment and the American Founding.'' 2005. 419 pp.  [http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Adams-Jefferson-Politics-Enlightenment/dp/080905356X/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198752935&sr=1-11 excerpt and text search]

== References ==

===Primary sources===

[[category:European History]]

[[category:European History]]

[[Category:Philosophical systems]]

[[Category:Philosophical systems]]