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Enlightenment
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Discover the Enlightenment's influence on biologic categorization, encyclopedias, and literature
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Declaration of Independence
Reign of Terror
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Aristotle
The Enlightenment Key Facts
Galileo
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The Enlightenment Causes and Effects
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Enlightenment: Facts & Related Content

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Facts

Also Known As Aufklärung • Age of Reason • siècle de Lumières
Date c. 1601 - c. 1800
Location Europe

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Isaac Newton
Voltaire
Galileo
Montesquieu
Voltaire
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Declaration of Independence
Aristotle
Francis Bacon
philosophes: Encyclopédie
Discover the Enlightenment's influence on biologic categorization, encyclopedias, and literature
Reign of Terror
Voltaire
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Related Topics and References

Topics
Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Key People

Friedrich Nicolai, oil painting by A. Graff.
Friedrich Nicolai
German writer
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon
British author, philosopher, and statesman
John Locke
John Locke
English philosopher
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant
German philosopher
Voltaire
Voltaire
French philosopher and author
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Swiss-born French philosopher
Montesquieu
Montesquieu
French political philosopher
Jeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham
British philosopher and economist
Fontenelle, Bernard Le Bovier, sieur de
Bernard Le Bovier, sieur de Fontenelle
French author and scientist
Wojciech Bogusławski
Polish dramatist

Causes and Effects

Causes
  • Renaissance humanism, which rediscovered Classical literature and culture
  • Methods and ways of thinking developed during the scientific revolution of the 15th through 17th centuries
  • The Reformation and its undermining of the Roman Catholic Church's authority
Effects
  • The belief that human history is a record of progress
  • The emergence of Romanticism in the late 18th century
  • The first modern secularized theories of psychology and ethics
  • The idea of society as a social contract
  • The understanding of the universe as a mechanism governed by discoverable laws
  • The use and celebration of reason
Read More: The Enlightenment Causes and Effects

Related Quizzes and Features

Quiz
Vikings. Viking warriors hold swords and shields. 9th c. AD seafaring warriors raided the coasts of Europe, burning, plundering and killing. Marauders or pirates came from Scandinavia, now Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. European History
European History