What Led to Enlightenment
The term enlightenment formed in the 19th century is translated from French term “lumières” and German term Aufklärung[1]which have a shard idea of light and were in use in the 18th century. It is a so-called enlightenment because during this period, several significant ideas became popular, and there was a lot of support to individuals’ liberties and freedom. In this study factors that led to enlightenment are discussed
The commencement of enlightenment is dated around the late 17th and 18th century a period during which science bloomed, and revolution in France and the United States took place. During the same period, slavery in Africa took place, with slaves being transported mainly to the United States. The French are considered as the first proponents of enlightenment[2]. In France, the move to enlightenment was attributed to the development of several social settings and aimed at resisting the theories of the dominating governance and the hold of the Catholic church. On the contrary to the scientific reflection that focused on natural sciences, enlightenment covered philosophy and natural science with a focus on government and economics.
Before the period of enlightenment, people became wary of religious authorities, having immense political power[3] The idea of religious freedom became popular in the 17th century, which led to the reduction of spiritual power in the 18th century, especially during the French revolution. Besides, the United States gained its independence, and it resisted the adoption of the national religion. The resistance against religion was one of the major factors that led to the approval of enlightenment.
Another reason that leads to enlightenment was the Thirty Years’ War. This frightfully ruinous war, which kept going from 1618 to 1648, constrained German journalists to pen sinful reactions concerning the thoughts of patriotism and fighting. These creators, for example, Hugo Grotius and John Comenius, were a portion of the enlightenment brains to conflict with convention and proposed better arrangements[4].
The religious rebellion led to the increasing interest in the understanding of science to explain natural phenomena rather than relying on religion to provide explanations. Scientist such as Isaac Newton, Alessandro Volta, and Benjamin Franklin are some of the scientists that made tremendous achievements during the period of enlightenment. Their inventions led to the industrial revolution and greatly influenced modern lives.
The formation of a new institution during the period led to general scientific information and other ideas that are related to enlightenment. During the enlightenment period, technologies were developed, which focused on printing and spread of information. For instance, a tremendous amount of information that was published in the Encyclopedia published between 1751- 1772 attracted a lot of interest from the public across France. Newspapers were also made available and could be read from different social areas such as coffee houses. This spread of information created a lot of interest for the people about enlightenment.
There was a greater interest in economics, and that was a key driver to enlightenment during that period[5].Remarkably, Adam Smith distributed his work on “An inquiry into nature and causes of the wealth of nations.” An economic system fueled an increase in trade across Europe and thus opening doors to the spread of enlightenment across entire Europe.
Influence such as war and slavery that was witnessed during the period of enlightenment, it was threatened by romanticism and skepticism. Romanticism championed governance through a small direct democracy that reflects the will of the population. On the other hand, skepticism addressed whether human culture could truly be idealized using reason and prevented the capacity from securing a balanced idea to uncover all-inclusive certainties[6].
Enlightenment succumbed to contending thoughts from a few sources. Romanticism was more speaking to less-instructed primary society and pulled them away from the experimental, logical views of prior enlightenment scholars. So also, the hypotheses of suspicion came into direct clash with the explanation-based statements of the enlightenment and increased their very own after.
During the pre-enlightenment period, there were a lot of factors that drove the monarchy way of life to the enlightenment, which were discussed. The factors that led to the inception of enlightenment ranged from religious, political, and economic factors. Nevertheless, enlightenment presented came along with challenges and became a victim of romanticism and skeptics
[1]Byrne, Peter, Leslie Houlden, and Rev Prof Leslie Houlden. 2002. Companion Encyclopedia of Theology. Routledge.https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=8pBt10wlXv0C&oi=fnd&pg=PA251&dq=info:lQ7ykn0GjvUJ:scholar.google.com/&ots=JL-X-g6J6z&sig=L0pWPwTGwClj3wjFwPRBqNekJCQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false.251
[2]Houlden, 260
[3]Lindenfeld, David, and James Schmidt. 1998. What Is Enlightenment? Eighteenth-Century Answers and Twentieth-Century Questions. German Studies Review. Vol. 21. 144
[4]Ferrone, Vincenzo. 2019. “What Was The Enlightenment?” In The Enlightenment, 95–119. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1287kqj.16. Accessed: 05/05/2020
[5]Mokyr, Joel. 2010. The Enlightened Economy an Economic History of Britain 1700-1850. Yale University Press. 118
[6]Ferrone, Vincenzo. 2019. “What Was The Enlightenment?” In The Enlightenment, 95–119. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1287kqj.16. Accessed: 05/05/2020