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We explain what the Enlightenment was, what its characteristics were and in what historical context it emerged. Also, its main ideas and representatives.

What was the Enlightenment?

The Enlightenment It was a cultural and intellectual movement that emerged in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Enlightenment movement maintained that the use of reason should be the basis of thought and that from observation reality could be known “clearly.” These ideas inspired great changes in the culture, politics, economy and society of the time.

Enlightenment thought questioned all aspects of reality ; especially, those that were presented as absolute truths, religious dogmas and the principles that organized society and nature. The enlightened believed that, through study and observation, the reality of things could be known.

The intellectuals of the Enlightenment used the terms “light” (linked to rational thought) and “darkness” (linked to religious thought) to define different ways of understanding the world. For this reason, the 18th century, which was the peak of this intellectual movement, is known as the “Age of Enlightenment.”

The Enlightenment movement spread throughout Europe, especially among the bourgeoisie and part of the aristocracy, through printed media and social gatherings. It was also spread by intellectuals and popularizers who wrote about science, philosophy, politics and literature.

See also: Modern Age

Characteristics of the Illustration

The Enlightenment was characterized as an intellectual movement that promoted the use of reason to know and understand reality, the questioning of truths established by political and religious authority, the defense of ideas of change and progress, and the development of the natural sciences and the social sciences.

Among the main characteristics of the Enlightenment are:

• Use of reason The Enlightenment thinkers considered that, through research, reality could be known. Through observation, study, experimentation and rational thinking, new notions could be developed that defined the world and societies.
• Reformism As a principle, Enlightenment thought discarded all absolute and indisputable truth, and encouraged critical analysis of ideas inherited from the past.
• Secularism. Enlightenment thought established the separation between the natural and the supernatural. As a legacy of humanist thought, the Enlightenment held that God governed the sphere of the supernatural and that religious dogmas should affect spiritual practices. On the other hand, nature, man and society remained under the sphere of the natural, which could be known through the use of reason.
• Change and progress Enlightenment thinkers considered that society, politics and culture were creations of man (and not of God) and that they were crossed by history. They sought to explain both the changes that occurred within a society and the differences between different societies. Thus, change began to be identified as something positive and became linked to the notion of progress. From his point of view, through moral and material progress, society could achieve an ideal of plenitude and happiness.
• Development of sciences Enlightenment thinkers sought to understand and reform political and social structures, promoting ideas such as popular sovereignty and the separation of powers. In the natural sciences, they developed the scientific method as a fundamental tool for the study of nature.

Historical context of the Enlightenment

The historical context of the Enlightenment It was marked by the rise of absolutist monarchies in Europe, during the 17th and 18th centuries. Absolutism was a political form in which the king concentrated power absolutely. It was held that the source of power was God and that the king exercised sovereignty by divine command.

Consequently, the king's decisions were indisputable and covered all state functions. On the other hand, the kings had institutions and officials under their power to exercise the different functions of government.

European society It was an estate society divided between the nobles, the clergy and the commoners. The nobles and the clergy enjoyed different privileges, such as not paying taxes and rents. Likewise, they could hold political positions within the monarchical bureaucracy and be received at the royal courts.

For its part, the commoners were made up of peasants, urban workers and bourgeoisie. These made up the vast majority of the population and were obliged to pay royal taxes. In addition, peasants had to pay rents on the lands of the nobility.

Main ideas of the Enlightenment

The main political ideas of the enlightened developed around the origin of government and authority.

In relation to politics, Enlightenment thought He maintained that the source of power resided in the people (this is called “popular sovereignty”), and that he, through a contract, delegated it to an authority that would enforce the laws. This current of political enlightenment is known as “contractualism.”

In relation to economics, Enlightenment thought He questioned what was the origin of wealth. Some thinkers considered that wealth was based on the exploitation of natural resources, especially through agriculture. This position is known as “physiocracy.”

Other thinkers of the time maintained that the economy had a natural order governed by the principles of supply and demand, and that governments should refrain from intervening in it. These ideas were the origin of economic liberalism.

See more: Liberalism

Origin of the term “Illustration”

At the end of the 17th century, different European authors and philosophers promoted the idea that thought had to be based on the use of reason. They believed that through observation, research and rational thinking, it was possible to know reality “clearly.” In this context, the terms “light” and “darkness” began to be used to refer to different conceptions of the world.

This notion led, in different European countries, to the rationalist intellectual movement receiving names that referred to the idea of ​​“illuminating” or “giving light”. illustration in France, Enlightenment in England, Enlightenment either Illustration in Spain and Aufklärung in Germany.

In contrast, systems of thought that were based on religious ideas or the notion of a single and immutable truth were linked to the notion of “darkness” or “obscurantism.” From this tradition was born the idea that the European Middle Ages, governed by the Christian values ​​of the Church, was a “dark age.”

Representatives of the Enlightenment

Among the main representatives of Enlightenment thought, the following stand out:

• René Descartes (1596-1650). He was a philosopher, physicist and mathematician of French origin, considered the father of modern philosophy, and one of the founding thinkers of rationalism. His role in the Scientific Revolution was central and his works were a great inspiration for subsequent generations of philosophers and scientists.
• Francis Bacon (1561-1626). He was an English philosopher, politician, lawyer and writer, considered the founding father of philosophical and scientific empiricism. He was the author of the rules of the experimental scientific method.
• Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). He was one of the most important philosophers of the Western tradition, founder of criticism and precursor of German idealism. His work Critique of pure reason forever changed the history of Western philosophical thought.
• John Locke (1632-1704). English physician and philosopher, he was the founder of classical liberalism and one of the most influential philosophers of the British empiricist school. He stood out for his contribution to contractarian theory and influenced the thinking of Voltaire and Rousseau.
• Voltaire (1694-1778). Full name François-Marie Arouet, he was a French writer, philosopher, historian and lawyer. He was one of the most representative authors of the French Enlightenment. He was a member of the French Academy, and developed literature and philosophy from a hypercritical and humorous point of view.
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778). Of Swiss origin, this writer, philosopher, lawyer, musician, botanist and naturalist was one of the greatest exponents of the Enlightenment. He social contract (1762) was one of his most famous works.
• David Hume (1711-1776). Philosopher, economist and historian of Scottish origin, he is considered one of the most important thinkers in Western philosophy. His work laid the foundations for logical positivism and the philosophy of science.
• Montesquieu (1689-1755) Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, was a philosopher and jurist of French origin. His most recognized work was The spirit of the lawsin which he worked on the political ideas of freedom and separation of the powers of the State.

The Enlightenment and Encyclopedia

The most characteristic work of the Enlightenment was Encyclopedia or Reasoned Dictionary of Sciences, Arts and Crafts popularly known as the Encyclopedia. This work was edited and directed by Denis Diderot and Jean Le Rond D'Alembert. It was published in 17 volumes, between 1751 and 1772. In total, it contained more than 72,000 articles.

The Encyclopedia It was a monumental work that had the objective of gathering all the knowledge available at its time. To carry it out, thousands of authors collaborated who wrote their articles on different branches of practical and theoretical knowledge, such as architecture, astronomy, agriculture, economics, philosophy, physics, history and mathematics.

This work served to organize the branches of knowledge. Diderot and D'Alembert created a scheme that distributed understanding into three human faculties: Memory, Reason and Imagination. In turn, each of them corresponded to a subject that included more specialized topics. For example, within the Faculty of Memory, there was the subject History, which in turn included specialized topics such as Sacred History (religion) or Civil History (the study of society).

The different authors wrote articles on these specialized topics. By doing so, they connected their knowledge with the body of scientific knowledge.

Consequences of the Enlightenment

The intellectual movement of the Enlightenment had as consequences the spread of the use of reason in different sciences of knowledge and the questioning of established forms of social, economic and political organization.

During the 18th century, Enlightenment ideals generated important political changes, such as the emergence of “enlightened despotism” in European monarchies. Towards the end of the century, these ideas inspired even more profound changes that led to the outbreak of the French Revolution (1789).

For its part, in the 19th century, there was a wave of liberal revolutions in Europe and independence revolutions in America influenced by the principles of the Enlightenment.

In summary, among the main consequences of the Enlightenment are:

Enlightened despotism

During the Age of Enlightenment, different kings took some of the Enlightenment ideas and introduced reforms in the administration of their kingdoms. These reforms invoked rational criteria and the ideas of progress and well-being of the people. However, they did not modify the concentration of power in the monarchs. For this reason, this political movement is known as “enlightened despotism.”

french revolution

In 1789, French society began a revolutionary process inspired by the ideas of the Enlightenment and overthrew the absolutist monarchy.

In turn, this revolution had a series of broader consequences. He created the necessary conditions in Europe for the American colonies to begin their own processes of independence, also inspired by the ideas of the Enlightenment. Likewise, it inspired the wave of liberal revolutions that swept through Europe in the 19th century.

Growth of sciences

With the Enlightenment, the different sciences and areas of study became connected to each other as branches of knowledge of reality. With the use of the scientific method, the systematization of the study spread and the academic community grew.

Transformation of popular mentality

Illustrated works were read in royal courts, in literary salons, in cafes and in private libraries. The collective readings and debate generated the ideas of the Enlightenment to reach all social sectors (nobles, bourgeois, artisans and even peasants who knew how to read).

References

• Ackermann, ME, Schroeder, MJ, et al. (2008). Absolutism, European; Literature; Locke, John; Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat, baron de la Brède et de. Encyclopedia of World History. The First Global Age: 1450 to 1750. Vol III. Facts on File.
• Ackermann, ME, Schroeder, MJ, et al. (2008). Enlightenment, the; Enlightened despotism in Europe; Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet). Encyclopedia of World History. Age of Revolution and Empire: 1750 to 1900. Vol IV. Facts on File.
• Duignan, B. (2023). Enlightenment. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/