Effects Of The Enlightenment

In the middle of the 17th century a new intellectual movement began that would impact societies even after its demise. This period was termed as “The Enlightment” due to its focus on rationalism and empiricism rather than the feudalistic perspective of faith and tradition. The main goal of the enlightenment era was to develop and free the creative potential of humankind. The difference between the feudal past and the enlightenment was that the enlightenment allowed for people to use their own reason to experience life. Different fields such as the arts, science, and human creativity overall flourished during this period. The main philosophical idea of the enlightenment was that humans are infinitely perfectible and that a society under feudal

Karl Marx’s thoughts and ideas came fourth due to the economic and social change that was occurring during the middle 19th century. This change in the economy and in the everyday lives of individuals was due to the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution began to spread to Western Europe, which is where Marx began to notice the effects it had on society. The industrial revolution brought forward many new technological advancements, and manufacturing became very important during this period. Commodities, “an object outside us, a thing that by its properties satisfies human wants of some sort or another” (Capital, Karl Marx) became prevalent during this period. This “boom” in society led to the creation of a capitalist society and the creation of what Marx described as the introduction of a class-based society. Society was split between the proletariat who were the laborers or working class, and the bourgeoisie who were the capitalist individuals that owned the modes of production. Modes of production can be distinguished into two categories, means of production which are the raw materials and instruments of labor and social relations of production which are the pattern of

Overall, Durkheim was interested in find out what exactly held societies together and how. Throughout his many works, two repeating themes that can be seen is that he views sociology as an academic discipline. His first major theme is that “society was a supraindividual force existing independently of the actors who compose it.” Durkheim theorized that the task of sociology is to analyze social facts. Social facts are conditions and circumstances external to the individual that determines the individual’s course of action. Through systematic collection of data, Durkheim argued that the patterns behind and within individual behavior can be revealed. The distinction between sociology and philosophy is that sociology focuses on the importance of formal methods and the use of objective data. The second major theme that is repeated throughout Durkheim’s work is the issue of social solidarity which can be defined]’ as the cohesion of social groups. Durkheim was interested in modern societies and why people do certain things such as worship together, hold jobs with others, and why people don’t get along with larger organizations. He wondered how individuals could feel tied to one another in such an increasingly individualistic world, coming to the conclusion that in order or a society to exist there must be solidarity and moral cohesion is needed. In