In this essay I’ll take a look at the era known as the Enlightenment, that period in the history of the West extending from the late 17th through the 18th centuries. What we’ll see is that the very issues we’re dealing with today were problems three centuries ago. Before looking at the Enlightenment itself, let’s take a brief look at the mindset preceding this extraordinary era. Prior to the Enlightenment, believing in God in the West was like believing in the sunrise; the answer to all the big questions of life was God. The Bible was the source of knowledge about Him, especially the Old Testament, for there one could learn, among other things, the history of humankind and the divine purposes. Even political questions were to be solved by the …show more content…
Newton was asking questions about the world around him but he wasn't alone he was a founding member of the Royal Society the world's first scientific association dedicated to spreading the discoveries of the Enlightenment. Its members believed in the truth of the Bible but they no longer accepted that it was the only truth. Newton and his contemporaries start to explore the world using new more powerful microscopes and telescopes that they designed themselves these men were opening up an entirely new dimension to the …show more content…
The two young girls show signs of obvious anxiety and distress. Perhaps it is the pet of these girls who recoil in horror at the experiment and one of whom cannot bear to watch. The older girl seems to be in extreme distress of and is being comforted by her father that the bird will live. While the gentleman and boy at left follow the lecturer’s explanation with interest and even check time with his pocket watch. At right an old man is lost in thought. On the table odd among the various instruments is a liquid-filled glass jar containing the remains of a human skull. This is what the seated old man contemplates it is a reminder of death. A couple on the left isn’t engaging with the experiment at all. The woman turns to her handsome young man who looks past her at the