The Enlightenment In Europe In The 18th Century

The Enlightenment in Europe is considered to have taken place in the 18th century, however the ideas that were brought forth in this period had started much earlier as people began to look at things like science and explorations long before. Before this period, most Europeans did not think on their own and instead listened to others, such as monarchies and churches, on what they should believe. They mainly listened to what they were told by the monarchy and churches because if they were to go against them, especially the monarchy, they would certainly be killed. This way of thinking changed for the Europeans once they actually studied the sciences of the world around them instead of just accepting what they were told. This went on to lead to the European Enlightenment. The ideas that came about from the Enlightenment influenced our theories on nature, natural rights, and how government should be run. Charles Taylor believed that the Europeans had these views simply because they hadn’t figured out the metaphysics of their world yet. However, Immanuel Kant believed that the Europeans had these views simply because they were lacking understanding and

We now question things instead of just blindly accepting what we are told by others. No longer is society considered to be “immature” by Kant. Society now, for the most part, thinks freely without anyone else’s guidance. Society also stopped depending on churches for explanations of the world like Charles Taylor said. No longer were storms or floods considered to be acts of God but rather natural occurrences. Instead society turned to science to explain how things work. The Enlightenment had an international influence as well as most societies got rid of most monarchies in the world because they realized that they were an unnecessary form of rule in the modern