The Age of Enlightenment
Towards the late 17th century and 18th century, a shift in thinking occurred. This shift known as the Enlightenment or the Age of Reason was an intellectual and cultural movement in the eighteenth century that emphasized reason over superstition and science over blind faith. Centered on the idea that reason is the primary source of authority and legitimacy, this movement advocated such ideals as liberty, progress, tolerance, fraternity, constitutional government, and separation of church and state. Thus was a sharp turn away from the prevailing idea that people needed to rely on scripture or church authorities for knowledge. The freethinking writers of the period sought to evaluate and understand life by way of scientific observation and critical reasoning rather than through uncritically accepting religion, tradition, and social conventions. There is little consensus on the precise beginning of the Age of Enlightenment , with the beginning of the 18th century or the middle of the 17...