The Enlightenment: The Development Of The Individual Person In 18th Century France
The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement initiated by French philosophes that encouraged the common people of the time to analyse and reason for themselves, rather than accept traditional ideas. This brought about the development of the individual person in eighteenth century France, causing them to question the authority of people such as divine ruler or religious leader. Man began to perceive daily life through his own eyes rather than viewing it through an authoritative figure because of the Enlightenment. These ideas, brought from philosophes and other local thinkers, spread quickly throughout Europe, mainly through places like salons or coffeehouses. Many new ideas and belief systems were spread throughout the continent of Europe
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They did not question the authority of these rulers because the people believed these rulers had the right from God to rule. People believed, “God had established kings as his rulers on earth, and they were answerable ultimately to him alone”(Mckay, 470). People believed that kings were given the right to rule from God and one disputed this until the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment changed the way government was run. During the time before and leading up to the Enlightenment, many European regions were under the rule of an absolute monarch. Most of these governmental officials were very highly educated and were inspired to develop their own ideas. These officials began to have their own ideas about how government should be run: “Encouraged and instructed by these officials, some absolutists rulers tried to reform their governments in accordance with Enlightenment ideals”(Mckay, 529). This led to what historians now call enlightened absolutism. Enlightened absolutism describes the monarchs of the Enlightenment that began to reform absolute monarchy to fit in with beliefs that emerged from the Enlightenment. These reformations eventually lead to major changes in different governments and allowed new forms of governments to surface around the …show more content…
Prior to the Enlightenment, the majority of men lived their lives blindly following authority. They would follow and obey the commands of their leaders because they were never encouraged to think for themselves. Most of the men at the time were illiterate and were unable to have their own interpretations on texts such as the Bible. All these men could do was listen to whatever Pope or religious leader told them it meant. During the Enlightenment, these men were encouraged to learn how to read for themselves. As this happened, people figured out that what the Bible actually stated differed from what the religious leaders were telling them. These people were then able to form ideas of their own; therefore, they were able to believe what they wanted to believe instead of having to blindly do what they were told. However, this is only a single example of how the Enlightenment changed religion. Along with enlightened absolutism, which reformed many European absolute monarchies, some religious beliefs were reformed as well: “In both catholic and protestant lands, rulers typically fused Enlightenment principles with religion, drawing support from reform-minded religious thinkers”(Mckay, 529). People no longer believed in God’s daily involvement in their life,
They did not question the authority of these rulers because the people believed these rulers had the right from God to rule. People believed, “God had established kings as his rulers on earth, and they were answerable ultimately to him alone”(Mckay, 470). People believed that kings were given the right to rule from God and one disputed this until the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment changed the way government was run. During the time before and leading up to the Enlightenment, many European regions were under the rule of an absolute monarch. Most of these governmental officials were very highly educated and were inspired to develop their own ideas. These officials began to have their own ideas about how government should be run: “Encouraged and instructed by these officials, some absolutists rulers tried to reform their governments in accordance with Enlightenment ideals”(Mckay, 529). This led to what historians now call enlightened absolutism. Enlightened absolutism describes the monarchs of the Enlightenment that began to reform absolute monarchy to fit in with beliefs that emerged from the Enlightenment. These reformations eventually lead to major changes in different governments and allowed new forms of governments to surface around the …show more content…
Prior to the Enlightenment, the majority of men lived their lives blindly following authority. They would follow and obey the commands of their leaders because they were never encouraged to think for themselves. Most of the men at the time were illiterate and were unable to have their own interpretations on texts such as the Bible. All these men could do was listen to whatever Pope or religious leader told them it meant. During the Enlightenment, these men were encouraged to learn how to read for themselves. As this happened, people figured out that what the Bible actually stated differed from what the religious leaders were telling them. These people were then able to form ideas of their own; therefore, they were able to believe what they wanted to believe instead of having to blindly do what they were told. However, this is only a single example of how the Enlightenment changed religion. Along with enlightened absolutism, which reformed many European absolute monarchies, some religious beliefs were reformed as well: “In both catholic and protestant lands, rulers typically fused Enlightenment principles with religion, drawing support from reform-minded religious thinkers”(Mckay, 529). People no longer believed in God’s daily involvement in their life,