The Contribution Of The Enlightenment Era

The Enlightenment, which spanned over the length of an entire century, has had a significant impact on Western society and ideology. The change was brought about by many great philosophers and scientists of the era when they began to question many long-standing beliefs such as the rights of the individual and the structure of power. Instead of solely relying on authority or religion to answer questions about humanity, they turned toward logic and reason as their guides. In doing so, many arrived at conclusions that radically changed thinking across Europe. Their findings emphasized the rights of the individual, equality of all, feminism, and new perspectives political, social, and economic aspects of society. Some of the most notable

The Enlightenment established many new ideas and created different views of the government and the world which didn't exist before. New ideas of society and government were made with inspiration of the Enlightenment ideas of human rights, equality, and democracy by Philosophers like Voltaire, Locke, and Paine. These ideas changed people’s ideals and views of the government's policies. Enlightenment ideas were the reason why people wanted to change, change their government and the way they were treated and how they lived, because they heard of peoples ideas, such as John Locke's belief of equality, Voltaire’s idea of freedom of speech and religion, and Tom Paine’s concept of the right to rebel. People fueled the American Revolution of

In an extensive article, by Richard Griffith he reinstates information from the WHO Organization that “It is estimated that 100–140 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of female genital mutilation (FGM).” (World Health organization, 2008). It is a horrible practice in which young females between the ages of infant and fifteen years of age, undergo a surgery for the alteration, removal or partial removal of their genitalia for religious or cultural reasoning’s. If that isn’t terrifying enough, understand that this takes place against the will of the receiving party. This is reason by itself, along with many reasons to stands up against FGM, as it should be outlawed entirely. But, before we can establish the barrier between necessary and criminal in discussion with this topic, we must look at the research and history of this practice, and let the statistics speak for its self.

The decisive influence of the Enlightenment in 17th and 18th century Europe is most certainly unquestionable. It marked the moment in which humanity moved away from absolute truths based on tradition, and began to question reality with the purpose of finding new answers through the use of reason, logic and the scientific method. However, if it is true that this cultural movement was strongest in the Old continent, it is also undeniable the crucial influence it had in determining the future shape of colonial America. Many tenets of enlightened thinking travelled to the New World and impacted America’s most notable intellectual figures of the time who, in turn, redefined the new nation’s identity and principles according to this new train of thought. Such was the case of Thomas Jefferson, whom intellectual contributions were significantly swayed by Enlightenment principles. This study will focus specifically on the topics of religion, economy, and human difference, and how Jefferson’s writings on Notes on the State of Virginia (published in 1785) were shaped by the movement’s thoughts and methods, as well as his engagement with prime Enlightenment personalities of the time such as Adam Smith, the Comte de Buffon, and the Abbé Raynal.

Female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision, is a practice that involves the removal of part or all of the female external genitalia. It occurs throughout the world, but most commonly in Africa where they say that it is a tradition and social custom to keep a young girl pure and a married woman faithful. But to some Westerners, the practice is viewed as being primitive and barbaric. We react with disgust and find it nearly incomprehensible that female genital mutilation can occur in the world today

The ideas of the enlightenment during the eighteenth century was to promote reason, logic and freedom of thought over dogma, faith or religion, and especially the way government back then was running in Europe. It was revolutionary era because all the philosophers, and other smart thinkers at the time gathered their new opinion or ideas together to shift the way people, politicians or government, and religious figures thought about the rules of life in the universe.

The Enlightenment Era was an an intellectual and scientific movement of the 18th century Europe which was characterized by a rational and scientific approach to religious, social, political, and economic issues. The ideas that came out of the Enlightenment that were evident in establishing and improving the rights for women were happiness, liberty, freedom, emphasizing reason, individualism, and skepticism. The Enlightenment presented a challenge to traditional religious views and the mentality that women were inferior to men. Through this era, was established a new set of ideas. Movements such as freedom of religion, right to vote, the abolition of slavery was just a couple of many that emerged out of this time period.

The Enlightenment era spanned the late 16th and 17th hundreds and it was a movement in which thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Thomas Pain, and Adam Smith sought to make advances in a similar manner to the occurrences in this period with scientific achievements/improvements. Two of the greatest effects of the Enlightenment era were the American and French Revolutions, which gained their foundation from the revolutionary ideas brought forward by the Enlightenment thinkers. The leaders of the American and French Revolutions were seeking to create new governments reflecting some of the values and ideas of the Enlightenment thinkers.

The 17th and 18th centuries were filled with intellectualism, new ideas, and important discoveries. These events took place during the Enlightenment; a time period where reason and logic trumped the church’s ideas. The Enlightenment sparked new ideas about the government which got people thinking and questioning their rulers. Philosophers started to point out the flaws in government that common people used to look past, and these Philosophers started to come up with ideas that would help the government improve. Although the rulers in charge at the time were not fans of what these philosophers had to say, the people started to protest these ideas and stand up for what they believe in. With these new ideas circulating, a democratic

The Enlightenment period in both Europe and the Americas was going at fast pace following the public death of King Louis XIV. Everyday life changed in both Europe and the Americas, from the way people thought, carried, and the way they expressed themselves, especially through literature. A lot of quarreling occurred between the “ancients” and the “moderns”; the ancients believed that the new ideas would lead to social alienation and the lack of moral responsibility. Opposed to the moderns however, that believed in the new commitment to individuality, and upholding the importance of autonomy, broad education for women, and geographical exploration.

The World Health Organization, also known by the acronym WHO, has defined female genital mutilation as “procedures that intentionally alter or cause injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.” FGM (acronym for female genital mutilation) is highly prevalent in Africa and the Middle East. An estimated 200 million and counting have been victims of this practice (UNICEF New York, 2016). In the past 20 years the tradition of female circumcision has received a lot of attention from the public and mass media and has been at the center or controversial debate (Kalev, 2004). Why? Because female circumcision is extremely detrimental to a female’s health as it causes long-term and short-term health complications and psychological damage to the victim. This research paper will discuss these topics and reassure the reader that female genital mutilation has and serves no benefits and is ultimately a violation of human rights.

Americans in the Enlightenment period strongly connected themselves with the classical age in terms of how they approached their art. The Enlightenment period lasted for about 150 years, from approximately 1700 -1850. Throughout this time period many artists took inspiration from the classical age which occurred in ancient Greece and Rome hundreds of years before. We can see examples of this in buildings like The White house and Monticello in America, and Kedleston Hall in England. These three buildings, though located in very different parts of the world, all have a number of aestheticly similar attributes.

The Age of Reason, or simply known as the Enlightenment period, was a movement where European politics, philosophy, science and communications were radically rethought. Enlightenment thinkers questioned traditional authority and embraced the ideas that humanity could be improved through change. Numerous books, essays, laws, inventions, wars and revolutions came about during this period. The Declaration of Independence, The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Declaration of the Rights of Women, all written during this period, were directly influenced by Enlightenment ideas. All three documents stress freedom and equality. Yet, all three are different in the circumstances in which they were written.

Imagine this! Being either a young girl or a woman forcefully bound against your will while elders perform a procedure called Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). The young girls and women who are forced to have this procedure done not only loses their rights to sexual pleasure but their rights are sliced, chopped, punctured, and finally burnt away. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) otherwise known as Female Genital Circumcision (FGC) is also a controversial topic in Western societies. This paper will examine the history of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), hegemonic perspective on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), health consequences of having this procedure done, how Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) affects women’s sexual function, and women who

The Age of Enlightenment was an intellectual and scientific movement which is characterized by its rational and scientific approach to religious, social, political, and economic issues. Enlightenment ideals challenged the way people were taught to think and let them express their criticism of the church, the monarchy or whatever system they saw as unjust. The impact of the enlightenment movement was first seen in 18th century Europe and soon spread to different parts of the world. People who believed in these ideals were called enlightenment thinkers. Enlightenment thinkers were a voice for the masses who felt they were being manipulated by people holding all the power. It also helped the masses realize that they did not need the church or monarchy, and enlightenment thinkers were able to assemble a following to stop people of power taking advantage of those who were not quite as powerful. Enlightenment thinkers gave an outlet to the common citizen who were seeing injustices in their government system.