THE ENLIGHTENMENT ERA AND THE CHANGES THAT OCCURED (Essay Sample)

Assignment Title: The Enlightenment Era and the Changes that occurred Student’s Name Course Title Instructor’s Name Date The Enlightenment Era commonly termed as the age of reason was a period from (1685-1815). The onset of this epoch witnessed the politics, communications, philosophy and science of the European society drastically undergoing revamp to suit the needs of the society at that time (Gay, 2013). Philosophers were at the center of this tweak as they questioned the existing government and the unlimited powers of the church. Most of them were for a conjecture that logical reasoning was essential to improving the lives of the society at that time. These theorists developed essays, books and other documents which formed a vital part of creating awareness among the population. At the center of this movement were philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, J.J Rousseau, and John Locke. Thomas Hobbes argued that all human actions whether evil or good emanates from meditation between the emotions of hope and those of fear within the person. In this argument, he aimed to debunk earlier thoughts that such actions occurred involuntarily under the influence of supernatural powers. On the other hand, Locke based his argument on the law of nature. The prior belief by the Church that divine laws were absolute and the only way for an individual to live a straight and moral life was to follow them to the latter. In his argument, he differed with this belief and stated that natural laws applied to all people and in case the Divine and the Natural law conflicted, the latter should prevail (Outram, 2013). His argument aimed to challenge the church which at that time was strong and enjoyed clear dominance over the people. The arguments by Rousseau majored on human freedom and the need for each person to enjoy total freedom. The government ought to provide such freedom to the people and ensure that no repressive state apparatus bar a man from enjoying the freedom. Another major reason why a person ought to be free was as they are not enslaved by any artificial needs of their society. Evidently, the arguments by J.J Rousseau played an essential part in the process of Enlightenment. Bernstein (as cited in Oelkers 2014), argued that Rousseau’s advocated for a government ruled by the people and characterized by responsibility among the rulers was the best form of governance. His ideas aimed to challenge the powers of absolute monarchs who enjoyed enormous and uncontrolled power...