The Enlightenment: A Philosophical Movement

The Enlightenment was a philosophical movement that took place primarily in Europe and set a revision of all aspects of human life. Enlightenment thought prompted reforms in politics, economics, and society through means of social change because society began to form their individualism in which prompted them to evolve from absolutism to a democratic-like government, began the practice of laissez-faire capitalism which broke down trade barriers, and the attitudes towards children began to change as they were no longer another liability to provide for but a means of manual labor. During the Enlightenment era, absolutism was meant to bring social order, stability and unity to a country that was ran by utter chaos. As absolute monarchs began
to abuse the control and power handed to them through the belief of divine-right (belief that monarchs were meant to rule as God’s agents without interference from others) French philosophers began the progression to individualism by questioning age old beliefs that were forced upon them through research, thus proving these forced beliefs to be wrong and aiding in the development of independent thinking.