9th March 2018

the age of enlightenment

1715-1789

What actually is it? – The age of enlightenment is also known as the age of reason, or the Century/age of philosophy. this is a period of time in the 18th century from 1715-1785 where there were significant discoveries and improvements in many ways of life, some of those being politics, religion, science, technology, and just general life conditions and quality.

Politics –  In the 18th century politics was introduced to the concept of democracy, rather than monarchy. This lead to the downfall/decline of the many states that the monarchy system was prominent in. Some time later, the more popular concept of today’s capitalism was introduced and slowly overtook as the main leadership format of the country.

Religion –  For a very long time, Christianity was the most popular religion across a high percentage of Europe, but this changed with the ‘age of enlightenment’ as

Science –   The beginning of the 18th century was a marvelous time for the scientific world. this time was one of the first when science was truly and properly investigated for what it actually was. Before this new age of science, the main idea that many people believed in was one of faith, which was still carried on to this day, just alongside the so called religion of science that it is today. the faith that I’m talking about is that of religion and the belief that there was some higher being that was/is the sole cause of our existence and creation in the first place. throughout this time period, these faiths became more tolerable, or even supportive, of the new ideas that ‘science’ was bringing forward like the theory of creation, and many other marvels. By about half way through the age of enlightenment, the idea of science was one of the first and foremost ideas/religions of the day. This newfound interest in science put the discovery of scientific marvels foreword in society meaning that these discoveries were happening even faster as more people acknowledged and became a part of the new industry that was/is science.

Technological advancements –  Along with the amazing progress of science, came the huge advancements of technology as well. These two advancements came hand in hand, as a breakthrough in one of these fields inevitably led to one in the other.

 

Everyday life –  With the advancements in technology and in science, the everyday life of those living in the 18th century improved significantly. People went from having no chance when they got sick with a flu or virus, to having a much higher chance just from the new developments in medicine and vaccinations. this was not the only area of life that significantly improved either, there was also the living standards of those who were in the lower classes which steadily became better as these marvels were discovered one by one.

Join the conversation! 2 Comments

  1. This seems familiar. Hmm. Finish your paragraph on religion. What were some of the technological advancements?

    Reply
  2. Great research on the different aspects of the time period, next relate these ideas back to Frankenstein. Also be sure to post your Frankenstein timeline and activities. 🙂

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Category

Writing