Essay on Enlightenment and the Benefits This Age Brought

The age of enlightenment brought many new ideas and theories that changed society by new ideas in the economy, it caused people to question the church as the new theories brought by the philosophers and scientists contradicted the teachings of the church and this era also brought change to many countries as their leaders adopted some of these enlightenment ideas. European countries during this era between the sixteenth and eighteenth century were still very religious and under protestant or Catholic churches so when scientist brought studies that contradicted the teachings of the church it baffled society into debating what to believe.

Scientists and astronomers brought information and evidence to oppose the teachings of the church which were centuries old and based upon Greek studies and this puzzled society if weather to believe the sacred teachings of church or the new theories which the scientist brought. The enlightenment period brought a rise to views on education and its importance in society as it became more widespread throughout Europe. Education and theories started becoming more based on evidence rather than on reasoning creating different way to view the scientific method. Many leaders of countries became enlightened despots and used these ideas as a way to improve their countries and the way it worked. These leaders changed the way the economy worked, the government worked and how their people were affected as a way to improve their country.

Education during this time period expanded with new ideas of the importance of education, but not only did this expand for men, but women also. Women started speaking out during this era because they believed they had the same right to an education as much as any man did and they believed gender had nothing to do with the way knowledge was obtained. Others during this time believed that women should stay at home and do the jobs of a woman and some which is why women felt like they were being oppressed to the right to an education as they would be cast out from their schools (doc. 9). New fields of study were open and people began to reason as fields like anatomy, chemistry, medicine and other fields of math were made and improve the human view on the world around us. These new studies weren’t any form of ambition and were just there to obtain knowledge on what was right (doc. 7). Many great philosophers gathered in salons to exchange their ideas and find truth and raise philosophy to a new level (doc.6)

Religious views on celestial bodies and what they were was the main view and what they were. As new scientist and astronomers came with new ideas contradicting what they were teaching, the church started oppressing these thinkers with their power. One of the major ideas that contradicted the church, was the idea that the sun was at the center of the universe or the heliocentric system, published by Copernicus on his deathbed. Galileo was another famous astronomer that studied the celestial bodies and disproved the Aristotle and Ptolemy ideas that had long been supported by the Catholic church. He was questioned by the catholic church calling his ideas as rumors and as defying the authority of the church and its authority over the people (doc. 3).