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The Enlightenment Period : The Age Of Reason

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Age of Awareness
The Enlightenment period, also known as The Age of Reason, was a highly intellectual movement of the late seventeenth century and the eighteenth century Europe. This development highlighted reasoning, equality and more of a humanistic approach was taken as opposed to traditional practice. This period was heavily influenced by scientific thought, skepticism and intellectual stimulation. The plan of this era was to reform society and the way it used reasoning as well as oppose long established customs. Most importantly, the objective was to move forward in the field of scientific thought. The period leading up to the Enlightenment was a transformation of understanding. This span of time emphasized reason and logic, assessment and critical thinking over blind faith, superstition and mythology. A new way of rational thinking was set in stone. The concept of the Enlightenment significantly influenced and further developed culture, politics and Western world governments. As people began to think for themselves, major developments in religion, science and philosophy occurred.
Before the 1800s most people in Europe were Catholic. These individuals were not allowed to express other religious views or thoughts. Anybody who questioned the established beliefs was arrested or killed. During this time, popes were considered faultless; not a single person could tell them they were faulty. The papacy then underwent numerous attacks by the Protestant reformers such as

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