The Enlightenment (jan 1, 1650 – jan 1, 1800)
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Enlightenment (1650-1800) – also called the age of reason. In international terms it was in the year 1620 when the enlightenment started. The French don’t talk about the enlightenment until 1715.
During the enlightenment, these 5 factors were being discussed.
- Rationalism (logic: reason as source of - knowledge).
- Empiricism (knowledge comes through experience).
- Criticism (argumentation and critical thinking).
- Egalitarianism (everybody is born equal).
- Deism (rejection of organized religion).
The starting point of the middle class was because people were more literate. They started to read and write also there was a better school system. In society, good manners existed, common sense appeared and self-control on how to act in public or to know what is right or wrong. Queen Elizabeth was an inspiration to the people about appearances, formal style, and elegance. It was the time were stores and infrastructure started to develop. Coffee houses, tea (India), and chocolate (South America) started to appear. Mainly since Britain ruled in India (1858-1947) and took spices, jewels, textiles, and last but not least tea from them.
Neo(new)classical architecture
Arabs, Greeks, and Turkmen tried to copy the buildings that were in the Byzantine empire but build them better and much more upgraded. There was an advancement of ideas like progress, tolerance, fraternity, constitutional government and the separation of church and state. It was a time of birth of democracy and liberalism which led to the French revolution (1789-1799) and the American Constitution in the year 1789 took place.
During the enlightenment, major writers appeared such as William Congreve (1670-1729), Isaac Newton (1642-1727), Voltaire (1692-1778), Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), and Benjamin Franklin (1706-1784).
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