Question

1. What was the Enlightenment, and what effects do we see of it in our world today?

2. What was the Scientific Revolution and how did it change Europe's attitude toward science?

Answer 1

Enlightenment movement brought sea of economic, social, religious and individual changes in the European society which later spread across the world. The first change was breaking out of the religious clutches which otherwise branded all the creative work as sinful creations and kept people slaves to God and religion. Enlightenment broke this popular belief and took human closer to God by liberating arts and literature to more humanistic and creative level. Individual rights became more prominent which challenged the existing class structures that kept few people elite and luxurious while others starved. Great thinkers of this era such as John Locke propogated the importance of individual freedom and less government and religious involvement in order to utilize the full human potential.
Science was challenging religion and religious beliefs by proving all the major areas that helped the religion to hold people under its control. People in the society along with the church condemned the early day scientists by branding them plasphemics and whatever they spoke as plasphemy. Scientific advancements helped the society achieve Industrial Revolution which helped the society understand the importance of science and gradually accepting it. Societies that embraced the scientific development became developed countries while the others remained underdeveloped.