The enlightenment was a cultural and 'intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th

centuries in which ideas concerning God, reason, nature, and man were synthesized
into a worldview that gained wide assent and that instigated revolutionary
developments in art, philosophy, and politics' (Enlightenment). The use of reason,
which was thought to be the tool through which humankind could understand the
universe and improve his own condition, was central to the Enlightenment. According
to this movement, among the goals of rational man, freedom, knowledge and
happiness were the basic ones. Some people refer to the enlightenment as being a
French movement; this is not without a reason however. Most well-known European
thinkers and writers, or philosophers as they were named, were in fact French.
These philosophers inspired themselves from writings of English philosophers, such
as John Locke and Sir Isaac Newton. We should not ignore the contributions made
by Dutch, Italian, Swiss, Scottish and German writers to the enlightenment. This
movement spread to other areas of the world such as the Americas. The people of
the enlightenment considered themselves as forming part of an international
Republic of Letters, and not as being British, French or Dutch.

A first change brought about by the enlightenment was the confidence placed by
philosophers on human beings' ability of understanding the way in which the world
operates. 'In the eighteenth century however, philosophes placed greater
emphasis on reason alone, which they believed to be superior to religious faith
and the final arbiter of all philosophical and theological disputes' (The West.
Encounters and Transformations. 3rd ed.). This confidence given to human reason
resulted in discoveries made by enlightenment thinkers, especially when it comes to
scientific laws. These governed the functioning of the natural world and that of
human society. David Hume (1711-1776) for instance showed his proposal for a
science of politics and a science of the human mind in 'Political Discourses',
respectively in 'Treaties of Human Nature'. Adam Smith (1723-1790) though that the
laws followed by the economy could be compared to the laws governing the
movement of the heavens. We have to mention along with this that modern social
science came into existence along with the enlightenment. The intellectual
disciplines that were part of modern social science were political science,
economics, anthropology, sociology and psychology. As philosophers were
searching for natural laws that governed all human life, the interest in non-European
countries also rose. During the middle of the 18th century, scholarly studies related to
Chinese, Arab and Indian cultures were published. Egypt was also of a great interest
especially in 1798, after the French occupation.

Secondly, the enlightenment had an effect on religion and morality. Philosophers

started to gain a different understanding of God. Even though most of them still
believe that God was the creator of the universe, they thought that He was no longer
operating it. This belief is also known as deism. 'In deism there was no place for the
traditional Christian belief that God became human to redeem humankind from
original sin' (The West. Encounters and Transformations. 3rd ed.). Morality stopped
having the Bible as the foundation, according to enlightenment thinkers. Thy also
considered that discovering the natural behavior and applying it was enough, and
that God's commandments did not have to be respected any more. What did this
lead to? It is quite straightforward; enlightenment thinkers viewed as less important
the doctrinal differences among religions. All religions were given validity as long as
they directed towards a better understanding of the natural law. Given that the idea
of the existence of only one religion was denied, toleration for all religions (even
those coming from outside the West) was in demand. When it came to the Roman
Catholicism, thinkers of this movement were indeed critical. They actually wanted to
replace religious belief with ration thinking. Theology was no longer seen as having

any importance in their eyes. David Hume, in 'An Enquiry Concerning Human
Understanding' rejected ideas brought by Christianity claiming that they were
rational.

Thirdly, we will discuss the effects of the enlightenment on progress and reform. The
theories related to human development that emerged in this period had a
contribution, in the enlightenment thinkers' opinion, to the progress/ advancement of
the civilization. Until the 18th century, reform programs were never seen as
progressive, but as cyclical. Nevertheless, the enlightenment had as one if its role to
encourage belief in improvement. There was much focus put on social justice, which
was preeminent in the modern Western culture. Also, enlightenment reformers
wanted reform in corrupt institutions; among their targets, churches, state
bureaucracies and the institution of monarchy were found. Capital punishment and
judicial torture were seen as inhumane; campaigns were made in order to help in the
creation of a more civilized, humane society. Cesare Beccaria had a great
contribution in this area of reform, especially with the publication of his 'Essay on
Crimes and Punishment'.

A famous philosopher of that time was Voltaire, or Francois Marie Arouet. As an

author, he centered his writings on pursuit of justice and liberty and on scientific
rationality. Along with the relationship he had with Madame du Chatelet (a
noblewoman), he experienced sexual freedom, which meant that both definitely
'rejected the Christian condemnation of sexual activity outside marriage and who
justified their behavior on the basis of natural law and the pursuit of happiness' (The
West. Encounters and Transformations. 3rd ed.). Along with this, Voltaire became
more interested in women's equality and education. Apart from this, he gained an in
depth understanding of Newton's scientific laws from this learned noblewoman. The
attacks he launched against Christianity were based on his vision of a Newtonian
universe.

The next point discussed refers to the political theories that influenced the West at
that time but also after. The causes of reform and liberty were supported; also, the
state was viewed through secular eyes, and not through religious ones. This also
meant that the enlightenment thought did not accept the idea, which claimed that
kings had a divine right. Also, the church had noting to do with the government. The
famous political writer Montesquieu was quite influential; he wrote the 'Spirit of the
Laws', which was mainly about the formation of a good government through the
separation of powers: executive, legislative and judicial. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
was another famous political theorist. Unlike Voltaire, Hume and Diderot, he
distrusted human reason. This led to a romantic reaction, which was a response to
the enlightenment. He had a negative perception about the accomplishments of the
civilization and the theory of the 'noble savage' was strongly supported by him. In his
'Discourse on the origin of Inequality Among Men' as well as in 'The Social Contract',
he attacked monarchy and aristocracy, which placed a challenge on the social and
political order existent at that time. Due to his writings, Rousseau came to be seen
as a radical republican that had democratic ideas, which were very common at the
time of the French revolution. According to him, the General Will should be the one
determining the laws. Thomas Paine was known as the most radical enlightenment
political theorist. In 'Common Sense', as well as in 'the Rights of Man', he
emphasized equality, rationality and human freedom. M

Furthermore, the enlightenment impacted the views linked to the role of women in
society. Theorists such as Rousseau and Diderot, though that women have a
domestic role and that they should live their lives in a different environment than
men. This theory of separate spheres 'denied women the freedom that aristocratic
women in France had acquired during the eighteenth century, especially those who
belonged to polite society. It also continued to deny them civil rights. Eighteenth
century women could not vote and could not initiate lawsuits. They were not full
members of civil society' (The West. Encounters and Transformations. 3rd ed.). On
the other hand, a few enlightenment thinkers demanded full equality of both men and
women. Marquis de Condorcet encouraged universal suffrage for men and women,
and he also insisted on equality in 'On the Admission of Women to the Rights of
Citizenship'.

Thanks to the effect of the enlightenment on the position of women in society, there
started to be a demand for more sexual permissiveness. Noblemen such as
Giacomo Casanova and Marquis de Sade adopted in fact the values encouraged by
enlightenment thinkers, which were seen as libertine. As our book illustrates,
'somewhat more remarkable was the growth of public sexual permissiveness among
all social groups, including the rather prim and proper bourgeoisie and the working
poor. Erotic literature, such as John Cleland's Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure
(1749), and pornographic prints achieved considerable popularity in an increasingly
commercialized society, while prostitution became more open and widespread.
Voltaire and Diderot might not have approved of this literature or these practices, but
the libertine, anti-Christian, materialist outlook of these philosophes helped to
prepare the ground for their acceptance' (The West. Encounters and
Transformations. 3rd ed.).
----The Enlightenment brought a new vision over the art, literature, philosophy, religion,
politics and other fields like human sciences. The new vision was the premise of the
several cultural revolutions that had to end the absolute monarchy. Today, none of
the existing West European monarchies have the absolute power in state; they only
have ceremonial role and other limited rights. The Church separation from the state
was another effect of the Enlightenment in the Western Europe. This was possible
since traditionalism was not the trend to follow anymore. Moreover, the dogmas of
the Church did not include freedom, self-determination and individualism - traits of
the newborn enlightened western society. All these, were the major forces and their
effects that changed the West comparing it with the more conservationist East of
Europe.
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