evaluate how the age of enligtenment is a response to the age of absolutism.
help please.
please.
The Age of Absolutism declared that the king was always right.
The Age of Englightenment declared that knowledge and people were right.
Please read your text for more details.
i don't have my txt book.
Google Absolutism
Google Enlightenment
gee thanks, never would've thought of that...
The Age of Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, was a period of intellectual and cultural movement in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. It emerged as a response to the preceding Age of Absolutism, which was characterized by the centralized power and authority of monarchs. Here's an evaluation of how the Age of Enlightenment can be seen as a response to the Age of Absolutism:
1. Intellectual and Philosophical Criticism:
- During the Age of Enlightenment, thinkers and philosophers challenged the absolute authority of monarchs by promoting reason, logic, and scientific inquiry as the basis of knowledge and decision-making.
- Enlightenment thinkers, such as John Locke, Montesquieu, and Voltaire, advocated for individual rights, personal freedoms, and the separation of powers as checks against absolute rule.
- Their ideas provided a counterbalance to the autocratic rule of absolute monarchs, challenging the notion that rulers had a divine right to rule without question.
2. Promoting Equality and Social Justice:
- The Age of Enlightenment emphasized the importance of equality, justice, and human rights for all individuals. Thinkers like Jean-Jacques Rousseau advocated for the social contract theory, which posited that rulers derived their authority from the consent of the governed.
- Enlightenment thinkers criticized the rigid social hierarchy and privileges enjoyed by the aristocracy under absolutist systems. They advocated for social reform, equal rights, and an end to privileges based on birth or social status.
3. Spread of Knowledge and Education:
- The Enlightenment fostered the growth of knowledge through the development of institutions such as libraries, scientific societies, and academies.
- Encyclopedias, like Denis Diderot's Encyclopédie, became essential tools for disseminating scientific, philosophical, and societal knowledge to a wider audience.
- The promotion of education and literacy enabled individuals to question traditional authority, challenge dogma, and seek knowledge through their own reasoning.
4. Emphasis on Rational Governance:
- Enlightenment thinkers argued for the establishment of constitutional and representative forms of government, in contrast to the absolute rule of monarchs.
- They advocated for the rule of law, individual liberties, and accountable governance. This influenced the development of democratic ideals and the eventual establishment of republics in many nations, including the United States and France.
Overall, the Age of Enlightenment offered a contrasting perspective to the authoritarianism of the Age of Absolutism. It emphasized reason, individual rights, equality, social justice, and improved governance, challenging the authority and absolute power of monarchs by promoting enlightened principles that continue to shape modern democracies.