Age of Enlightenment

About
The Age of Enlightenment (also called just The Enlightenment), was a movement in Western philosophy which advocated rationality as a means to establishing an authoritative system of aesthetics, ethics, and logic. It overturned the notions of mysticism and faith in individual revelation as the primary source of knowledge and wisdom.

The Enlightenment inspired the framework for the American and French Revolutions (among others); the democratic government of the 🇺🇸 is largely an enlightenment innovation.

The ideologies of liberalism (which emphasizes personal liberty -- immunity from the arbitrary exercise of authority) and rationalism (reasoning from available data, rejection of any authority which cannot be justified by reason), arose from Enlightenment ideas.

In Scotland
The Scottish Enlightenment built on these ideas, adding an optimistic belief in the ability of humans to affect changes for the better in society and nature, guided only by reason.

Reference

 * Scottish Enlightenment
 * : no equivalent page (as of 2008-07-31); see Re-enlightenment
 * : no equivalent page (as of 2008-07-31)
 * : no equivalent page (as of 2008-07-31); see Re-enlightenment
 * : no equivalent page (as of 2008-07-31)