Enlightenment  

The Enlightenment was a primarily intellectual movement that came to light in the early 1700s, though it had been in the works since medieval philosophers had rediscovered the works of the ancient thinkers. This reintroduced the idea of logical rather than dogmatic reasoning. The scholars of the 14th century saw this as a way to support their belief in God, rationalizing and analyzing Church dogmas with logic.   

However, after the Renaissance had shifted the focus of culture from Church dogma to human achievement (still as a part of the work of God), the stage was set for this movement to make sweeping changes. The onset of the Industrial Revolution made this happen.  

At this time, people came to understand the monumental things that humans could do using only the laws of physics and their own innovation – the powerful machines that produced objects quickly and efficiently, the factories that housed them, steam-powered engines, and later the wonders of electricity. These physical phenomena made the intellectual community value reason and logic, which depended on physical proof, and the religious fervor and devotion that had marked the preceding centuries waned. Religion, then, became more of a social and moral tradition than a devout belief for many. This was part of a general trend, begun in the Renaissance, toward humanism, or emphasis on human qualities and achievements.  

This affected people at all levels of society, as rulers adopted these ideas. During this period, much of Europe was presided over by “Enlightened monarchs”, who adopted the ideas of science and reason to systematically build up and unify their empires (as occurred in England , France , Austria-Hungary , and Russia ). The emergent upper-middle classes of relatively prosperous and educated people took part in this movement with discussions and debates that took place both in fashionable salons and in the streets, where it moved political change (causing, notably, the American and French Revolutions). 

Enlightenment thinkers encouraged the use of reason in the search for truth. Writers such as Voltaire and Hugo criticized the old order and supported new ideas, while debate raged over ideal forms of government. This yielded the works of Hobbes, Locke, Hume, and Kant, among others, and gave rise to many divergent fields of thought that exist to this day.   

Sources:  

Brians, Paul. The Enlightenment. 11 March 1998 , accessed 2 March. < https://www.wsu.edu/~brians/hum_303/enlightenment.html >  

Hooker, Richard. “The European Enlightenment: Industrial Revolution.” World Civilizations . 1996. 2 December 2005 . < http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ENLIGHT/INDUSTRY.HTM>