The extent Enlightenment was one of emancipation of humanity
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To what extent was Enlightenment one of human emancipation? As Hampson (1968) describes the period “an embarrassment of wealth for the historian and the danger of being buried under his own treasure”, this essay in the explanation of the question is in danger of not only being buried by treasure but embarrassed by limitation. Initially the essay will define the period and the concept of enlightenment, showing the challenges that enlightenment thinkers were subject to, in the limitations of a socially primitive state with innovative ideas that were contrary to the contemporary constructs of the age. Their purpose was to free humankind from the bonds of superstition, the monarchical state, and contradictions of Christian theology and hence the good of humanity. The main body describes key thinkers and their efforts to emancipate man by way of science, critical reason, and political thought. The latter section of the essay will describe the weaknesses and limitations of the period and attempt to capture the socio-political mood of the era and how these limitations manifested in attitudes to gender, colonialism, and race. In summation the essay will argue that the Enlightenment period was one of human emancipation.
The extent Enlightenment was one of emancipation of humanity
The extent Enlightenment was one of…
The extent Enlightenment was one of emancipation of humanity
To what extent was Enlightenment one of human emancipation? As Hampson (1968) describes the period “an embarrassment of wealth for the historian and the danger of being buried under his own treasure”, this essay in the explanation of the question is in danger of not only being buried by treasure but embarrassed by limitation. Initially the essay will define the period and the concept of enlightenment, showing the challenges that enlightenment thinkers were subject to, in the limitations of a socially primitive state with innovative ideas that were contrary to the contemporary constructs of the age. Their purpose was to free humankind from the bonds of superstition, the monarchical state, and contradictions of Christian theology and hence the good of humanity. The main body describes key thinkers and their efforts to emancipate man by way of science, critical reason, and political thought. The latter section of the essay will describe the weaknesses and limitations of the period and attempt to capture the socio-political mood of the era and how these limitations manifested in attitudes to gender, colonialism, and race. In summation the essay will argue that the Enlightenment period was one of human emancipation.