18th Century Intellectual Development

The 15th through the 18th centuries was a time for major changes in the way the people viewed the world. It was the beginning of a movement that would forever change the way of life. I am going to discuss the major intellectual developments of Europe in the 15th through the 18th centuries. I will talk about whom some of the great thinkers were and what their new ideas were. I will also analyze how these new ideas changed the way the European people viewed their world and themselves. Starting in the 15th century, Europe experienced a change in the way people felt, acted, and viewed the world around them. Some of them started to question some of the beliefs that they were taught from a young age. They started to think in new ways about the …show more content…
Some of the ideas that they came up with created the basis for sociology and psychology. Two subjects that are very important in today’s society. This new intellectual development is known as the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was a philosophical movement in which philosophers questioned their own being and the meaning to life. It challenged many ideas from the church. Many of the great thinkers from the time of the Enlightenment made fun of the views of the church. They proved repeatedly that the church was wrong. For example, John Locke, who was tired of the government and religion intertwining, he said that the government derives its power from the people not from …show more content…
It not only changed the views of oneself, but their view of the world around them. It made them question their faith and their morals. The ones who first believed what they were taught through their religion changed their ideas and believed in views that are more realistic. Instead of blindly following in one God and believing that he created and controlled everything, they started to believe that not everything was controlled by God. These new ideas also changed the view of themselves. John Locke developed theories that explained more about people. He explained why people are good and evil contradicting what their religion taught them. He believed people made their own choice to be good or evil. He did not believe that there was an extra force such as the devil controlling some of their choices. People learn from their experiences and they choose to do what they want. The major intellectual developments paved the way for people to think for themselves. It allowed us to be able to think and be capable to do what we do