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In what ways and to what extent did the European Enlightenment challenge established sources of authority?
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In what ways and to what extent did the European Enlightenment challenge established sources of authority? The Enlightenment is the name given to an intellectual movement developed in Western Europe in the 17th and 18th Century. It came about through the ideas and attitudes of a group of writers (called philosophes in France), who helped create 'a new framework of ideas about man, society and nature'. (Hamilton 1992:23) These philosophers established a direct challenge to the traditional conception of the world generated by the Roman church. The Philosophers involved believed that they were more enlightened than their compatriots and set out to enlighten them; hence the period of time was labelled the 'enlightenment'. These philosophers were strongly influenced by the rise of modern science and by what had happened after the long religious conflict that followed the Reformation. They were committed to views based on reason or human understanding, which they...
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