The Age of Enlightenment Essay -- Enlightenment 2014

Science vs the Enlightenment vs PoliticsThis essay argues that the Enlightenment is the most important concept among the three given in the title. The Age of Enlightenment was a period in early modern history when western societies, led by its intellectuals, made a marked fracture from religion based authority to one of scientific reason. Prior to this period, the Church and the State were intricately interlinked and the Enlightenment sought to sever states and politics from religion through and through the application of rational analysis based on scientific observation and facts. This movement traces its origins to the seventeenth and eighteenth century Europe. Similar undercurrents of progressive thought were seen in the New World as well, most notably from such intellectuals such as Tom Paine and other proponents of American independence (Porter & Teich, 1981).The Enlightenment has had a silent impact on the cultural evolution of Western Europe in particular and the whole of th e continent in general. A landmark piece of acquisition that turned the tables in favor of scientific reason...