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CENTURY: The Ilumina - Part I °

The Enlightenment

The Enlightenment is a cultural phenomenon that spreads in the eighteenth century and touches all areas of knowledge.

The Enlightenment were scholars who dealt with different disciplines and often did not share the same opinion.

but had an idea in common: men must learn to only use his own reason to address any problems.

The Enlightenment was not born from nothing. It picked up the legacy of the scientists of the seventeenth century (see Unit dedicated to the scientific revolution). In particular, the Enlightenment learned the method used by these scientists to study the natural world: the experimental method . Do not be satisfied with what had been handed down by tradition, but directly observe the phenomena of nature , discovered through experiments the laws that govern the operation and express through the language of mathematics.

Even in the eighteenth century and then the studies and scientific discoveries progressed unceasingly:

- Swedish Linnaeus and Buffon French boobies increasing knowledge of animals (zoology) and plant (botanical);

- American Franklin and Italian Luigi Galvani and Alessandro Volta made important discoveries about the phenomenon of ' electricity.

The laboratory of Luigi Galvani

The Enlightenment and religion

addition, these scholars had begun to doubt the teachings of Scripture, often facing the harsh reaction of the Church (just think of the case of Galileo).

Proprio riflettendo su queste difficoltà gli illuministi presero a criticare apertamente la religione.

Essi sostenevano che le Chiese (soprattutto quella cattolica) avevano ostacolato i progressi della conoscenza  affermando che la verità era stata rivelata da Dio per mezzo delle Sacre Scritture e che i fedeli dovevano accettarla senza discutere.

Gli illuministi, invece, volevano sottoporre le credenze religiose all’esame della ragione. Ciò che vi era di ragionevole in esse andava conservato, il resto andava respinto in quanto frutto di superstizione.

Non tutti gli illuministi condividevano però le stesse idee in proposito:

- some (the deists ), while criticizing the clergy, the irrational aspects of faith, superstitions and rivalries between different faiths that had led to the wars of religion, believed in the existence of a God good that had created the universe and had given orders;

- others (atheists à by to - without / theos - God ) rejected the whole idea dell’esistenza di Dio. Questi ultimi ritenevano inutile e dannosa qualsiasi religione.

 

Anche se avevano idee differenti, ateisti e deisti erano d’accordo sul fatto che le religioni tradizionali avevano, nei secoli precedenti, causato guerre e sofferenze. Ciascuna religione infatti aveva ritenuto di possedere l’unica verità e questa convinzione aveva spinto tutte le Chiese a compiere violenze terribili contro gli avversari.

 

L’Illuminismo lottò per cambiare questa mentalità e per affermare un nuovo principio: la TOLLERANZA. Bisognava stop persecuting people who had different ideas on religion: everyone should be able to live peacefully alongside each other.

Secularism

The violent polemic against religion contributed to the development of a secular mentality, that is a way of thinking about man and nature is completely different from that proposed by Christianity.

the Illuminati was not interested in heaven or salvation of the soul, they worry about finding the way to reach the Wellness and happiness in earthly life   ed erano convinti che non la religione, ma la scienza e il sapere potessero garantire all’umanità un futuro d continui miglioramenti.