The Enlightenment (18th century) is also known as the "Age of Reason" because it emphasized:

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Rational thought, scientific inquiry, and skepticism of traditional authority. The Enlightenment emphasized rational thought, scientific inquiry, and skepticism of traditional authority - particularly the authority of the Church and absolute monarchies. Enlightenment thinkers like Voltaire, Montesquieu, Diderot, and Locke believed that human reason could solve social problems, improve governance, and advance human knowledge. This intellectual movement laid the groundwork for modern democracy, human rights, and scientific method.

Emotional expression and individual feeling describe Romanticism, which arose partly as a reaction against the Enlightenment's emphasis on reason. A return to medieval religious values is the opposite of the Enlightenment's commitment to secular reasoning and questioning of religious dogma. Rejection of all forms of government describes anarchism; Enlightenment thinkers generally advocated for reformed government (constitutional monarchy, democracy, separation of powers) rather than no government.

The Enlightenment is a crucial period on the CLEP Humanities exam. Test-takers should know key thinkers (Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu, Hume, Kant), the movement's influence on the American and French Revolutions, and the Encyclopedia project led by Diderot and d'Alembert. Kant defined Enlightenment as humanity's "emergence from self-imposed immaturity" and the courage to use one's own reason.

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