Essay About Age Of Enlightenment And Time Period

Age of Englightenment
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I was asked if we live in an age of enlightenment or if we live in an enlightened age, I would have to answer with the belief of Immanuel Kant. In my opinion, we are living in the age of enlightenment, rather living in an enlightened age. An enlightened age is a time where the enlightenment has already occurred, and therefore the people are living in the results of the enlightenment. On the other hand, an age of enlightenment, such as the time period in the 18th and 19th centuries, is a time period in which people seek to improve the world in which they live in and focus on changing societys ways. An enlightened age is the ideal, it is a Utopia. Therefore, I believe that we are living in an age of enlightenment because although our modern world is not perfect, there is a motivation to improve the world in many ways, including becoming religiously tolerant (how our country has many laws protecting the rights of all people), scientific advancements, individualism, and worldly pleasures. It is obvious that there is motivation to improve in all these areas, but of course there are people who do not agree, therefore being the cause of our time period to be the “Age of Enlightenment”, not “the Enlightened Age”. For example,our current War on Terror. Another example is although our country has many laws protecting the individualism and civil rights of people, there are many suffering in Darfur of ethnic cleansing. In conclusion, if I were asked if we live in an age of enlightenment as opposed to living in an enlightened age, I would agree with Immanuel Kant; “If we are asked, Do we now live in an enlightened age? the answer is No,, but we do live in an age of enlightenment.”