HISTORY 1DD3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Age Of Enlightenment, Anti-Clericalism, Philosophes
22 Sep 2016
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History 1dd3- lecture 3- the enlightenment part 2. For centuries, no single thread had united western culture more powerfully than had. Christianity, but during the enlightenment, the first systematic assault on christianity developed. The philsophes promoted skepticism; they question the brief and actions of organized churches- especially the catholic church. It argued that many christian dogmas defied logic and they ridiculed theologians for arguing about obscure issues that seemed irrelevant to the human condition. It denounced churches for inciting fanaticism and intolerance that had led to the. Crusades, the inquisition and the religions wars of the 16th century. They viewed christianity"s preoccupation with salvation, the afterlife, and the essential depravity of human nature as barriers to social improvement and earthly happiness. The skepticism of philosophes pushed them to repudiate traditional christianity and instead they sought to put in its place a rational system of ethics and philosophy based on scientific truths.
