Enlightenment was not confined to scientific revolution alone, but humanism and ideas of progress too were its inseparable constituents. Examine.

Answer:

The Enlightenment was deeply influenced by the scientific revolution, but it was not confined to science alone. It also included humanism, faith in reason, criticism of tradition and belief in progress.

Scientific Foundation

• Newtonian science encouraged the belief that nature operated according to rational laws.
• Thinkers applied similar reason to society, politics and religion.
• Observation, enquiry and criticism became central to Enlightenment thought.

Humanism

• Enlightenment thinkers placed human beings, not divine authority or inherited tradition, at the centre of enquiry.
• They defended individual rights, religious toleration and freedom of thought.
• Voltaire, Locke and Rousseau challenged arbitrary power and intolerance.

Idea of Progress

• The Enlightenment believed that education, law and reason could improve society.
• It challenged fatalism and traditional hierarchy.
• Progress became a secular and historical possibility.

However, Enlightenment progress was not free from limitations; many thinkers ignored colonial peoples, women and slaves. Still, its essence lay in science, human dignity and belief in improvement. Therefore, humanism and progress were inseparable from Enlightenment thought.