As we know from classical historiography, the European subcontinent experienced various periods (or ages) until the Age of Enlightenment. These are the overseas colonial activities that will last for centuries, the Renaissance in the early 15th c., the Reformation Period in the early 16th c., and the Scientific Revolution in the late 16th and 17th c.. After these periods, the Age of Enlightenment, in other words, the Age of Reason emerges, which is apparently the fruit of all these periods. When evaluated chronologically, at first glance, all these historical events can be counted as the causes of the Enlightenment, but the main elements of the Enlightenment are these two: mankind’s grasp of human being potential and the integration of this grasp with human ambition.
At the ends of the 17th c., it can be said that there was a so-called rise of Europe. Europe was not the Europe it was two centuries ago. While, the continentals were trying to find an alternative way to trade with India in 14th c., they had changed the general outline of the world up until the 18th c. (Spielvogel, 2009, p. 441). They got the economic superiority by establishing the colonies and exploiting local resources. In addition to that, the vital element that brings the wealth was the gaining the control of the financial relations network of the world. This point was the one of the cases made the Dutch (capitalist oligarchy) powerful in 17th c. (Arringhi, 2010, p. 46). Willingness to make profit brought the European states to a very powerful position and made the states that could not have a say in global trade dependent on them. In Europe, a spacious environment for intellectual thinking was created thanks to this superiority. This environment paved the way for the Age of Enlightenment. So, the first triggering notion was the willingness to make profit. However, it would not be plausible that this element alone created the Age of Enlightenment.
Just before the Age of Enlightenment, Europe experienced the Scientific Revolution. Beck et al. (2008) notes that “Their (the thinkers of the Scientific Revolution) efforts spurred the Enlightenment, a new intellectual movement that stressed reason and thought and the power of individuals to solve problems (p. 629). This means that the intellectual background of the Age of Reason lies in the era of the Scientific Revolution. At first glance, one might think that the Scientific Revolution is the main cause. However, when considered in a historical perspective, it will be seen that the Renaissance is the first point of emergence of the Scientific Revolution and therefore the Enlightenment ideas. Under the influence of humanism, which is also an output of the Renaissance, the elite 2 education system in Europe changed completely. Although religious influence is still observed, the Renaissance expanded the field of education and included liberal studies in the concept of education (Spielvogel, 2009, p. 352). These liberal studies pave the way the scientific progress that caused to the secular character of the Enlightenment. In other words, although the education of the Renaissance period may seem like a contradiction at first glance because it has religious elements, it laid the groundwork for the secular character of the Enlightenment. So, the combination of the ambition for more prosperous life coming from the colonial activities and discovery of the human’s capacity in the Renaissance movement resulted the Enlightenment.
To sum up, it can be remarked that, the continental Europe had experienced significant periods which may be considered as antecedents of the Enlightenment. The colonial activities opened a new horizon for the Europeans, gave them a self-confidence which came from economic prosperity and resulted with ambition for more prosperous life. The Renaissance was a period in which the European understood what “man” meant. The Reformation, which was an upheaval against the established order of its time, had taught the Europeans that they could think independently of the church. The Scientific Revolution showed to the European what the human mind could achieve if it wanted to, and allowed it to “enjoy” with it. Coming to the Enlightenment, it can be stated that this was the vital point of the European mindset that will open a new world for the continentals. The ground on which the Enlightenment developed was the “comfort environment”, that is prosperity, created by the European’s ambition, and the getting know what the borders of human being which was provided by the Renaissance. So, the Reformation and the Scientific Revolution were also the facts that the two elements mentioned had given birth to. They were not the reasons of the Enlightenment. So, the Enlightenment is a product of man’s sense of ambition for an easier life and man’s self-knowledge.
References
Spielvogel, J. J. (2009). Western civilization (7th ed.). Thomson Wadsworth.
Beck, R. B., Black, L., Krieger, L. S., Naylor, P. C., & Shabaka, D. I. (2008). World history: Patterns of interaction (1st ed.). McDougal Littell.
Arringhi, G. (2010). The long twentieth century: Money, power, and the origins of our times.
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