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112 Enlightenment Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

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Enlightenment is a period in history known for its emphasis on reason, science, and individual rights. It was a time when people began to question traditional authority and seek knowledge for themselves. As such, it is a rich source of inspiration for essay topics. Here are 112 enlightenment essay topic ideas and examples to help you explore this fascinating period in history:

  • The impact of Enlightenment ideas on the American Revolution
  • The role of women in the Enlightenment
  • How the Enlightenment influenced the French Revolution
  • The concept of natural rights in Enlightenment philosophy
  • The contributions of Enlightenment thinkers like John Locke and Voltaire
  • The Enlightenment and its impact on modern democracy
  • The influence of Enlightenment ideas on the Declaration of Independence
  • The Enlightenment and the rise of capitalism
  • How the Enlightenment challenged traditional religious beliefs
  • The role of science in Enlightenment thought
  • The impact of Enlightenment ideas on education
  • The Enlightenment and the concept of progress
  • Enlightenment ideals in the works of Shakespeare
  • The Enlightenment and the birth of modern psychology
  • The influence of the Enlightenment on women's rights movements
  • The Enlightenment and the rise of individualism
  • The impact of Enlightenment ideas on art and literature
  • How the Enlightenment challenged traditional concepts of power and authority
  • The Enlightenment and the development of human rights
  • The role of Enlightenment thought in the abolitionist movement
  • The impact of Enlightenment ideas on the concept of race
  • How the Enlightenment influenced the development of sociology
  • The Enlightenment and the concept of free will
  • Enlightenment ideals in the works of Jane Austen
  • The influence of Enlightenment thought on the concept of beauty
  • The Enlightenment and the rise of secularism
  • The impact of Enlightenment ideas on the concept of happiness
  • How the Enlightenment challenged traditional gender roles
  • The Enlightenment and the development of modern medicine
  • The role of Enlightenment ideas in the formation of the United States Constitution
  • The impact of Enlightenment thought on the concept of reason
  • Enlightenment ideals in the works of Beethoven
  • The influence of Enlightenment philosophy on the Romantic movement
  • The Enlightenment and the rise of the novel
  • How the Enlightenment influenced the concept of citizenship
  • The impact of Enlightenment ideas on the concept of authority
  • The Enlightenment and the development of modern political theory
  • The role of Enlightenment thought in the formation of the Bill of Rights
  • The influence of Enlightenment philosophy on the concept of justice
  • Enlightenment ideals in the works of Mozart
  • The impact of Enlightenment ideas on the concept of liberty
  • How the Enlightenment challenged traditional notions of morality
  • The Enlightenment and the rise of humanism
  • The role of Enlightenment thought in the development of modern ethics
  • The influence of Enlightenment philosophy on the concept of virtue
  • Enlightenment ideals in the works of Da Vinci
  • The impact of Enlightenment ideas on the concept of beauty
  • How the Enlightenment challenged traditional concepts of art
  • The Enlightenment and the rise of the symphony
  • The role of Enlightenment thought in the development of modern music theory
  • The influence of Enlightenment philosophy on the concept of harmony
  • Enlightenment ideals in the works of Michelangelo
  • The impact of Enlightenment ideas on the concept of truth
  • How the Enlightenment challenged traditional notions of knowledge
  • The Enlightenment and the rise of the scientific method
  • The role of Enlightenment thought in the development of modern physics
  • The influence of Enlightenment philosophy on the concept of space
  • Enlightenment ideals in the works of Galileo
  • The impact of Enlightenment ideas on the concept of time
  • How the Enlightenment challenged traditional notions of causality
  • The Enlightenment and the rise of the concept of probability
  • The role of Enlightenment thought in the development of modern mathematics
  • The influence of Enlightenment philosophy on the concept of infinity
  • Enlightenment ideals in the works of Newton
  • The impact of Enlightenment ideas on the concept of motion
  • How the Enlightenment challenged traditional notions of force
  • The Enlightenment and the rise of the concept of energy
  • The role of Enlightenment thought in the development of modern chemistry
  • The influence of Enlightenment philosophy on the concept of matter
  • Enlightenment ideals in the works of Darwin
  • The impact of Enlightenment ideas on the concept of evolution
  • How the Enlightenment challenged traditional notions of species
  • The Enlightenment and the rise of the concept of adaptation
  • The role of Enlightenment thought in the development of modern biology
  • The influence of Enlightenment philosophy on the concept of genetics
  • Enlightenment ideals in the works of Freud
  • The impact of Enlightenment ideas on the concept of the unconscious 78

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112 Enlightenment Essay Topics

🏆 best essay topics on enlightenment, ✍️ enlightenment essay topics for college, 🎓 most interesting enlightenment research titles, 💡 simple enlightenment essay ideas, ❓ enlightenment essay questions.

  • English Enlightenment Through the Perspectives of Defoe and Swift
  • What Is Enlightenment? By Immanuel Kant: Analysis
  • Plato’s Work “Allegory of the Cave” vs. Kant’s “What Is Enlightenment?”
  • Puritanism and Enlightenment Writers
  • Women’s Status During the Enlightenment and Victorian Periods
  • Kant’s Ideas About Enlightenment
  • Religion in Enlightenment Literature: Moliere’s Tartuffe
  • Immanuel Kant’s Enlightenment Analysis In the essay “What Is Enlightenment?”, Immanuel Kant provides readers with the definition of enlightenment as well as the path towards it.
  • The Impact of Enlightenment Ideas on Education The 18th century entered history as the age of the Enlightenment because recent scientific advances prompted us to reconsider the former picture of the world radically.
  • Adam Smith and The Age of Enlightenment As for the historic figure of Adam Smith, he is recognized as the Father of political economy and he is an outstanding moral philosopher as well.
  • The Enlightenment According to Kant Among the many philosophers, Kant was one of the main contributors to the enlightenment, being a German philosopher and one of the enlightenment thinkers.
  • “What Is Enlightenment?” by Immanuel Kant One interpretation of the Kantian text – enlightenment can be read either as a historical document, or one can see in it an appeal to everyone and all outside of time and space.
  • Enlightenment and Founder Father Ideology The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement in the eighteenth century. The principles of Enlightenment had an impact on social and political development.
  • The Scottish Enlightenment: Stadial History and Early Anthropology The thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment considered the stages of community through theoretical means known as “stadial theory” or “stadial history.”
  • Analysis of the Enlightenment Century The Enlightenment was a philosophical movement that dominated Europe in the 18th century and emphasized principles like tolerance, liberty and progress.
  • Impact of Enlightenment on the Society This work aims to examine how the Enlightenment influenced the society of the eighteenth century and still finds echoes in the modern world.
  • Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment The scientific revolution introduced individualism to a society that was largely conformist and communal at the time, with little regard for the accomplishments of select people.
  • Enlightenment-Inspired Documents This paper discusses enlightenment-inspired documents, namely the American Declaration of Independence and the French Declaration on the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
  • The Great Awakening and American Enlightenment The history of Christianity includes the Protestant branch most represented in America and the most influential in America.
  • Media Influences: Art of Enlightenment and Selling The media industry is a powerful weapon that allows influencing the masses of people and a means that can both strengthen the state system and disrupt it.
  • The Death of Enkidu and the Enlightenment of Gilgamesh The great epic poem of Gilgamesh explores a vast number of themes, but the one that sets the epic into motion is the subject of friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu.
  • Enlightenment and Its Impact on the French Population and the Industrial Revolution The work examines the connections between the Enlightenment and the French people’s academic achievements, and its relation to the Industrial Revolution.
  • Influence of Enlightenment and the Great Awakening on the American Revolution The Revolution depicted a period of political and ideological transformation in North America between 1765 and 1783.
  • The Enlightenment Era Thought Enlightenment thinkers influenced the history of European countries and, consequently, affected the United States’ politics.
  • Enlightenment Ways of Thinking This paper tells about classical liberalism views human nature from a skeptical perspective. This perception is similar to that of conservative liberalism.
  • The Age of Enlightenment and Its Issues The Age of Enlightenment is a controversial period in history, and its evaluation should include both advantages and drawbacks of the time.
  • The Ideas of the Enlightenment One of the key ideas of the Enlightenment having a profound effect on the modern west world is the idea of popular government.
  • The Period of Enlightenment During the period of Enlightenment, there existed considerable dissonance between the philosophers and the people they animadverted, in particular, religious and political reactionaries.
  • Candide and the Context of Enlightenment Enlightenment is an imperative term of political philosophy that urges the application of intellect and logic to discover truth and reality from natural and social phenomena.
  • Theology in the Enlightenment Age The enlightenment age started gaining momentum in the 13th when Thomas Aquinas recovered the Aristotelian logic that was primarily used in defending Christianity.
  • Enlightenment Culture and 18-th Century Revolutions The essay outlines principles of XVIII-century enlightenment culture, analyzes Scientific, French, Industrial Revolutions, and studies Unique Forms of Continuity in Space.
  • Voltaire’s Vision of Religion and Enlightenment Voltaire`s vision of religion, society, and the main moving forces of its development resulted in the formation of the modern mentality.
  • Absolutism During the Period of the Enlightenment
  • John Locke’s Teachings during the Enlightenment Period about the American Revolution
  • Candide, the Enlightenment, and the Birth of Tolerance
  • Adorno and Horkheimer’s Dialectic of Enlightenment
  • Economists and the Enlightenment in Spain, 1750-1800
  • Darwin and Freud’s Opposition to Enlightenment Thought
  • Enlightenment Against the Old Order in European Societies
  • Changes During the Enlightenment Period of the Eighteenth Century
  • Enlightenment Arguments for and Against Separation of Church and State
  • Medical Sciences During the Age of Enlightenment
  • Developmental Trends, Thought, and Thinkers in the New Enlightenment
  • Enlightenment and Scientific Discovery of the 17th Century
  • America’s Constant Quest for Freedom was Evident in the Enlightenment Era
  • Reformation and Enlightenment Europe: Absolutism or Democracy
  • Comparing and Contrasting the Enlightenment, Transcendentalism, and Puritan Theology
  • Inferno: Dante’s Journey Toward Enlightenment
  • How Enlightenment Shaped the Birth of the American Republic Between 1775 and 1787?
  • Enlightenment: Can Mankind Live a Moral and Ethical Life Without Religion?
  • Anti-Semitism: Before and After the Enlightenment
  • The Advancements and Restructuring That Dominated the Renaissance or Age of Enlightenment
  • Despotism During the Age of Enlightenment
  • Enlightenment Ideas Inspired the American and French Revolutions
  • Continuity and Change From the Dark Ages Through the Enlightenment and Beyond
  • Debates During the Eighteenth-Century Age of Enlightenment
  • Benjamin Franklin’s Ideas and Attitudes in the Spirit of the Enlightenment Movement in America
  • Enlightenment Philosophy and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
  • Benjamin Franklin: The Enlightenment Figure
  • Carbon Emission Trading System of New Zealand and Its Enlightenment for China
  • Enlightenment and Implicitness: Devine and Gender Images
  • Deep Ecology, the Holistic Critique of Enlightenment Dualism, and the Irony of History
  • How Marx and Durkheim’s Theories Expanded on Enlightenment Thinking?
  • Enlightenment Through the History of Economic Thought
  • Comparing and Contrasting Philosophers of the Enlightenment: Locke and Rousseau
  • Kant’s Enlightenment and the Evolutionary Model of Progress
  • Enlightenment and Environmental Creation by the Scientific Revolution
  • Comparing the Pope’s and Voltaire’s Perspectives on Enlightenment Being the Vanity Age
  • How the Enlightenment Philosophers Impacted the Progress of Society?
  • Democracy Wall and China’s Enlightenment
  • Metaphysical Thoughts During the Enlightenment Period
  • Enlightenment and Romantic Views on Nature
  • Contemporary Thinking and the Influence of Existentialism, Romanticism, and the Enlightenment
  • Into the Abyss: Marquis de Sade and the Enlightenment
  • Frankenstein: Enlightenment After Wretch’s Struggle
  • Reasons Why Benjamin Franklin Represents the American Enlightenment
  • How did the Enlightenment affect Christianity?
  • Dangers That Might Result From Being So Optimistic About Human Progress and Enlightenment
  • Science Fiction Influenced Teachings of Enlightenment
  • Enlightenment and Political Transformations in Europe
  • Doubting the Enlightenment and the Future of Western Civilization
  • Economic Development, Enlightenment and Creative Transformation: Creative Industries in the New China
  • How Did the Age of Enlightenment Affect the French Revolution?
  • How Did the Enlightenment Change Relationships Between Citizens and Governments?
  • What Are the Terms for Enlightenment in Each Religion?
  • How Did the Enlightenment Challenge Traditional Order in Europe?
  • Did the Enlightenment Happen Before or After the Dark Ages?
  • Who Were the Leaders of the Enlightenment in America?
  • How Did Baruch Spinoza Contribute to the Enlightenment?
  • What Did the Enlightenment Encourage People to Do?
  • What Criticisms of the Enlightenment Did Sigmund Freud Make?
  • What Literary Form Became Prominent in the Enlightenment?
  • How Did the Enlightenment Challenge Social Norms?
  • What Is Enlightenment Rationalism?
  • When Was the Enlightenment in Europe?
  • Did Enlightenment Thinkers Promote Divine Right?
  • How Did the Enlightenment Influence the Glorious Revolution?
  • How Did the Enlightenment Affect Society?
  • What Did Enlightenment Thinkers Mean by the Term Social Contract?
  • How Did the Enlightenment Change World History?
  • In What Century Was the Enlightenment Most Influential?
  • What Was the Theology of the Enlightenment Period?
  • How Did the Enlightenment Affect the Arts and Literature?
  • What Is the Definition of the Enlightenment Period in American Literature?
  • How Did Enlightenment Ideas Influence the End of Serfdom?
  • Why Might Some Women Have Been Critical of the Enlightenment?
  • How Did Benjamin Franklin Contribute to the Enlightenment?
  • What Enlightenment Thinkers Influenced the Declaration of Independence?
  • Why Is the Enlightenment Known as the Age of Reason?
  • What Did the Philosophers of the Enlightenment Seek to Understand?
  • How Did Enlightenment Ideas Spread?
  • How Did the Scientific Revolution Contribute to the Enlightenment?

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StudyCorgi. (2022, October 26). 112 Enlightenment Essay Topics. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/enlightenment-essay-topics/

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StudyCorgi . "112 Enlightenment Essay Topics." October 26, 2022. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/enlightenment-essay-topics/.

StudyCorgi . 2022. "112 Enlightenment Essay Topics." October 26, 2022. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/enlightenment-essay-topics/.

These essay examples and topics on Enlightenment were carefully selected by the StudyCorgi editorial team. They meet our highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, and fact accuracy. Please ensure you properly reference the materials if you’re using them to write your assignment.

This essay topic collection was updated on January 8, 2024 .

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116 Best Enlightenment Essay Topics

Table of Contents

The Enlightenment is an important phase in the history of the world. It was the period when philosophy, science, sociology, economics, law, politics, and various theories of government changed and progressed. Philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians aroused people’s understanding of what true happiness is, how knowledge can help them see the world in a different light, and the ideal way government and institutions must perform. Without enlightenment, the world would have been different, not geographically but in social, economic, and political contexts. The way we connect with our nation or foreign nationals and how our education system works would have been quite different without enlightenment. If you want to write about enlightenment in your academic paper and are in search of the best enlightenment essay topics, read this blog. Here, we have discussed the concept of enlightenment and listed some significant ideas that are not usually discussed.

What is Enlightenment?

Enlightenment refers to the academic and philosophical movement that took place in Western Europe between the 17 th and 18 th centuries, but its impacts were felt all over the globe. It started after the scientific revolution and mainly with the works of the philosopher, Attorney general, and Lord Chancellor of England, Francis Bacon, and the English philosopher and physician John Locke. However, many philosophers believe that the Enlightenment started after the publication of the Discourse on the Method by René Descartes in 1637. Another group of philosophers is of the view that the book of Sir Isaac Newton on the explanation of the laws of motion, Principia Mathematica, led to the culmination of the scientific revolution and the start of the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment incorporated several ideas that were based on the following:

  • The value of happiness in humans
  • The quest for knowledge obtained through reason and the confirmation of the senses
  • Principles like natural law, independence, lenience, alliance, constitutional government, progress, and the division of churches and states

It was based on the principles of individual liberty and religious tolerance that opposed the complete power of the monarchies and the fixed doctrine of the Church. The philosophers and scientists of the period mainly broadcasted their thoughts in various scientific institutions, Masonic lodges, literary salons, coffee shops, and through printed books, journals, and pamphlets. The concepts of the Enlightenment did not consider the influence of monarchy and the Catholic Church and streamlined their way to political revolutions during the 18 th and 19 th centuries. Various 19 th -century revolutions like liberalism, socialism, and neoclassicism started their journey with the Enlightenment.

List of  Impressive Enlightenment Essay Topics

Looking for some impressive ideas to develop your Enlightenment essay? In that case, take a look at these topics.

Interesting Essay Topics on Enlightenment

Find some highly appealing enlightenment essay topics here:

  • How did Enlightenment-era philosophy contribute to Napoleon’s coming to power?
  • How did Enlightenment-era thinking contribute to the increase of nationalism throughout Europe before 1849?
  • Enlightenment and its effect on the French Revolution
  • Is Enlightenment true?
  • The argument for religion in the Enlightenment era was one of the reasons for the first French Revolution.
  • How was Europe malformed by the Enlightenment, Reformation, and French Revolution?
  • Progressive movements, such as the Enlightenment, French Revolution, industrialization, and reforms, were measured as part of the growth in the humanities, sciences, technology, and political affairs. World War I cropped up after more than a few centuries of this progress. Find the probable causes of World War I as a consequence of progressive movements.

Also read: Impactful Ecosystem Essay Topics

Intriguing Essay Ideas on Enlightenment

Here are some exciting topics for the enlightenment essay.

  • “ Diminish in power with the church and ruler by restoration, enlightenment, and the American rebellion .” – Elucidate this statement.
  • What major historical proceedings took place during the Enlightenment period?
  • What is termed the Enlightenment Period?
  • How did theorists from the Enlightenment motivate the perfect government and give confidence to the American Revolution?
  • Enlightenment and Freemasonry movements in Germany.
  • The situation of women in the Renaissance, Enlightenment, and Romantic eras
  • How severe were Napoleon’s overseas and domestic policy choices? Did it safeguard or destroy the principles of the Enlightenment?
  • Who Was Rousseau? How did Paul Sargent describe the Enlightenment?
  • The Enlightenment logicians and their principles.
  • Enlightenment or the Age of Reason in the USA.
  • The noteworthy rational changes that were directed at the Enlightenment.

Exceptional Enlightenment Essay Topics

Get 10 brilliant enlightenment essay topics here.

  • Institute your “enlightenment” from the antique Eastern sages. For example, you may discuss in what ways the thoughts of the ancient Eastern philosophers may impact the way you want to accept your own life’s path in the future.
  • In what ways does the Haitian Revolution develop and confront the Enlightenment?
  • Discuss the effects that Enlightenment ideals had on American literature.
  • How did the Tunisian revolution develop from the Enlightenment?
  • Talk about the Enlightenment during the 17 th and 18th centuries. Highlight Tea iconography and substance sophistication in Great Britain.
  • How was science in the era of the Enlightenment?
  • Voltaire and his rendezvous with the Enlightenment.
  • The flow of science in the Enlightenment and women’s participation.
  • How was humanism important during the Enlightenment period? State its reasons.
  • Shed light on the development from the period of Salem to the Enlightenment.

Extraordinary Enlightenment Essay Topics

Here are some amazing enlightenment essay ideas.

  • Artistic accomplishment in the era of the Enlightenment.
  • Shed light on the scientific revolution in the era of the Enlightenment.
  • What is the relationship between the Protestant Reformation and the Enlightenment?
  • Is there a connection between the Counter-Reformation and the Enlightenment?
  • How was Secular humanism in the Enlightenment period?
  • Detail on the Glorious Revolution in the Era of the Enlightenment.
  • Pangloss teaches Candide a kind of philosophy rooted in the standard added by theorists of the Enlightenment: “Everything is for the best in this best of all possible worlds.”
  • Structural design in the Enlightenment period.
  • Napoleon and the type of empire in the era of the Enlightenment.
  • Rationalism, idealism, and cynicism were three primary theoretical schools of thought during the Enlightenment. How does Voltaire narrate these notions?

Also read: Incredible Personal Essay Topics and Ideas

 Advanced Enlightenment Essay Topics

Are you searching for some sophisticated enlightenment essay topics? Take a look at these ideas.

  • Enslavement at the time of the Enlightenment.
  • Thoughts of Enlightenment in Post-Enlightenment World Literature.
  • Do the thoughts developed during the European Enlightenment and the era of the Revolution encourage liberty and fairness for all human beings?
  • The architecture of Rococo during the period of The Enlightenment.
  • How Enlightenment is described in Kant’s “What Is Enlightenment “?
  • Examine the communal and political effects of enlightenment philosophy over time.
  • Effects of the Enlightenment on Developing the Declaration of Independence.

Best Enlightenment Essay Topics

Looking for the finest enlightenment topics to develop your essay? Go through these ideas here:

  • Compare the enlightenment principles in Lessing’s “ Nathan The Wise: Unalienable Human Rights.”
  • The Enlightenment Age and analysis as the foundation of power and legality.
  • The era of the Renaissance, Enlightenment, and radical epoch.
  • Shed light on the Enlightenment in the 18th century.
  • Enlightenment and revolution in various parts of the globe like Europe, America, and India.
  • Why the Age of Enlightenment is called the Resurrection of Europe?
  • The method of enlightenment.
  • The continuing National Policy argument through the eyes of the American Enlightenment.
  • How did the period of the Enlightenment impact Western civilization?
  • Enlightenment principles concerning religious groups.
  • A 21st-century demonstration of the Enlightenment: Jean-Pierre Gauthier, Battements et Papillons.
  • The Philosophy of Freethinking and its Relation to Enlightenment and Conservatism

Handpicked Enlightenment Essay Topics

Find here some exclusive ideas for writing your enlightenment essays:

  • The Parable of the Cave by Plato: The Road to the Way of Enlightenment.
  • What do the letters in England highlight about the early Enlightenment?
  • Analogies for Daoism: Self-creation and the endeavor to get enlightenment in comparison to Confucianism.
  • The Enlightenment period saw the expansion of traditions.
  • Discover Buddhism through the book “ Introduction to the Chinese Philosophy. In Search for the Enlightenment “.
  • How did Buddha enter the road to Enlightenment?
  • Find the connection between the Enlightenment and the Revolution.
  • How are Protestant improvement and enlightenment related?
  • Shed light on the enlightenment in society through the study of world history.
  • How will you connect enlightenment to the romantic age?
  • Human understanding of enlightenment and love in China and Korea.

Read more: Best Dispute Resolution Essay Topics For Students

Engaging Enlightenment Essay Topics

Get some appealing enlightenment essay topics here:

  • How did the Enlightenment take place during the XXI Century?
  • Share your reflections on enlightenment art and humanistic thinking.
  • Enlightenment during industrialization and the French Revolution.
  • Is there a connection between the French and Scottish Enlightenments?
  • How was the scientific revolution during the period of the Enlightenment in Europe?
  • Shed light on spiritual thinking in the era of Enlightenment.
  • What transformation in enlightenment took place with religious thinking?
  • Shed light on the Enlightenment period in America and Europe.
  • Progress of enlightenment during the Renaissance.
  • What did Matthew Taylor discuss during the 21st-century Enlightenment?
  • How did Voltaire elucidate the ideals of enlightenment in his book “Candide”?
  • How does the Enlightenment give rise to equality?
  • In what way does world literature mirror enlightenment thinking?
  • Role of women in world literature of enlightenment.

Top Enlightenment Essay Prompts

The following are a few impactful essay prompts on enlightenment

  • Write about the architecture in the Enlightenment era.
  • Discuss the characteristics of the Enlightenment Art.
  • Explain how the birth of tolerance was in the Enlightenment Era.
  • Discuss the prejudices of the Enlightenment.
  • Explain the differences between the Baroque period and the Enlightenment.
  • What Is Anti-Semitism Before and After the Enlightenment?
  • Explain the history of the European Enlightenment.
  • Describe the main philosophy of the Enlightenment.
  • Explain the impact of Enlightenment on the society.
  • Write about the Enlightenment Philosophers.

Premium Essay Topics on Enlightenment

Here are the top enlightenment essay topics:

  • Sketch the era of the Enlightenment and examine it.
  • Conduct a historical analysis of the period of the Enlightenment.
  • What is the difference between Enlightenment and Romanticism?
  • Examine the connection between Kant and the Enlightenment.
  • Origins and worldview in the Renaissance and Enlightenment
  • The Enlightenment and religion connections.
  • Looking from a philosophical perspective, analyze whether we have attained enlightenment.
  • Influence of enlightenment on the rights of citizens
  • Jean-Jacques Rousseau and his contribution to the Enlightenment period.
  • How were women during the Enlightenment period?
  • Share some of the philosopher’s opinions about the Enlightenment.
  • What were the ideals of enlightenment during the French Revolution?
  • Explore the contributions of David Hume to the Enlightenment era.
  • Conduct a historical review of the cultural, religious, and intellectual development during the Age of Enlightenment.

Also read: Best Internship Essay Topics and Ideas

Captivating Enlightenment Essay Ideas

Are you pursuing your graduation in literature or history? Do you want to write an essay based on enlightenment? If so, then these topics will be very helpful for you.

  • Shed light on various social movements during the Enlightenment.
  • What was the role of Napoleon Bonaparte in the Enlightenment?
  • Draw a connection between mercantilism, enlightenment, and slave economics.
  • What are the political models of the Enlightenment?
  • Why was restricting sexual desires necessary for enlightenment in Buddhism?
  • What can you call the basis of American enlightenment?
  • How did the Enlightenment affect Europeans and Americans?
  • Discuss the social inequalities during the Enlightenment era.
  • How did the Enlightenment take place during the Age of Revolutions?
  • Draw a connection between the great minds and their enlightenment.

The Bottom Line

The Enlightenment was a significant period in the history of the world that shaped our present way of life and education. However, the movements of this period are not discussed to a great extent. The discussion above lays down a list of enlightenment essay topics. Select the one that you like best. However, if you need help writing an impressive paper, don’t forget to connect with our essay assignment helpers . They will offer you with flawless and informative essays. Moreover, with their assistance, you can submit your paper on time and score your desired grades.

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What Is Enlightenment?

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Discussion Questions

Kant suggests that enlightenment might be too difficult for individuals, at least when the public at large remains unenlightened. This is why he focuses on the prerequisites for the enlightenment of the public as a whole. Is he correct about this, or could it be possible for some individuals in an unenlightened society to become enlightened in Kant’s sense? If so, how?

Kant does not think that the enlightenment of the public requires much in the way of political rights and freedoms, as long as people have Freedom of the Pen . In fact, he thinks too much “civil freedom” might actually get in the way of enlightenment. More democratically minded contemporary readers may disagree. Why does he believe this, and should we reject this view now? Why or why not?

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The Age of Enlightenment: Overview and Analysis Essay

The Enlightenment is the broad term applied to the intellectual developments of the eighteenth century, as articulated by a relatively small number of thinkers and writers primarily in Western Europe. The Age of Enlightenment centered on France and two of the major philosophers who contributed to this age of Enlightenment were Voltaire and Montesquieu. The others were Diderot, Rousseau, Hume, and Kant. Voltaire and Montesquieu were confident that the reforms they suggested were both reasonable and practically feasible (Kagan et al, chapter 18). The concept of deism, for example, allowed thinkers to accept new rationalism without having to deny the existence of God in an outright manner. Voltaire and Montesquieu opposed and rejected the views of the Roman Church which they believed was irrational and oppressive (Fitzpatrick, 83). But these philosophes sought religious toleration concerning all European faiths. The philosophes also affected the areas of justice, economics, and political thought.

The philosophes believed that by obeying rational laws society and human relationships could be improved. This belief was the foundation stone for the subject called ‘social science’. During the Age of Enlightenment, Beccaria proposed reforms in the areas of criminal justice and punishment. In the realm of Economics, Adam Smith’s works questioned the trade practices of the time and laid the foundation for the Industrial Revolution. His 1776 Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations is commonly described as the founding document for laissez-faire (hands-off) economic policy. This work was instrumental in raising a debate over economic progress versus individual well-being in Western society. Many French economic reformers advocated agricultural reform. In the realm of politics, the government was the focus of a lot of investigation and criticism. Enlightenment thinkers did not stop with mere criticism of corruption in the government and church. Montesquieu provided the outline of a system that would create a new balance in governing the state. Montesquieu admired the British constitution and the concept of the aristocracy. He tried to incorporate it in his presentation of the ideal government. Rousseau was a radical, who believed society was more important than the individual because only within a properly functioning society could an individual life a moral life. Overall, many philosophes were fundamentally monarchists, though of course, they believed monarchies should be reformed.

Many revolutionary ideas of the Enlightenment reached Eastern Europe in the form of “Enlightened Absolutism.” The rulers of Prussia, Austria, and Russia tried to follow certain Enlightenment principles. But these rulers could not accept the philosophes’ rejection of war as irrational. Frederick II (the Great) of Prussia, Maria Theresa and her son Joseph II of Austria, and Catherine II (the Great) of Russia implemented some Enlightenment measures but did not create any change to their existing political and social frameworks. Ultimately, the Prussian, Austrian, and Russian empires rejected the Enlightenment ideals towards the end of the century (Kagan et al, chapter 18).

The Age of Enlightenment in England took place through coffeehouses and the newly flourishing press. In Germany, the universities became centers of the Enlightenment. Italian representatives of the age included Cesare Beccaria and Giambattista Vico. From America, Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin exerted vast international influence (Columbia Encyclopedia, 15622).

Voltaire’s satire, Candide was the most influential work of the period and reflected the philosophe’s concerns and general attitudes. The major works that influenced the Age of Enlightenment were the Newtonian worldview, Locke’s psychology, Britain’s wealth and stability, French reform, and the emerging print culture in Europe. The Encyclopedia compiled by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d’Alembert and completed in 1772 contained the views of most of France’s leading philosophes on various subjects. The Encyclopedia helped in spreading Enlightenment ideas throughout Europe.

There were many weak points in the philosophes as well. The four-stage theory of social development proved detrimental to the relationships between the West and other cultures. The philosophes failed to address reforms to help women and had a strong tendency to equate “human” with “male” (Kagan et al, chapter 18). Many philosophes including the radical Rousseau held traditional ideas about gender roles and believed that women were physiologically inferior to men and that women should be restricted only within the domestic sphere. However, late in the 18th century, Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women placed women’s rights within the Enlightenment agenda (Johnston, page 1).

Bibliography

Kagan, Donald; Ozment, Steven and Turner, M. Frank (1979). The Western Heritage, Eighth Edition. Prentice Hall, Inc. New Jersey.

Johnston, Ian (2000). Lecture on Mary Wollstonecraft’s Vindication of the Rights of Woman .

The Columbia Encyclopedia (2004). Enlightenment. Sixth Edition. Columbia University Press. New York.

Fitzpatrick, Martin; Jones, Peter; Knellwolf, Christa; Mccalman, Iain (2004). The Enlightenment World. Routledge Publishers. New York.

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Enlightenment

By: History.com Editors

Updated: February 21, 2020 | Original: December 16, 2009

Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USAMen of Progress: group portrait of the great American inventors of the Victorian Age, 1862 (Photo by Art Images via Getty Images)

European politics, philosophy, science and communications were radically reoriented during the course of the “long 18th century” (1685-1815) as part of a movement referred to by its participants as the Age of Reason, or simply the Enlightenment. Enlightenment thinkers in Britain, in France and throughout Europe questioned traditional authority and embraced the notion that humanity could be improved through rational change. 

The Enlightenment produced numerous books, essays, inventions, scientific discoveries, laws, wars and revolutions. The American and French Revolutions were directly inspired by Enlightenment ideals and respectively marked the peak of its influence and the beginning of its decline. The Enlightenment ultimately gave way to 19th-century Romanticism.

The Early Enlightenment: 1685-1730

The Enlightenment’s important 17th-century precursors included the Englishmen Francis Bacon and Thomas Hobbes, the Frenchman René Descartes and the key natural philosophers of the Scientific Revolution, including Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Its roots are usually traced to 1680s England, where in the span of three years Isaac Newton published his “Principia Mathematica” (1686) and John Locke his “Essay Concerning Human Understanding” (1689)—two works that provided the scientific, mathematical and philosophical toolkit for the Enlightenment’s major advances.

Did you know? In his essay 'What Is Enlightenment?' (1784), the German philosopher Immanuel Kant summed up the era's motto in the following terms: 'Dare to know! Have courage to use your own reason!'

Locke argued that human nature was mutable and that knowledge was gained through accumulated experience rather than by accessing some sort of outside truth. Newton’s calculus and optical theories provided the powerful Enlightenment metaphors for precisely measured change and illumination.

There was no single, unified Enlightenment. Instead, it is possible to speak of the French Enlightenment, the Scottish Enlightenment and the English, German, Swiss or American Enlightenment. Individual Enlightenment thinkers often had very different approaches. Locke differed from David Hume, Jean-Jacques Rousseau from Voltaire , Thomas Jefferson from Frederick the Great . Their differences and disagreements, though, emerged out of the common Enlightenment themes of rational questioning and belief in progress through dialogue.

The High Enlightenment: 1730-1780

Centered on the dialogues and publications of the French “philosophes” (Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu, Buffon and Denis Diderot), the High Enlightenment might best be summed up by one historian’s summary of Voltaire’s “Philosophical Dictionary”: “a chaos of clear ideas.” Foremost among these was the notion that everything in the universe could be rationally demystified and cataloged. The signature publication of the period was Diderot’s “Encyclopédie” (1751-77), which brought together leading authors to produce an ambitious compilation of human knowledge.

It was an age of enlightened despots like Frederick the Great, who unified, rationalized and modernized Prussia in between brutal multi-year wars with Austria, and of enlightened would-be revolutionaries like Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson, whose “Declaration of Independence” (1776) framed the American Revolution in terms taken from of Locke’s essays.

It was also a time of religious (and anti-religious) innovation, as Christians sought to reposition their faith along rational lines and deists and materialists argued that the universe seemed to determine its own course without God’s intervention. Locke, along with French philosopher Pierre Bayle, began to champion the idea of the separation of Church and State. Secret societies—like the Freemasons, the Bavarian Illuminati and the Rosicrucians—flourished, offering European men (and a few women) new modes of fellowship, esoteric ritual and mutual assistance. Coffeehouses, newspapers and literary salons emerged as new venues for ideas to circulate.

The Late Enlightenment and Beyond: 1780-1815

The French Revolution of 1789 was the culmination of the High Enlightenment vision of throwing out the old authorities to remake society along rational lines, but it devolved into bloody terror that showed the limits of its own ideas and led, a decade later, to the rise of Napoleon . Still, its goal of egalitarianism attracted the admiration of the early feminist Mary Wollstonecraft (mother of “Frankenstein” author Mary Shelley) and inspired both the Haitian war of independence and the radical racial inclusivism of Paraguay’s first post-independence government.

Enlightened rationality gave way to the wildness of Romanticism, but 19th-century Liberalism and Classicism—not to mention 20th-century Modernism —all owe a heavy debt to the thinkers of the Enlightenment.

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Essay Samples on Enlightenment

Voltaire: a famous representative of the age of enlightenment.

The philosopher I wish to discuss is Voltaire. I have chosen him because I feel his thought and philosophy have been absolutely influential to the culture in which I have grown up. Francois-Marie Arouet, also called Voltaire, is certainly the author best representing the culture,...

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What Is Enlightenment: Representatives And Ideas

The Age of Reason or Enlightenment began with the Renaissance and took place between the 1600s and 1700s. It was also closely associated with the scientific revolution. During this era, Enlightenment thinkers; an influential group that glorified the human capacity for reasoning to negate superstition...

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Siddhartha Novel Analysis: A Journey To Inner Peace

In the short story “Siddhartha” readers are introduced to the idea of true enlightenment. Siddhartha grew up centered around the teachings and philosophy of brahmanism. Siddhartha felt the teachings of Brahmanism did not fulfil his religious desires. Siddhartha spends his entire life searching for the...

European-Indian Cooperation and Colonist Opposition of the Navigation Acts

Mercantilism and the Navigation Acts Mercantilism describes policies that would cause a nation to become less dependent on external suppliers, sell more items overseas than it purchases to increase wealth, and hurt the economic interests of outside opponents, all in an attempt to guarantee its...

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Influental Composers During the Enlightenment and Baroque Era

In Europe during the seventeenth century, great reform on the culture, religion, and daily lives of Europeans occurred due to both the Thirty Years War, 1618-1648, and emerging Enlightenment ideals. The post-war period resulted in the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire along with the...

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The Principles and Ideology in European Enlightenment

The intellectuals of the eighteenth century were inspired by innovative thinkers of the seventeenth century. The principal intellectual developments that cumulated the movement of Enlightenment are- Popularization of science, Skepticism, the impact of travel literature, Cultural relativism, Locke, and Newton. The Popularization Of Science led...

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The Essence and Aim of the Enlightenment Period

During the Enlightenment age, you learn about reason, nature, happiness, ect. Why? Why should you have to read this essay? Because it teaches a valuable lesson. People grow out of their own immaturity. There are people in our lives that has never questioned anything someone...

The Many Wise Minds and Bookends of Enlightenment

In the seventeenth century, The Scientific Revolution brought light to people challenging previous ideas and thinking freely on the ideas of science. This was a new concept, as previously, the world ran on tradition, and authority was never to be questioned. However, this new idea...

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Siddhartha Gautama: The Ideal Person

Siddhartha is the ideal image of a person to all those who want to be the perfect son or daughter. Handsome and well-respected by the town, Siddhartha still lives with a feeling of dissatisfaction and still somewhat depression. Siddhartha longs for something more because he...

The Story of Siddhartha Gautama

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Siddhartha: The Journey to Enlightenment

Siddhartha is a book that opens the reader's mind to different cultures, finding the meaning of life and the hardships on the path of true enlightenment. It is about a young boy named Siddhartha who becomes aware of the fact that the people around him...

The Enlightenment and Fight for Equal Rights

The Enlightenment may be termed both a period and a process. Periodically, it spanned the mid-seventeenth to early-nineteenth centuries and, simultaneously, it describes a process undergone by man to employ his own understanding. At the fount of Enlightenment thought was an emphasis on the independent...

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Definition of the Enlightenment Period by Its Philosophers

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The Accomplishments and Reach of Enlightenment 

An era of excellent intellectual fervor in the 1600s and 1700s resulted to the Protestant Reformation and the decline of civil and political power in the Catholic Church throughout Europe. The growth of the social groups supporting science, democracy, political freedom and rational investigation was...

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Enlightenment and Romanticism: Revolutionary Movements That Shaped the World

Enlightenment and Romanticism are known as two of the biggest movements in the history of western civilization. From these two, many political, economic, social, industrial and cultural movements developed. Many of these developments are still continued in today’s time. Enlightenment is known as the “Age...

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Application Of The Ideas Of The Past Enlightened Thinkers To Our Present Life

The ideas of the past enlightened thinkers are archaic and no longer apply to the 21st century. The author targets the human nature of the new generation, stating that a vast majority of the society is inactive, lacks passion, and is consumed by technology. Due...

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Best topics on Enlightenment

1. Voltaire: A Famous Representative Of The Age Of Enlightenment

2. What Is Enlightenment: Representatives And Ideas

3. Siddhartha Novel Analysis: A Journey To Inner Peace

4. European-Indian Cooperation and Colonist Opposition of the Navigation Acts

5. Influental Composers During the Enlightenment and Baroque Era

6. The Principles and Ideology in European Enlightenment

7. The Essence and Aim of the Enlightenment Period

8. The Many Wise Minds and Bookends of Enlightenment

9. Siddhartha Gautama: The Ideal Person

10. The Story of Siddhartha Gautama

11. Siddhartha: The Journey to Enlightenment

12. The Enlightenment and Fight for Equal Rights

13. Definition of the Enlightenment Period by Its Philosophers

14. The Accomplishments and Reach of Enlightenment 

15. Enlightenment and Romanticism: Revolutionary Movements That Shaped the World

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The Age of Enlightenment

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Published: Nov 19, 2018

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Works Cited

  • Appleby, J. H., Hunt, L., & Jacob, M. C. (2017). Telling the truth about history. W. W. Norton & Company.
  • Darnton, R. (2018). The business of enlightenment: A publishing history of the Encyclopédie, 1775-1800. Harvard University Press.
  • Gay, P. (2019). The Enlightenment: The rise of modern paganism. W. W. Norton & Company.
  • Israel, J. I. (2019). Enlightenment contested: Philosophy, modernity, and the emancipation of man, 1670-1752. Oxford University Press.
  • Kramnick, I. (Ed.). (1995). The Portable Enlightenment Reader. Penguin Books.
  • Outram, D. (2019). The Enlightenment. Cambridge University Press.
  • Porter, R. (2001). Enlightenment: Britain and the creation of the modern world. Penguin Books.
  • Schmidt, J. D. (2019). The Enlightenment: A sourcebook and reader. Routledge.
  • Vovk, Y. (2019). The intellectual origins of the European Enlightenment. Cambridge University Press.
  • Zinman, C. (2019). Philosophy, science, and religion in England, 1640-1700. Cambridge University Press.

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  1. The Enlightenment (1650-1800): Suggested Essay Topics

    4 . Rationalism, skepticism, and romanticism were the three primary philosophical schools of thought during the Enlightenment. Choose one and explain why you feel it's a better approach to life than the others. 5 . Explain the impact that philosophers from countries other than England, France, and Germany had on the growth of the Enlightenment.

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    The 2020 presidential candidates have heavily impacted our history. One of the many historical events that affected American politics was the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was a European cultural and philosophical movement that originated in England and spread throughout Europe like wildfire. The Enlightenment took place…

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