Historically the Enlightenment refers to a paradigm shift that took place in the 17 th and 18 th centuries. It was also called the Age of Reason because it emphasised the power of the human mind to liberate the individual and improve society. It argued that knowledge can be derived only from experience, experiment and observation. It encouraged people to use their own critical reasoning to free their minds from prejudice, unexamined authority, and oppression by their religion or the state. The world made tremendous progress in science and technology because of the Enlightenment ideas. Consequently human life was revolutionised. Religion and the superstitions it generated took a backseat. Priests lost most of their political clout. Secular values spread considerably across the globe. Science and technology gave us more leisure and luxury than we deserved. More gadgets than we could handle with responsibility. More individual liberty. More selfishness too. Th
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