The Enlightenment

Over the past few classes, we have been discussing the "Age of Enlightenment", and the ideals that were present during said time period. Two of the most important topics we have discussed have the presence (or lack thereof) of the juxtaposing ideas of individual liberty and social control. 

In a sense, I feel that the most important aspect of the enlightenment is the increasing demand for this "individual liberty", or freedom, if you will. This is exemplified by the also-increasing democratic views and ideals of society in Great Britain and it's colonies. 

However, while these ideals are a major part of  the period of enlightenment, they are not its only defining characteristics. In fact, the movement of individual liberty and freedom did not come out of thin air.  Rather, they came from the new and largely-increasing middle class, who became the face of these ideals. A whole new social scene- the middle class- brought new art, music, etc. with them. As we saw in class, much of the artwork created in the enlightenment depicted scenes of middle-class citizens in "every-day" settings. This is opposed to the common classical and baroque period paintings, which seemingly only depict scenes from the extreme upper-class. 

However, although the middle class was on the rise, that's not to say there was a large upper-class, albeit decreasing in size. Another painting we saw in class was a satire, showing a wedding between an upper-class man and a middle-class woman. It showed the obvious separation between the two classes. The comically snobby rich juxtaposed to the common working man.

Another major aspect of the enlightenment was the advancements in science. Along with this, of course, came new ideas and opinions regarding religion. While before, NOT believing in God and practicing christianity was almost unheard of. However as people (women and men) became more educated and knowledgeable, new ideas came about. Once again, this all relates back to the rapid increase in demand for individual liberty, as people began to want religious freedom as well.