The Age of Reason or Enlightenment began in Europe with the philosophers and scientists of the 17 th and 18 th centuries who called themselves rationalists Rationalism the belief that human beings can arrive at truth by using reason rather than by relying on the authority of the past ID: 556059
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Slide1
Rationalism
The Age of Reason, or Enlightenment, began in Europe with the philosophers and scientists of the 17
th
and 18
th
centuries who called themselves rationalists.
Rationalism
-the belief that human beings can arrive at truth by using reason, rather than by relying on the authority of the past, on religious faith, or on intuition.Slide2
Rationalists saw God as the creator of the universe to run on its own. They compared God to a clock maker.
Rationalists believed that God’s special gift to humanity is reason-the ability to think in an ordered, logical manner.
They believed that reason enabled them to discover scientific and spiritual truths
Rationalists felt it unlikely that God would choose to reveal himself at only particular times to particular people.
Most of the literature written in the colonies was rooted in reality. Much of the literature was in pamphlets to serve practical or political purposes.