93 Enlightenment Essay Topics & Examples

🔝 Top-10 Enlightenment Topics for Your Essay

1. Mercantilism, Enlightenment, and Slave Economics
2. The Enlightenment Era and Social Inequalities
3. Salem Witch Trials and the Enlightenment Cultural Shift
4. Industrialization, Enlightenment, French Revolution
5. Enlightenment Ideas During the French Revolution Period
6. The Path to Enlightenment in “Bhagavad-gita”
7. Kant and Enlightenment Relations
8. Women in the Enlightenment Period
9. Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment
10. Enlightenment Art and Humanistic Thinking

🏆 Best Enlightenment Topic Ideas & Essay Examples

1. The Age of Enlightenment Explained
   The Age of Enlightenment became a natural result of the development of human thought as a result of the progress of science and society.
2. Paths to Enlightenment in Hinduism and Buddhism
   This paper will compare the paths to moksha with the Four Noble Truths and argue that raja yoga would best utilize the Buddhist method of the Eightfold Path.
3. Immanuel Kant: What Is Enlightenment?
   He states that when the public is enlightened, it may force the guardians to remain under the yoke of immaturity, for the public would finally take revenge upon them or their descendants.
4. Education in the International Context of the Atlantic Enlightenment
   Regarding the Atlantic Enlightenment in the international context, the doctrines and approaches to education were focused on the formation of practical skills and focused more on applied than on liberal arts.
5. The Odds Between the Enlightenment Despots and Philosophers
   An aspect that is of particular interest is the question of the development of this thought and the relationship between some of the rulers of European nations, which were called the Enlightened Despots.
6. Kant’s Understanding of Enlightenment
   Both the enlightenment and the supernatural belief dare the humanity to try and understand the world around it, use the minds of people to gain knowledge of the unknown.
7. Benjamin Franklin and the American Enlightenment
   The American Enlightenment is a period in colonial America in the 18th and 19th centuries when the ideas of the European Enlightenment became the foundation for the preparation of the American Revolution.
8. The Essay “Answering the Question: What Is Enlightenment?” by Immanuel Kant
   Immanuel Kant’s essay “Answering the Question: What Is Enlightenment?” contains the thoughts of a philosopher about the distinguishing features of a person of the Enlightenment era.
9. Human Nature in Classical Philosophy: The Age of Enlightenment
   According to this approach, the justice system should work to defeat the imperfection of human behavior. Delinquency can be defeated only when the society’s system is reorganized according to the principles of equality, consciousness, and […]
10. Immanuel Kant’s “What Is Enlightenment” Review
    As such, the foundation for enlightenment is rooted in freedom, and Kant believed that in the case that freedom is granted, people are likely to follow enlightenment in order to achieve it.
11. Franklin’s Contribution to the Enlightenment
    In addition, his desire to improve his language and the ability to defend his point of view on the basis of clear arguments determined his profession of a printer.
12. The Epoque of Enlightenment and the New Age
    The epoque of Enlightenment was a natural continuation of the Renaissance humanism and rationalism of the beginning of the New Age.
13. Benjamin Franklin and American Enlightenment
    Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, was closely related to the Enlightenment movement in the colonies.
14. The Essence of Enlightenment According to Kant
    The chief idea of the philosopher is concentrated around a question of political determination and sense, in which Kant sees the potential for the development of society. Therefore, it is challenging to call the modern […]
15. Kantian Morality and Enlightenment
    According to Kant, thinking of leaders as guardians who have to guide others and prevent them from “daring to take a single step” without strict directions is the premise for the end of humanity.
16. The Enlightenment and Great Minds
    This shows that Swift’s proposal was not aimed at threatening poor women in Ireland, but he tried to change society and encourage Irish citizens and the British government to take action.
17. The Age of Revolutions and the Enlightenment
    This post will argue that the Enlightenment would not have been possible without the Scientific Revolution and that the latter set the stage for the former.
18. The Enlightenment in Europe and the Americas
    Puchner shows how people realized that kings and queens were not immortal, the differences between the diverse social classes, and the relationships between men and women. He reveals the relationship between humanity and nature and […]
19. The Essence of American Enlightenment
    It is about the creative potential of consciousness, while someone can suppose that the essence of this theory is the call to actions on the reformation of the surrounding world.
20. Buddhism and Sexuality: Restraining Sexual Desires for Enlightenment
    It is considered to be more honest to refuse to stick to the aforementioned rules than to be a hypocritical member of the community, who consciously violates the codes.
21. Political Ideals of Enlightenment
    The initial period of the reign of terror is the radical phase when there was the domination of the Jacobins over the legislative assembly.
22. Napoleon Bonaparte and the Enlightenment
    He negotiated the Concordat of 1801 to win the faith of the Catholics and regulated public worship in France. He bought the trust of the Pope and thus he was able to use religion as […]
23. Enlightenment, Feminism and Social Movements
    As a result of Enlightenment, the creative entrepreneurs as well as thinkers enjoyed the high freedom benefits that were brought in by the Enlightenment thinkers, enabling them to apply the newly acquired liberty to invent […]
24. Enlightenment Age History Review: Cultural, Religious, and Intellectual Changes
    The primary causal of this period includes scientific revolutions, declining influence of the church, exploration and imperialism, and the thirty years of war Scientific revolutions begun at the end of middle age and came about […]
25. The Enlightenment Era: David Hume and Immanuel Kant
    The rapid progress of humanities in that period was close-knit with economic and technological developments across the whole Europe and North America, in particular, the invention of the internal combustion engine, formation of the new […]
26. Enlightenment and Philosophers’ Opinions in This Regard
    As per the core insights of the critical theories in this regard, social freedom is construed to be associated with enlightenment.
27. Enlightenment Period and Jean-Jacques Rousseau
    The enlightenment period also popularly referred to as the age of reason denotes an explosive era in human history stretching from around the year 1600 to the year 1800; a period in which the West […]

🤩 Most Interesting Enlightenment Essay Topics

Neoclassicism and the Enlightenment

The Enlightenment and Neoclassicism are separate yet related movements. They appeared in the US and Europe around the same time. The main difference is that the Enlightenment was more politically oriented, while the Neoclassicism movement focused on art and culture. The latter was also inspired by the Age of Reason.

The Enlightenment and the French Revolution

The Enlightenment became the driving force for the French Revolution. The philosophical movement’s main ideas resonated with people who were ready for change. The rights of average citizens and interest in a scientific approach to fixing social issues were the major aspects of the Revolution.

Impact of the Enlightenment on America

The Enlightenment brought tremendous changes to the minds of Americans during the Revolution. Freedom and equality were at the core of what they believed in. Later, these fundamental rights became a part of the US Constitution. This way, the Enlightenment influenced political and intellectual beliefs in the US.

Enlightenment Philosophers and Their Doctrines

Among the most influential philosophers in the Enlightenment years were John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Voltaire, and Baron de Montesquieu. All of them promoted the idea that people should switch from monarchy and religion to liberalism.

The Enlightenment and Religion Relations

The followers of the Enlightenment movement staunchly criticized religion, mainly because of its widespread superstitious beliefs. To escape from this irrational view of religion, people started accepting Deism, which was a more straightforward and natural approach. Eventually, the Enlightenment led to the spread of atheism and materialism.

👍 Good Essay Topics on Enlightenment

1. The Enlightenment and Religion Relations
   They raised the questions of aesthetics, and a lot of discussing in detail about the nature of beauty and patterns of art.
2. Origins and Worldview in Renaissance and Enlightenment
   The culture of Renaissance and Enlightenment of Rhetoric study contributed to the nature of the official papers of the USA. The reason is the difference among people as to their opinions in the positions of […]
3. Enlightenment and Romanticism: Comparison
   In the wake up of the feminist and historicist takes to pieces of the older Romanticism, particularly Bloom’s “creative thinker corporation” and the Wordsworth-centered verse of consciousness and the natural world, one has to inquire […]
4. The Age of Enlightenment: Overview and Analysis
   The Age of Enlightenment centered on France and two of the major philosophers who contributed to this age of Enlightenment were Voltaire and Montesquieu. In the realm of politics, the government was the focus of […]
5. Women’s Role in World Literature of Enlightenment
   In Hinduism, the reward of a proper woman is rebirth as a man, ancient Chinese women were considered to be the property of their fathers or husbands and in Japan, women were dressing in men’s […]
6. World Literature Reflecting Enlightenment Thinking
   Literature as a constant reflector of the current events and ways people percept the world around cannot stand aside and fail to exhibit the characteristics and ideas of the new way of thinking.
7. The Enlightenment: Giving Start to Equality
   The ideas inherent to the philosophy of the Enlightenment changed the course of history and gave rise to the French Revolution and the start of the Constitution of the United States, human rights, and the […]
8. Enlightenment in Humanistic Studies of XXI Century
   Considering the relation of Kant’s ideas on Enlightenment concerning the aspects of modern English language, one can see the certain interrelation between the key ideas of the Enlightenment and the sections of English studies.
9. Human Experiences of Enlightenment and Love: China and Korea
   The Confucian production, also referred to as the Songs of the South introduced the love for poetry among the Chinese people.
10. World History: Enlightenment in Society
    A new intellectual force was realized in the fields of literature, science, art, and music during the German enlightenment era. It is also crucial to mention that additional emphasis was laid in the study of […]
11. Protestant Reformation and Enlightenment
    Certain ceremonies that demonstrated customary practices such as baptism and sacraments were abolished by the reformed churches, and this affected the lives of the people because the initial rituals used to shape the social lives […]
12. Enlightenment and Revolution
    The bourgeois class contributed significantly to the enlargement of the gap in the social class and gave room for the rising prominence of intellectuality in the public sphere.
13. Little Buddha: The Path of the Enlightenment
    Eventually, the movie unwraps the secret of the Fourth Truth, which is the path to the cessation of dukkha, as the leading character fights his personal demons to become the Enlightened One.
14. The Enlightenment Period in the Development of Culture
    The main goal of this age was to encourage reforms in the society by embracing the concept of reasoning and acquisition of knowledge through science.
15. Analogies for Daosism: Self-Construction and the Attempt to Reach the Enlightenment in Comparison to Confucianism
    Analyzing the key concepts of Daoism, i.e, “analogies”, one can possibly figure out what the philosophy of Daoism manifests as the ultimate enlightenment, as well as compare the given ideas with the similar ones from […]
16. Principles of Liberalism and Its Connection to Enlightenment and Conservatism
    A person has the freedom to be in business according to the classical liberalism. There were inspectors to check the working conditions of the workers.
17. Enlightenment Ideals in Regards to Religious Minorities
    This is because it set apart the rights of man and the idea of being a citizen. This was not effective for the case of the religious minority.
18. How Did the Age of Enlightenment Influence Western Civilization
    However, great thinkers in the past came to appreciate that it would be very beneficial if the government was to be inclined to people’s interest as opposed to the personal interests of its leader.
19. The Ongoing National Policy Debate Through the Lens of the American Enlightenment
    This theory also recognizes the role of the constitution and the need to ratify the constitution as a part of the social contract.
20. The Process of Enlightenment
    The three by-words of the Enlightenment are Reason that is a belief that employs common sense or reason that the world would improve; Autonomy, which is a belief that people would realize freedom and natural […]
21. Age of Enlightenment: The Rebirth of Europe
    As already aforementioned, prior to the “Age of Enlightement,” the church and state respectively were the institutions that controlled people and the state of affairs, in general.
22. Enlightenment and Revolution: Europe, America, and India
    The main goals of enlightenment period were to gain freedom in all aspects of life like religion and government. They were based on the liberty and equality principles or else the rule of the people.
23. The Enlightenment in the 18th Century
    In this religion it is believed that the Lord is the creator of nature which evolved with time and lead to the emergence of man.
24. The Age of Renaissance, Enlightenment & Revolutionary Period
    The arrival of French forces to confront the weakened British army in the battle of Yorktown is what compelled the opponents of the Americans to give in.
25. The Enlightenment Age and Reasoning as the Source of Authority and Legitimacy
    The sprit of freedom Kant, explains as capable of extending struggle to barbaric activities of the rulers to the subjects due to loss of order and harmony as a result of poor rules by rulers.
26. Enlightenment Ideals in Lessing’s Nathan the Wise: Unalienable Rights and Natural Law as a Product of Being Born Free
    Nathan the Wise is one of the best known plays by the German writer Gotthold Ephraim Lessing that touches upon the religious issues, the conflicts, which may happen on the religious field and during the […]

❓ Enlightenment Research Questions

1. What Is the History of the European Enlightenment?
2. What Is the Main Philosophy of the Enlightenment?
3. What Are America’s Enlightenment Periods?
4. Does the American Enlightenment Still Exist?
5. What Impact Did the Enlightenment Have on Society?
6. How Did Olaudah Equiano Use the Ideas of the Enlightenment?
7. What Is Anti-Semitism Before and After the Enlightenment?
8. Was the Enlightenment the Main Cause of the French Revolution?
9. What Are the Differences Between the Baroque Period and the Enlightenment?
10. How Was Ben Franklin Influenced by the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening?
11. When Did the Enlightenment Start?
12. What Were the Characteristics of the 18th Century Enlightenment?
13. Who Has the Biggest Impact on the Enlightenment?
14. What Were the Prejudices of the Enlightenment?
15. Did Enlightenment Thinkers Support Women’s Rights?
16. What Were the Major Intellectual Changes That Led to the Enlightenment?
17. What Is John Locke’s Enlightenment Idea on Natural Rights?
18. What Is Candide and Voltaire’s Response to the Enlightenment?
19. How Was the Birth of Tolerance in the Enlightenment Era?
20. What Role Did the Enlightenment Have On Religious Beliefs?
21. Who Are the Enlightenment Philosophers?
22. How Did Art Change During the Enlightenment?
23. What Was Religious Tolerance in the Enlightenment?
24. What Main Impact Did the Enlightenment Have on Modern Liberalism?
25. What Are the Main Principles of the Enlightenment?
26. What Ideas Did the Enlightenment Promote?
27. What Dangers Can Arise From Optimism About Human Progress and Enlightenment?
28. What Is Enlightenment Absolutism?
29. How Did the Enlightenment Influence the Romantic Era?
30. What Are the Characteristics of Enlightenment Art?