Wyl. P5. T6 (Enlightenment Era Synthesis)

The Enlightenment era was known for being the Restoration era because there was a clash in old and new philosophy. It started out with the belief in a monarch like system and slowly philosophers started to think that the monarch system was shallow and immoral. Some people of the time still believed that high social standing were still important, but as the philosophers spread their philosophy, others started to think differently. In the past, there was respect for having a social ladder, and a respect for people of “higher class.” Authors and philosophers started to write about how the monarch like system is not fully functional and is shallow. People then started to realize that being born into hierarchy is not the right way to determine the status of people. John Dryden, a poet in the enlightenment era, was very critical of past philosophies. He emphasized many things off of going by what the brain says and not what the heart says. Dryden wrote in a very satirical style and wrote things by the facts and not by how most poets write with feelings. Dryden wrote of how being high class should not be determined at birth, and that people follow this philosophy because of their heart. When one logically thinks about it, one with so much power should not be determined through birth, but through knowledge and experience.

Nancy Lai, Janelle Li, Zach Lindecamp, Kelsey Nakamura