The Enlightenment is the name given to a philosophical movement in Europe and North America during the 17th and 18th centuries. During this period, thinkers stressed the importance of reason rather than religion as a way to decide on human matters. Therefore, this time period is also known as the Age of Reason. Some of the concepts that were widely discussed during this period are reason, liberty, equality, natural rights and science. This type of thinking was influential during the French Revolution and the American Revolutionary War.
