116 Best Enlightenment Essay Topics

The Enlightenment is an important phase in the history of the world. It was the period when philosophy, science, sociology, economics, law, politics, and various theories of government changed and progressed. Philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians aroused people’s understanding of what true happiness is, how knowledge can help them see the world in a different light, and the ideal way government and institutions must perform. Without enlightenment, the world would have been different, not geographically but in social, economic, and political contexts. The way we connect with our nation or foreign nationals and how our education system works would have been quite different without enlightenment. If you want to write about enlightenment in your academic paper and are in search of the best enlightenment essay topics, read this blog. Here, we have discussed the concept of enlightenment and listed some significant ideas that are not usually discussed.

What is Enlightenment?

Enlightenment refers to the academic and philosophical movement that took place in Western Europe between the 17^th and 18^th centuries, but its impacts were felt all over the globe. It started after the scientific revolution and mainly with the works of the philosopher, Attorney general, and Lord Chancellor of England, Francis Bacon, and the English philosopher and physician John Locke. However, many philosophers believe that the Enlightenment started after the publication of the Discourse on the Method by René Descartes in 1637. Another group of philosophers is of the view that the book of Sir Isaac Newton on the explanation of the laws of motion, Principia Mathematica, led to the culmination of the scientific revolution and the start of the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment incorporated several ideas that were based on the following:

• The value of happiness in humans
• The quest for knowledge obtained through reason and the confirmation of the senses
• Principles like natural law, independence, lenience, alliance, constitutional government, progress, and the division of churches and states

It was based on the principles of individual liberty and religious tolerance that opposed the complete power of the monarchies and the fixed doctrine of the Church. The philosophers and scientists of the period mainly broadcasted their thoughts in various scientific institutions, Masonic lodges, literary salons, coffee shops, and through printed books, journals, and pamphlets. The concepts of the Enlightenment did not consider the influence of monarchy and the Catholic Church and streamlined their way to political revolutions during the 18^th and 19^th centuries. Various 19^th-century revolutions like liberalism, socialism, and neoclassicism started their journey with the Enlightenment.

List of  Impressive Enlightenment Essay Topics

Looking for some impressive ideas to develop your Enlightenment essay? In that case, take a look at these topics.

Interesting Essay Topics on Enlightenment

Find some highly appealing enlightenment essay topics here:

1. How did Enlightenment-era philosophy contribute to Napoleon’s coming to power?
2. How did Enlightenment-era thinking contribute to the increase of nationalism throughout Europe before 1849?
3. Enlightenment and its effect on the French Revolution
4. Is Enlightenment true?
5. The argument for religion in the Enlightenment era was one of the reasons for the first French Revolution.
6. How was Europe malformed by the Enlightenment, Reformation, and French Revolution?
7. Progressive movements, such as the Enlightenment, French Revolution, industrialization, and reforms, were measured as part of the growth in the humanities, sciences, technology, and political affairs. World War I cropped up after more than a few centuries of this progress. Find the probable causes of World War I as a consequence of progressive movements.

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Intriguing Essay Ideas on Enlightenment

Here are some exciting topics for the enlightenment essay.

1. “Diminish in power with the church and ruler by restoration, enlightenment, and the American rebellion.” – Elucidate this statement.
2. What major historical proceedings took place during the Enlightenment period?
3. What is termed the Enlightenment Period?
4. How did theorists from the Enlightenment motivate the perfect government and give confidence to the American Revolution?
5. Enlightenment and Freemasonry movements in Germany.
6. The situation of women in the Renaissance, Enlightenment, and Romantic eras
7. How severe were Napoleon’s overseas and domestic policy choices? Did it safeguard or destroy the principles of the Enlightenment?
8. Who Was Rousseau? How did Paul Sargent describe the Enlightenment?
9. The Enlightenment logicians and their principles.
10. Enlightenment or the Age of Reason in the USA.
11. The noteworthy rational changes that were directed at the Enlightenment.

Exceptional Enlightenment Essay Topics

Get 10 brilliant enlightenment essay topics here.

1. Institute your “enlightenment” from the antique Eastern sages. For example, you may discuss in what ways the thoughts of the ancient Eastern philosophers may impact the way you want to accept your own life’s path in the future.
2. In what ways does the Haitian Revolution develop and confront the Enlightenment?
3. Discuss the effects that Enlightenment ideals had on American literature.
4. How did the Tunisian revolution develop from the Enlightenment?
5. Talk about the Enlightenment during the 17^th and 18th centuries. Highlight Tea iconography and substance sophistication in Great Britain.
6. How was science in the era of the Enlightenment?
7. Voltaire and his rendezvous with the Enlightenment.
8. The flow of science in the Enlightenment and women’s participation.
9. How was humanism important during the Enlightenment period? State its reasons.
10. Shed light on the development from the period of Salem to the Enlightenment.

Extraordinary Enlightenment Essay Topics

Here are some amazing enlightenment essay ideas.

1. Artistic accomplishment in the era of the Enlightenment.
2. Shed light on the scientific revolution in the era of the Enlightenment.
3. What is the relationship between the Protestant Reformation and the Enlightenment?
4. Is there a connection between the Counter-Reformation and the Enlightenment?
5. How was Secular humanism in the Enlightenment period?
6. Detail on the Glorious Revolution in the Era of the Enlightenment.
7. Pangloss teaches Candide a kind of philosophy rooted in the standard added by theorists of the Enlightenment: “Everything is for the best in this best of all possible worlds.”
8. Structural design in the Enlightenment period.
9. Napoleon and the type of empire in the era of the Enlightenment.
10. Rationalism, idealism, and cynicism were three primary theoretical schools of thought during the Enlightenment. How does Voltaire narrate these notions?

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 Advanced Enlightenment Essay Topics

Are you searching for some sophisticated enlightenment essay topics? Take a look at these ideas.

1. Enslavement at the time of the Enlightenment.
2. Thoughts of Enlightenment in Post-Enlightenment World Literature.
3. Do the thoughts developed during the European Enlightenment and the era of the Revolution encourage liberty and fairness for all human beings?
4. The architecture of Rococo during the period of The Enlightenment.
5. How Enlightenment is described in Kant’s “What Is Enlightenment“?
6. Examine the communal and political effects of enlightenment philosophy over time.
7. Effects of the Enlightenment on Developing the Declaration of Independence.

Best Enlightenment Essay Topics

Looking for the finest enlightenment topics to develop your essay? Go through these ideas here:

1. Compare the enlightenment principles in Lessing’s “Nathan The Wise: Unalienable Human Rights.”
2. The Enlightenment Age and analysis as the foundation of power and legality.
3. The era of the Renaissance, Enlightenment, and radical epoch.
4. Shed light on the Enlightenment in the 18th century.
5. Enlightenment and revolution in various parts of the globe like Europe, America, and India.
6. Why the Age of Enlightenment is called the Resurrection of Europe?
7. The method of enlightenment.
8. The continuing National Policy argument through the eyes of the American Enlightenment.
9. How did the period of the Enlightenment impact Western civilization?
10. Enlightenment principles concerning religious groups.
11. A 21st-century demonstration of the Enlightenment: Jean-Pierre Gauthier, Battements et Papillons.
12. The Philosophy of Freethinking and its Relation to Enlightenment and Conservatism

Handpicked Enlightenment Essay Topics

Find here some exclusive ideas for writing your enlightenment essays:

1. The Parable of the Cave by Plato: The Road to the Way of Enlightenment.
2. What do the letters in England highlight about the early Enlightenment?
3. Analogies for Daoism: Self-creation and the endeavor to get enlightenment in comparison to Confucianism.
4. The Enlightenment period saw the expansion of traditions.
5. Discover Buddhism through the book “Introduction to the Chinese Philosophy. In Search for the Enlightenment“.
6. How did Buddha enter the road to Enlightenment?
7. Find the connection between the Enlightenment and the Revolution.
8. How are Protestant improvement and enlightenment related?
9. Shed light on the enlightenment in society through the study of world history.
10. How will you connect enlightenment to the romantic age?
11. Human understanding of enlightenment and love in China and Korea.

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Engaging Enlightenment Essay Topics

Get some appealing enlightenment essay topics here:

1. How did the Enlightenment take place during the XXI Century?
2. Share your reflections on enlightenment art and humanistic thinking.
3. Enlightenment during industrialization and the French Revolution.
4. Is there a connection between the French and Scottish Enlightenments?
5. How was the scientific revolution during the period of the Enlightenment in Europe?
6. Shed light on spiritual thinking in the era of Enlightenment.
7. What transformation in enlightenment took place with religious thinking?
8. Shed light on the Enlightenment period in America and Europe.
9. Progress of enlightenment during the Renaissance.
10. What did Matthew Taylor discuss during the 21st-century Enlightenment?
11. How did Voltaire elucidate the ideals of enlightenment in his book “Candide”?
12. How does the Enlightenment give rise to equality?
13. In what way does world literature mirror enlightenment thinking?
14. Role of women in world literature of enlightenment.

Top Enlightenment Essay Prompts

The following are a few impactful essay prompts on enlightenment

1. Write about the architecture in the Enlightenment era.
2. Discuss the characteristics of the Enlightenment Art.
3. Explain how the birth of tolerance was in the Enlightenment Era.
4. Discuss the prejudices of the Enlightenment.
5. Explain the differences between the Baroque period and the Enlightenment.
6. What Is Anti-Semitism Before and After the Enlightenment?
7. Explain the history of the European Enlightenment.
8. Describe the main philosophy of the Enlightenment.
9. Explain the impact of Enlightenment on the society.
10. Write about the Enlightenment Philosophers.

Premium Essay Topics on Enlightenment

Here are the top enlightenment essay topics:

1. Sketch the era of the Enlightenment and examine it.
2. Conduct a historical analysis of the period of the Enlightenment.
3. What is the difference between Enlightenment and Romanticism?
4. Examine the connection between Kant and the Enlightenment.
5. Origins and worldview in the Renaissance and Enlightenment
6. The Enlightenment and religion connections.
7. Looking from a philosophical perspective, analyze whether we have attained enlightenment.
8. Influence of enlightenment on the rights of citizens
9. Jean-Jacques Rousseau and his contribution to the Enlightenment period.
10. How were women during the Enlightenment period?
11. Share some of the philosopher’s opinions about the Enlightenment.
12. What were the ideals of enlightenment during the French Revolution?
13. Explore the contributions of David Hume to the Enlightenment era.
14. Conduct a historical review of the cultural, religious, and intellectual development during the Age of Enlightenment.

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Captivating Enlightenment Essay Ideas

Are you pursuing your graduation in literature or history? Do you want to write an essay based on enlightenment? If so, then these topics will be very helpful for you.

1. Shed light on various social movements during the Enlightenment.
2. What was the role of Napoleon Bonaparte in the Enlightenment?
3. Draw a connection between mercantilism, enlightenment, and slave economics.
4. What are the political models of the Enlightenment?
5. Why was restricting sexual desires necessary for enlightenment in Buddhism?
6. What can you call the basis of American enlightenment?
7. How did the Enlightenment affect Europeans and Americans?
8. Discuss the social inequalities during the Enlightenment era.
9. How did the Enlightenment take place during the Age of Revolutions?
10. Draw a connection between the great minds and their enlightenment.

The Bottom Line

The Enlightenment was a significant period in the history of the world that shaped our present way of life and education. However, the movements of this period are not discussed to a great extent. The discussion above lays down a list of enlightenment essay topics. Select the one that you like best. However, if you need help writing an impressive paper, don’t forget to connect with our essay assignment helpers. They will offer you with flawless and informative essays. Moreover, with their assistance, you can submit your paper on time and score your desired grades.