Question

Write short notes.
Enlightenment period

Answer 1

1. Emergence of Sociology as a scientific discipline can be traced back to the ‘Enlightenment period’.
2. It is the period of European thought that witnessed remarkable social, political, and economic changes.
3. This period stressed the importance of positive, logical, and scientific thinking as well as experience. It challenged religious and traditional authority.
4. Individuals moved from traditional to a new way of thinking and perceiving reality. They logically questioned each aspect of life.
5. Scientific and rational thinking remained at the forefront during this period.
6. Intellectuals in this period (such as Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Montesquieu, Bacon, Machiavelli) placed importance on the cause and effect relationship.
7. This period led to the emergence of ideas of secular, liberal, and democratic societies.