The light of freedom in the age of enlightenment - part 1: The Netherlands

The central topic of the article is the importance of the freedom for the Age of Enlightenment, as well as ties connecting philosophy of Enlightenment and political liberalism. Furthermore, the author’s central thesis is that the light that began to enlightened the reason in the Age of Enlightenment had nothing to do with God or nature, but solely with human freedom. As Anthony Ashley Cooper, third Earl of Shaftsbury, noted in one of his letters, freedom shed the light on two countries at first: the Netherlands and England. The author is also disputing the thesis developed by Jonathan Irving I... Mehr ...