Though its responsibilities are much greater, America's political leaders today are less representative of advanced thinking than in the early years of the Republic. Eventually, their ignorance will have disastrous consequences for Americans and the international community. The lives of millions of people here and abroad will be shortened and impoverished, denying them the benefits of the highest achievements of modern civilization.

The United States was founded in the 18th century by persons who participated intellectually in the Age of Enlightenment, and were proud to adhere to its ideals and values. The writers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were conscious of the "opinion of mankind", an opinion they identified with the Enlightenment thinkers of their time. Like all participants in this movement, they strove to incorporate in their new political system the best of human experience and the most convincing ideas developed by past generations.

As a society, we need to return to the attitudes and values that infused the Enlightenment of the 18th Century. We must reaffirm the possibilities of human progress that stirred previous generations. It is our hope that this site will contribute to this reawakening.

What was the Enlightenment?

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a group of French and English intellectuals, including in America notably Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, developed a persuasive and influential intellectual movement that had been germinating since the Renaissance. They took as their inspiration the similar thinking of the Ancient Greek and Roman thinkers who had flourished before the rise of Christianity.

Their Principal conclusions were:

• Tradition and Authority have no claim to truth. Religious orthodoxy, mythology, and superstition has been responsible for countless crimes against humanity, and, more generally, for the lack of human progress.
• No person should be deprived of his or her fundamental human rights (often referred to as "natural rights") for their beliefs.
• All narrow national and sectarian allegiances should be renounced. Cultural values developed by different peoples are relative to their experiences and should be honored as such.
• The universe is fundamentally rational; it can be understood only through empirical observation, the use of reason, and systematic doubt.
• The major functions of the state are to advance the progress of humanity and to protect the legal and moral equality of all.

* This list was derived in part from excellent summaries of Enlightenment thinking by Professor Gerhard Rempel and Richard Hooker. The visitor is encouraged to visit both of these summary sites. For a simple definition of Enlightenment also look at our companion concepts site.

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