If you lived during the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment, your world was being turned topsy-turvy.
Things you and your ancestors had believed for centuries were shown to be false as new information and new ideas constantly took the place of old ideas. It was exciting, and it was unsettling. These new ideas had three lasting effects on the way people viewed the world. The first effect was a new belief in progress, or the idea that things can change for the better. The second effect was a more secular, or nonreligious, view of the world. The third effect was a widespread belief in the importance of the individual. These three big ideas took hold as more people became educated and learned about the ideas put forth by the Enlightenment’s big thinkers.
