Good-bye, Enlightenment

The greatest achievements of the Enlightenment era were:

  • The belief in the primacy of human reason
  • Sex-based rights for women
  • Individual rights, such as freedom of expression and association
  • Nation-state
  • The idea that children are different from adults and should be treated differently
  • Comprehensive education for everybody

Enlightenment has its problems but any point on this list is a gigantic achievement of human civilization.

We are now walking them all back out of obscurantism, ignorance and prejudice.

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