Modernity

What we call the modern age is generally thought to have begun in the 18^th century with the effects of the Enlightenment. Immanuel Kant described this as:

“[…] man’s emergence from his self-imposed immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to use one's understanding without guidance from another. This immaturity is self-imposed when its cause lies not in lack of understanding, but in lack of resolve and courage to use it without guidance from another. Sapere Aude! [Dare to know] "Have courage to use your own understanding!"--That is the motto of enlightenment.”[1]

The Enlightenment (and to a lesser extent, modernity itself) can be defined by the importance that it places on the use of reason. This however, was not an original idea of Enlightenment philosophers. In the 16^th century, the Reformation made such thinking possible by questioning what the church held to be true and allowing people to study the scriptures for themselves and think through what they believe as individuals. Martin Luther said:

“Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason — I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other — my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe.”[2]

To my mind, this flourishing of individual thought is one of the main consequences of the Reformation, and the Enlightenment that it made possible. It led to an outburst of creative energy that shows itself very clearly in the Industrial Revolution. But perhaps more importantly, it led to a particular way of thinking about life: the assumption that humanity was inevitably improving with every passing year, and that our scientific discoveries would increasingly allow us to understand and control our universe. The conflict between Galileo and the Church, which was frightened of such thinking, was the precursor to a much wider struggle between the claims of science and the claims of faith. For the most part, science won the upper hand.

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[1] Kant, Immanuel, What is Enlightenment?

[2] Bainton, Roland H, Here I Stand: a Life of Martin Luther. p. 143