The Enlightenment brought about new ways of understanding and empiricist approaches to the natural world and human relationships. It also reexamined the role of religion in public life and emphasized the importance of reason. Enlightenment thinkers questioned established traditions and developed new political ideas about the individual, natural rights, and the social contract. This thinking often preceded revolutions and rebellions against existing governments. Nationalism also became a major force shaping the historical development of states and empires. The eighteenth century marked the beginning of an intense period of revolution and rebellion against existing governments, leading to the establishment of new nation-states around the world.

The rise and diffusion of Enlightenment thought that questioned established traditions often preceded revolutions and rebellions against existing governments. Enlightenment philosophers developed new ways of understanding and empiricist approaches to both the natural world and human relationships, encouraging observation and inference in all spheres of life. They also reexamined the role of religion in public life, insisting on the importance of reason over revelation. These ideas influenced resistance to existing political authority, often in pursuit of independence and democratic ideals.

The Enlightenment introduced five main ideas:

• The universe is fundamentally rational and can be understood through reason alone
• Truth can be arrived at through empirical observation, reason, and systematic doubt
• Human experience is the foundation of human understanding of truth
• Religious doctrines have no place in the understanding of the physical and human worlds
• Natural law makes the universe run
  These ideas acted against the superstition and corruption of religious authorities and promoted open-mindedness and inquiry. They also criticized "divine right" governments and privileges of aristocrats.

The Enlightenment was important because it promoted open-mindedness, inquiry, and critical thinking. It also acted against the superstition and corruption of religious authorities and criticized "divine right" governments and privileges of aristocrats. The thinkers of the Enlightenment believed that knowledge could transform society and that individuals should be free to form their own opinions without being restricted by superstition, religious dogma, or autocratic/absolutist government.

Enlightenment thinkers such as Thomas Paine and Jean Jacques Rousseau popularized ideas such as the general will and the social contract. The general will is the civic impulses of citizens seeking to pursue the common good within their community, as defined by Rousseau. The social contract is a voluntary agreement among people defining the relationship of individuals with one another and with the government, forming a distinct organized society.

The Enlightenment brought about a significant transformation in intellectual and ideological thinking, leading to revolutions and rebellions against existing governments. It emphasized the importance of reason in understanding the natural world and human relationships, and its influence can still be felt in modern society.