The Enlightenment occurred in the 18th century. In France, the first ideas heralding a new era began to appear at the end of the 17th century, culminating in the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789. In Poland, however, one of the beginnings is considered to be the accession of King Stanisław August Poniatowski to the throne, and the end is considered to be the publication of the first volume of "Poetry" by Adam Mickiewicz. The name of the era comes from light as a metaphor for reason, which was supposed to dispel the darkness of ignorance. It was believed that only through science was progress possible. One of the most important works was the creation of the first encyclopedia, the Great French Encyclopedia, as well as the development of the press - including newspapers such as the English "The Spectator" or the Polish "Monitor", which contributed to the dissemination of knowledge among society. Enlightenment philosophy is based on the words of the Baroque thinker Descartes, who said, “I think, therefore I am.” This became the basis for recognizing reason as the greatest value and striving to liberate the mind from errors and prejudices. Two philosophical trends have emerged: rationalism, which believes that reason is the source of knowledge and that it is through reason that actions should be assessed, prejudices combated and authorities verified, and empiricism, which believes that experience and the senses are the source of knowledge and are only later analyzed by reason. On their basis atheism and deism arose. The first rejected the existence of God as something impossible to prove. The second one, on the other hand, recognized his existence, but considered him as a being that did not interfere in the fate of the world. The most important philosophers were the Scottish David Hume, the Englishman John Locke, the German Immanuel Kant, and the Frenchmen Voltaire and Jean-Jaques Rousseau. Three most important trends have emerged in the literature. Classicism believed that reason is the most important in knowing the world. It was characterized by clear and simple language and respect for established writing rules. It had a didactic purpose, i.e. to teach the reader. The representative of classicism was Ignacy Krasicki, the author of, among others, fairy tales and satires. Sentimentalism grew out of the works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who believed that emotions were responsible for understanding the world and that literature should be moving. The themes raised by sentimentalists include man's return to nature, experiencing the world, and opposing civilization. A representative of Polish sentimentalism is Franciszek Karpiński, author of the work “Laura i Filon”. Rococo was an expression of love for beauty. This style included works that entertained and amused the reader, were pleasant, sensual, elegant and delicate. Most often, they touched on love themes and completely rejected didacticism. A representative of Rococo is the poet Kajetan Węgierski. Many works have been carried out in Poland that have become groundbreaking for culture and science. The first theatre in the country was built in the capital - the National Theatre in Warsaw, the Załuski brothers founded one of the largest libraries in Europe, which was named after them, on the initiative of Stanisław Konarski the first modern higher education institution was founded, i.e. Collegium Nobilium, and an academy was established, which became the nucleus of the later University of Warsaw (i.e. the Society of Friends of Science), and the first central educational authority was established - the Commission of National Education. The creation of the Constitution of May 3 – considered the first in Europe and the second in the world – is also an extraordinary achievement. However, it did not save the country from losing its independence. Weak Poland, consumed by the corruption of the nobility and the bribery of representatives of foreign courts, lost its independence for 123 years as a result of three partitions carried out by Prussia, Austria and Russia. Let's summarize. The Enlightenment took place mainly in the 18th century, and France is considered its center. The name of the era comes from light as a metaphor for reason. Knowledge was considered the most important value. The foundations of philosophy are rationalism, which postulates that we know the world through reason, and empiricism, which bases knowledge on experience. The first encyclopedia was created at that time and the press developed, including magazines such as "The Spectator" and "Monitor". In literature, we can distinguish three trends - classicism, which has a didactic purpose, sentimentalism, which is meant to move, and rococo, which is meant to entertain the reader. In Poland, under the rule of Stanisław August Poniatowski, despite reforms and many achievements in the fields of culture, politics and science, three partitions took place, resulting in the complete loss of independence. In the next videos I will talk about romanticism and positivism. If you liked my video, you can like it and subscribe to my channel. Thanks for watching and see you soon!