In Words Without Borders, author Hasif Amini mentions that stories have been “a remarkable way to enlighten human minds in dark times full of mystery.”  Amini uses the stories used to explain the constellation to exemplify the need to feed our curiosity and fear of the unknown.  Stories that enthrall us the most are the ones that fill the holes of mystery.  We love telling stories that can explain phenomenons.  These stories capture us as we naturally and intuitively concur with them.  When sharing such stories, we want our friends and families to experience the captivating moment that we had.  All stories that charm us toward them, through the sequences of the story, bring us to realizations of things we would have never thought of on our own.

Similarly, Enlightenment thinkers gave a grand “story.”  Through their innovative reasonings about the state of the church and man, they told a story of how the church or even the government can not enslave us.  The story the Enlightenment thinkers and philosophers told freed us from the captivity of the church. And this is the story that changed the world forever.

Knowledge comes in many different ways.  Not only is it limited to direct teaching or school, but it is also stated through fiction.  The work of fiction serves as an agent to carry out knowledge.  And knowledge is not merely hard facts but ideas, theories, and beliefs.  Knowledge in these forms often come about through fiction.  Imaginary events and people in works of fiction serve as catalysts to give knowledge through the stories of fiction.

Although fiction doesn’t necessarily articulate concrete facts, it provides readers with a sense of derived knowledge. From fiction and story telling one of the biggest things a reader can take away from a piece is lessons. Most fictional pieces provide made up stories with made up characters but have real life underlying lessons to be learned. They provide readers with real life lessons through the struggles and triumphs of the characters. A reader can then take this instruction and make use of it in their everyday real life. Fiction is like a reality simulator, it allows the reader to think about what choices they would make in certain situation as well as learning what the result of their choices would be. Another aspect provided by fiction is the fostering of imagination and creative thinking. By reading about made people and places it lets the readers mind explore and imagine, improving cognitive thinking. By the reader putting themselves in the character’s shoes it allows them to be actively thinking and empathize with the character. This can help with expressing feeling especially ones of compassion towards others. Reading these types of stories enacts our brains to better understand people as well as look at the world from a different perspective. By looking at the world from a different perspective we see things we haven’t seen before or look at a situation in a different light. Additionally all reading in general helps with the improvement of theory of mind, or the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others and to understand that others have beliefs and intentions different from ones own.

I do not believe that fiction creates knowledge, however, it makes us as people more comfortable with the unknown. A quick example of this was seen in Hasif Amani’s short piece when he discusses the constellations. At the time when the constellations were “discovered” there was very little knowledge of stars and space. People made stories through constellations which made looking at the stars almost relatable. Some of the constellations included a hunter stretching his bow, a woman sowing wheat seeds, and someone hoeing their fields. All of these were relatable to people and made space less intimidating. Story telling specifically can very much help people feel comfortable in unknown situations which in a way in knowledge.  Stories and fables have been passed on for generations because although they are fiction, they shared important morals and lessons that help people in life. For example, I do not believe a tortoise and a rabbit ever had a race but the famous fable of these two animals racing shared great morals of not being overconfident. “Slow and steady wins the race.” Stories often have some sort of moral or lesson which helps people grow up to be a fictional member of society which is why they are passed down and often told to children. Stories do not only benefit children though; even fictional stories about war could give insight to new soldiers who are looking for what to expect. Perhaps they would even get a few tips from the story to help them along the way. I do not think that fiction directly creates knowledge but it can give insight and make the audience more comfortable in situations they have never been in before.

Imagine a world structured without the slightest iota of equality; one which people cant speak their minds for fear of being killed. This world existed until the early 18th century, until a group of independent thinkers changed the way we live, with their revolutionary ideologies and beliefs. They questioned societal norms which were previously around for centuries. The questioning of societal norms was actually extremely dangerous, and spreading heresy could actually mean death. Despite this, the philosophers continued to spread their ideas – educating the rest of society and breaking their obediant chains. The enlightenment thinkers stressed important ideas such as self-reliant thinking – one such thinker was Rene Descartes. Descartes had one great ability which made him one of the greatest philosophers who ever lived – he questioned everything to the point where one even started to doubt your own existence. His idea “I think therefore, I am” is the idea that the reason for our existence is to think. Descartes recognized that the only true difference between man and animal is mans ability to think. In a way, Descartes was able to uteach himself everything he was previously taught, by his parents, the church and so one. This made him able to reteach the world as he knew it through questions and observations. At the time, the idea of independent thinking was foreign to the world, and so Descartes’, as well as other philosophers and scientists of the enlightenment, ideas riffled through the world allowing us to live our lives with freedom and independence. Although we haven’t fully reached equality and independence, we must further ensure their ideas and beliefs fully come to fruition in order to reach full impartiality.

Upon reading Descartes’ Discourse on Method I come to realize how the enlightenment period affected people and their minds. Descartes touched upon the deeper meaning of the saying “Cogito Ergo Sum” also known as “I am thinking, therefore I exist” (Descartes 15). The quote is quite straight forward in which one cannot be without constant thought and that the action of pondering and doubting occurrences in daily life is what gives someone a reason to live. This passage embodies the enlightenment era because it takes a unique approach to the idea of God and begins to doubt and question what others would normally just accept. Descartes ponders on his existence and mainly the qualities he has been given and how they came about. He discusses that a logical reason for him having the qualities he has to think and doubt must come from a higher power as he himself cannot be all-knowing or self-sufficient. He comes to the conclusion that God must exist to have given him all these traits but then he ponders geometry and begins to have doubts about his perception of God due to the lack of sensory proof. This act of rethinking and changing one’s mind only emphasizes the truth behind the famous saying “I think, therefore I am” because people are constantly changing their opinion on matters based off of what they encounter in their daily lives, every detail of life factors into one’s perception and ultimately shapes them into who they are. Enlightenment had a lot to do with self exploration and letting the mind reject the norms and start exploring all the possible reasons behind everything.

Enlightenment movement happened all over the world to recover human, women and child rights. As the Enlightenment in Europe and the Americas that we read, there are obvious conflicts with the ideas in the period and their historical context. Speaking of women rights, in the seventeenth-century, among the privileged classes, men had many opportunities: for education, for service in the government or diplomacy while women solely did childbearing and childrearing, and some woman, who were even in the upper classes, had fewer opportunities for education and occupation beyond the household. Not only the opportunities, the people even thought if God had given all human reason, then women just as entitled to develop and exercise their minds as their male counterparts (p.7).

In spite of the discrimination between males and females, by the late seventeenth century women began writing novels, their books were widely read by men and women alike. The thoughts people considered women to be the male counterparts prevailed in Asia too. Yet the time women started writing books differed from~. It took place in mid-20 century in Asia. For example, there was a women who wrote a novel in the early 20 century in Korea, but her books could not be published just because the writer was woman. From this perspective, the enlightenment movement in Europe and the Americas happened very earlier than Asia.

Also, we can see the Civil war in England as the enlightenment movement. It happened in Korea and China as well after the early 20th century especially during the period of Japanese colonial. Lu xun from China and Lee, Guang Soo from Korea, who were the celebrated writers, led to the philosophy of enlightenment by publishing several books that enlightened people’s thoughts.

Like Descartes said that I am thinking, therefore I exists, the enlightenment would be continued unless people stop to think.

The enlightenment is one of the most memorable periods in history. The enlightenment has made life as we know it today possible. The greatest thinkers, inventors, and scientists shared their wisdom and ingenuity with the rest of the world, and while some rejected their ideas, the majority of the world piggybacked off them and continued to innovate further. A big part of the enlightenment was letting go of the past and starting anew. Rene Descartes, one of the famous Enlightenment thinkers, discusses many extraordinary things throughout his essay. Descartes, in his own way, makes the reader doubt everything they ever believed in. As children, we are brought up to believe everything that our parents and society passed unto us. From there, we form associations and generalizations of people, places, and things. While some of the information passed down to us is correct, a great deal of it is wrong. Furthermore, many of the stereotypes and prejudices which we are brought up believe if are true, are usually both false and racist. These false ideas have become embedded into the core of our being that laying these ideas to rest have become seemingly impossible. In this case, our misconceptions of people have become a danger to those people and they suffer greatly because of it. It is seen all too often that Black children are getting killed by police officers due to the mere suspicion of they’re having a weapon. Most of them never had any sort of weaponry on them but, officers were quick to judge it as otherwise because of the prejudices they have been brought up believing about Blacks. In the secular world people should do as Descartes did because not only will it make them better people, it will help save lives.

The Enlightenment period was a time when many thinkers began to question everything they are told and everything they believed in. People realized that they have the ability to think for themselves and not just to accept everything they are told. Descartes was one of these philosophers. He suggested the idea of “cogito ergo sum,” which translates to “I think therefore, I am.” This idea reminds all of us that we all exist in this world today because we have the ability to think. His idea stemmed after he realized that we all act on opinions we are uncertain believing in them unquestionably. That is when he decided to doubt everything around him; to treat everything as false. He pretended that all the ideas in his mind so far were all illusions from his dreams. He strongly believes and persuades the reader of the existence of God, who he describes as the most perfect being and that everything in us comes from him. Descartes’ idea of “cogito ergo sum” is important as it is important for all of us to constantly be critically thinking and questioning the things happening around us  because we are able to. Because we think, we exist in this world.

The Enlightenment was a time to question and understand new meanings and values of life.  People who supported the Enlightenment period were thought to be vivid thinkers, questioning “why” things happen and the science behind them instead of relying on the church to give you these understandings. This period of thinking led to all different changes amongst society and classes. Literacy rates improved, health improved, even some women were writing instead of childbearing and house work, which is what they had done for years and years. The Enlightenment in Europe and the Americas states “If God had given all human beings reason, then women were just as entailed to develop and exercise their minds as their male counterparts” which proves a very good point, if God had given this “reason” to all men, he must have given it to women as well. The questioning of things also lead to children being involved within literature and other things of that nature, something that was unheard of doing until you became an adult. Enlightenment thinkers had many people who did not believe in their ways, these people preferred the more traditional way, the way that it had always been.

Rene Descartes was a famous philosopher of this time, and his quote “Cogito ergo sum” meaning I think, therefore I am became very famous. I believe what he means by this is, people exist because we think and reason everything going on around us. Descartes way of thinking may be different from other philosophers, Descartes believes that God has his plan for you and there is no changing that, while other philosophers say you don’t really know anything. Although they may have thought

The Enlightenment, as it’s name implies, was a time period in which philisophical questioning of previously accepted principles led to a greater understanding of the world around us. Descartes’ method of proving the existence of reality itself, is fundementally important as it allows us to derrive more complex truths. When descartes states that his ability to think is the universal proof for his own existence, he expounds that truth into a reason for why God must exist as well. Through the discussion of omnipotence and what it means to be flawless, Descartes sets a basis for other enlightenment thinkers to build upon, which is why he is considered one of the fundamental philosiphers of that time period. His statements of universiality progressed through the years alongside the method which he uses to refute opposing thoughts, which is to negate any and all doubts contrary to his own. Descartes’ discourse on method is  there to serves as a handbook not only loaded with predetermined thruths, but also to serve as a guide on how to arrive at a new truths following in his footsteps.