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The Enlightenment was an 18th-century intellectual movement that advocated the use of reason, science, and education to enlighten human thought and promote social progress. Enlightenment philosophers such as Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu, and Diderot questioned religious dogma, authoritarian political institutions, and social inequalities. They encouraged critical thinking, freedom of expression, and the search for truth through science and logic. The movement aspired to individual and collective emancipation, based on the principles of liberty, equality, and tolerance. It rejected superstitions and defended human rights, equality before the law, and a political organization based on the separation of powers. The Enlightenment inspired many revolutions and social transformations, including the French Revolution, by laying the foundations for modern democracy and fundamental rights.