Enlightenment & 1800s
Thinkers turned reason loose on everything — kings, right and wrong, even where humans come from. Kant, Marx, Darwin and Freud changed how we see the world, and built the modern age.
The Enlightenment1700s‘Dare to know!’ Reason would free people from ignorance and unfair rule.
Kant1724–1804Showed knowledge needs BOTH our senses and our minds.Romanticismearly 1800sFeeling, imagination, and nature matter as much as cold logic.
Hegel1770–1831Saw history as ideas clashing and combining, step by step.
Kierkegaard1813–1855Insisted that what matters is YOU, the individual — not the crowd.
Marx1818–1883Argued that history is driven by who owns what.
Darwin1809–1882Showed that humans and all life evolved over millions of years.Freud1856–1939Discovered a hidden ‘unconscious’ that drives how we act.
Kant1724–1804Showed knowledge needs BOTH our senses and our minds.Romanticismearly 1800sFeeling, imagination, and nature matter as much as cold logic.Hegel1770–1831Saw history as ideas clashing and combining, step by step.Kierkegaard1813–1855Insisted that what matters is YOU, the individual — not the crowd.Marx1818–1883Argued that history is driven by who owns what.Darwin1809–1882Showed that humans and all life evolved over millions of years.Freud1856–1939Discovered a hidden ‘unconscious’ that drives how we act.