Define enlightened. I think people might be more informed in certain cases, but not more enlightened.
this post was submitted on 15 Feb 2024
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Not the definition but an historical definition.
A philosophical movement of the 1700s that emphasized the use of reason to scrutinize previously accepted doctrines and traditions and that brought about many humanitarian reforms.
Then the answer is absolutely not.
I disagree. Weβve had many political revolutions overthrowing leaders, religion has been on a heavy decline, and most people accept that science or basic logic is the most important element in an argument, not authority.
We just see so many people NOT doing that, and we hate it. We live in a world where the person doing the stupidest thing that day makes the front page, and weβre enlightened enough to critique it.
Stupid people will always exist. The idea that we hear about them more now and we hate them for it actually proves weβve become more enlightened.
Counterpoint: Trump was president.
Of America, not of the world. Believe it or not, there are so many other people in the world outside of America.
Also, look at the presidents of the past. America has had many pro-slavery Presidents. Trump was awful, but he wasnβt even the worst President. The fact that so many people felt he was awful also shows that America has progressed.
But back to my first point, youβre looking at a country of 350m out of 8 billion people in the world. The world has moved on from so many of the things that the US continues to struggle with. As a people, weβve advanced much further than weβve been in the past.
Edit: wrote a βkβ not an βmβ for Americaβs population.
The fact that you don't think Trump was the worst president makes me doubt your knowledge of US history.
"Other people were worse" has never been a good argument, much leas for presidents.
350k?
The far right is on the rise all across the world, not just the US.
He was voted in by the people, ergo, the majority is not enlightened.
Not the majority.
Pretty salty there, Captain America lol
who lost the poplar vote
What about the oak vote?
I know I am. I wasn't even born 100 years ago.
See, I didn't even know that about you. I'm more enlightened than I was 10 seconds ago!
Looking at widespread corruption and material worship, I'd say they are about the same.
things are way better for women and minorities than they ever were.... which is saying something as things are still comparatively bad
I feel like answering this would give different answers for pretty much every category you could define.
No they're obese.
3 comedy points.
In general, probably.
Locally, depends on the locality
People have access to more information, but less access to tough life lessons, and therefore less experience (ranging from survival skills, to applied political science, etc.).
Is being "enlightened" mean you have more (possibly fake) information, or does it mean having more life experience? You decide...
define enlightened using your own words not via a google search
Me, I'm specifically referring to the enlightenment. Now I would say that some of their ideas haven't aged well but that is kind of a hat on a hat. The following summarizes it better then my dopey ass ever could:
Use of reason to scrutinize previously accepted doctrines and traditions and to bring about humanitarian reforms
in regards to that definition then: yeah, I'd say people are, on the whole, more enlightened than they were a century ago. the scientific method is more thoroughly accepted/baked in at a societal level, and the mass adoption of digital communication facilitates a greater sense of community.... though the resulting communities are often at odds with each other.
I doubt it.
The fact we all interact with cyberspace, using more high level functions to navigate rather than interacting with the physical world, means we are less integrated and present than before.