The Counter-Enlightenment

The Counter-Enlightenment was a movement in the 18th and 19th centuries that challenged the ideas of the Enlightenment, which emphasized reason, science, and individual rights. Instead, Counter-Enlightenment thinkers prioritized tradition, religion, authority, and emotional or spiritual values. They believed that human reason alone could not understand or improve society and that cultural and moral change should be guided by historical continuity and established institutions. This movement often emerged as a reaction against rapid social change, secularism, and ideas promoting individual autonomy, and it influenced various conservative and nationalist ideologies.