Was the Enlightenment named afterwards or did people living in that era actually believe they were being "enlightened"?

by wumao

Was the Enlightenment named afterwards or did people living in that era actually believe they were being "enlightened"?

bootsybootsy

The phrase 'Enlightenment' was certainly something which was referred to at the time. It was a hotly debated topic in academic circles. Immanuel Kant wrote probably the most famous definition: [Enlightenment as "man's emergence from self-incurred immaturity"] (https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/documents/What_is_Enlightenment.pdf).