• Dr. Wesker@lemmy.sdf.org
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    10 months ago

    Define enlightened. I think people might be more informed in certain cases, but not more enlightened.

    • Daft_ish@lemmy.worldOP
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      10 months ago

      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.

        • The Dark Lord ☑️@lemmy.ca
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          10 months ago

          I disagree. We’ve 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 we’re 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 we’ve become more enlightened.

            • The Dark Lord ☑️@lemmy.ca
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              10 months ago

              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 wasn’t 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, you’re looking at a country of 350k 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, we’ve advanced much further than we’ve been in the past.