What was the significance of the enlightenment on correctional thinking?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The Enlightenment period, lasting roughly from the 17th through the 18th century in England, Europe, and America, spelled major changes in thought about crime and corrections. But then, it was a time of paradigmatic shifts in many aspects of the Western experience as societies became more secular and open. Becoming a more secular culture meant that there was more focus on humans on earth, rather than in the afterlife, and, as a consequence, the arts, sciences, and philosophy flourished. In such periods of human history, creativity manifests itself in innovations in all areas of experience; the orthodoxy in thought and practice is often challenged and sometimes overthrown in favor of new ideas and even radical ways of doing things (Davis, 2008). Additionally, the writings of John?Locke (1632–1704) and his conception of liberty and?human rights provided the philosophical underpinnings for the Declaration of Independence as penned?by Thomas Jefferson. As a result of the Enlightenment,?the French Revolution beginning in 1789 was also?about rejecting one form of government—the?absolute monarchy—for something that was to be?more democratic and liberty based. Those who experienced the Enlightenment period, much like reformers and activists of the Progressive (1880s to the 1920s) and Civil Rights (1960s and 1970s) Eras?in the United States that were to follow centuries?later, experienced a paradigm shift regarding crime?and justice. Suddenly, as if magic spores had fundamentally reshaped thought and suffused it with?kind regard, if not love for others, humans seemed?to realize that change in crime policy and practice?was called for, and they set about devising ways to? accomplish it.