A History of Western Society: Printed Page 524

A History of Western Society, Value Edition: Printed Page 507

A History of Western Society, Concise Edition: Printed Page 526

The Social Life of the Enlightenment FOCUS QUESTION How did Enlightenment thinkers address issues of racial and social difference, and how did new institutions and social practices diffuse Enlightenment thought?

The Scientific Revolution and the political and religious conflicts of the late seventeenth century were not the only developments that influenced European thinkers. Europeans’ increased interactions with non-European peoples and cultures also helped produce the Enlightenment spirit.