Orang Barat mempunyai pandangan yang berbeza-beza mengenai sejarah pemikiran mereka, iaitu peringkat-peringkat kemunculan tamadun mereka dan budaya moden mereka, yang digambarkan sebagai ‘Pencerahan’ dan ‘Modenisme.’ Sebahagian daripada orang Barat membahagikan sejarah kepada tiga zaman: Zaman Purba, Zaman Pertengahan dan Zaman Moden. Pembahagian yang menyeluruh ini adalah yang paling dominan. Yang lain, seperti Morris Bishop dalam bukunya, The Middle Ages, menegaskan bahawa Zaman Pertengahan bermula dengan Kejatuhan Rom, dengan membahagikan zaman tersebut kepada Zaman Gelap dan Zaman Pertengahan Tinggi. Bishop menganggap “29 Mei 1453,” hari ketika Constantinople dibuka, sebagai salah satu “tarikh engsel” dalam sejarah Barat, “untuk menandakan berakhirnya Zaman Pertengahan dan bermulanya zaman moden.” Menjelang berakhirnya Zaman Pertengahan atau tempoh abad pertengahan, zaman kebangkitan semula, reformasi dan akal pun bermula, sebagaimana yang ditegaskan oleh Herbert Albert Laurens Fisher dalam karyanya tiga jilid, A History of Europe. H. A. L. Fisher menekankan bahawa tidaklah mudah bagi penyelidik untuk menentukan sempadan dalam sejarah antara Zaman Pertengahan dan Zaman Moden. Di kalangan orang Barat, terdapat mereka yang menghuraikan peringkat-peringkat yang dilalui oleh pemikiran Barat, seperti Will Durant dalam The Story of Civilization, dan Roland N. Stromberg dalam bukunya, European Intellectual History since 1789, yang mana Stromberg membahagikan peringkat-peringkat tersebut kepada Zaman Pertengahan, zaman Renaissance, zaman Reformasi dan zaman Barok. Menurut Stromberg, falsafah zaman Barok ialah falsafah era pasca-Renaissance, atau dari sudut pandangan lain, ia merupakan era pasca-gerakan Reformasi agama, bermula kira-kira pada tahun 1570 M dan berterusan melepasi tahun 1650 M. Stromberg kemudian menonjolkan abad ketujuh belas sebagai zaman penaakulan, “Dilanda krisis dahsyat Reformasi, Eropah bangkit dengan kebangkitan semula saintifik dan intelektual pada abad ketujuh belas.” Stromberg memetik Galileo, Newton, Descartes, Spinoza, Hobbes, Locke dan Leibniz untuk menegaskan bahawa abad ke-17 Masihi ialah zaman penaakulan. Kemudian Stromberg menyatakan kekagumannya terhadap "bab yang luar biasa dalam sejarah intelektual, iaitu Pencerahan abad ke-18", sebelum beralih membincangkan sifat ideologi abad ke-19 Masihi.

Westerners have varying views regarding the history of their thought i.e. stages of the emergence of their civilization and their modern culture, described as ‘Enlightenment’ and ‘Modernism.’ Some of the Westerners categorized history into three ages: Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Modern Age. This comprehensive categorization is predominant. Others, like Morris Bishop in his book, The Middle Ages, assert that the Middle Ages began with the Fall of Rome, categorizing the ages into the Dark Ages and High Middle Ages. Bishop considered “the 29th of May 1453,” the day that Constantinople was opened, as one of the “hinge-dates” of Western history, “to mark the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of modern times.” By the end of Middle Ages or the medieval period, the age of renaissance, reformation and reason began, as asserted by Herbert Albert Laurens Fisher in his three-volume, A History of Europe. H. A. L. Fisher emphasized that it is not straightforward for the researcher to determine the delineation in history between the Middle and Modern Ages. Amongst the Westerners, there are those who elaborate upon the stages that Western thought passed through, such as Will Durant in his The Story of Civilization, and Roland N. Stromberg in his book, European Intellectual History since 1789, in which Stromberg divided the stages into the Middle Ages, the renaissance period, the reformation period and the Baroque period. According to Stromberg, the philosophy of the Baroque period is that of the post-renaissance era, or from another perspective, it is the era of the post­ religious reformation movement, beginning in approximately on the year 1570 CE and continued beyond 1650 CE. Stromberg then highlights the seventeenth century as an age of reasoning, “Battered by the terrific crisis of the Reformation, Europe came up with the scientific and intellectual renaissance of the seventeenth century.” Stromberg cites Galileo, Newton, Descartes, Spinoza, Hobbes, Locke and Leibniz to assert that the seventeenth century CE was the age of reasoning. Stromberg enthuses then of “that extraordinary chapter of intellectual history, the eighteenth century Enlightenment,” before speaking of the ideological character of the nineteenth century CE.

Zaman Pencerahan (Perancis: Siècle des Lumières) ialah istilah yang digunakan untuk menyatakan falsafah yang berleluasa di Eropah pada abad kelapan belas Masihi, dari tahun 1715 hingga 1789 Masihi, khususnya di Perancis, England dan Jerman. Oleh itu, ahli sejarah Perancis Pierre Chaunu, pengarang La civilisation de l'Europe des Lumières (Perancis: La civilisation de l'Europe des Lumières), bercakap tentang pencerahan Eropah, dalam tiga bahasa, disusun mengikut kepentingannya sebagai Perancis, Inggeris dan Jerman. Kamus Sosiologi Cambridge karya Bryan S. Turner menyatakan mengenai Pencerahan bahawa "Dalam tradisi Barat, Pencerahan (eclaircissement, aufklärung) merujuk kepada proses menjadi rasional dalam pemikiran dan tindakan. Ia boleh berlaku pada peringkat individu atau seluruh masyarakat. Sama ada begitu, akal digambarkan sebagai cahaya yang menerangi pemahaman dan menghalau kegelapan kejahilan dan khurafat."

The Age of Enlightenment (French: Siecle des Lumieres) is the terminology used to express the philosophy that prevailed in Europe in the eighteenth century CE, from 1715 to 1789 CE, specifically in France, English and Germany. Thus, the French historian Pierre Chaunu, author of The Civilization of Europe of Enlightenment (French: La civilisation de I'Europe des Lumieres) spoke of the enlightenment of Europe, in three languages, ordered by significance as French, English and German. Bryan S. Turner’s The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology states regarding Enlightenment that “In the western tradition, Enlightenment (eclaircissement, aufklarung) refers to the process of becoming rational in thought and action. It can be individual or society-wide. Either way, reason is figured as a light that illuminates the understanding and dispels the darkness of ignorance and superstition.”.

Roland N. Stromberg menggambarkan perdebatan sengit semasa Zaman Pencerahan dalam buku European Intellectual History Since 1789, dengan merujuk kepada mereka yang menganut "antiklerikalisme deistik", serta menggambarkan pandangan William James sebagai: "pelbagai mitos atau konsepsi yang menjadi wadah objektif bagi agama-agama bukanlah perkara asas; ia hanyalah kulit luar agama. Yang asas ialah naluri untuk percaya, keperluan jiwa manusia untuk mengekspresikan dirinya."

Roland N. Stromberg depicts the intense debate during the Enlightenment, European Intellectual History Since 1789, referring to those who adopted “deistic anticlericalism” as well as describing William James’ viewpoint as “the various myths or conceptualizations in which religions are objectively embodied are not fundamental; they are the mere husks of religion. What is basic is the instinct to believe, the need for the human spirit to express itself.”.

Gunnar Skirbekk dan Nils Gilje menulis dalam buku mereka, A History of Western Thought from Ancient Greece to the Twentieth Century, “Zaman Pencerahan dengan demikian ditandai oleh optimisme progresif dalam kalangan kelas menengah yang sedang berkembang: keyakinan yang baru bangkit terhadap akal dan terhadap manusia. Terdapat suatu Messianisme yang disekularkan, di mana akal menggantikan Injil. Dengan bantuan akal, manusia kini akan menyingkap hakikat terdalam realitas dan mencapai kemajuan material. Manusia secara berangsur-angsur akan menjadi autonom, meninggalkan otoritas yang tidak berdasar dan perwalian teologis. Pemikiran dibebaskan kerana manusia merasa dirinya memerintah sendiri dan bebas daripada wahyu dan tradisi. Ateisme menjadi tren.”.

Gunnar Skirbekk and Nils Gilje wrote in their book, A History of Western Thought from Ancient Greece to the Twentieth Century, “The period of the Enlightenment was thus marked by progressive optimism within the expanding middle class: a newly awakened confidence in reason and in man. There was a secularized Messianism, in which reason supplanted the Gospel. By the aid of reason, man would now uncover the innermost essence of reality and achieve material progress. Man would gradually become autonomous, dispensing with groundless authority and theological tutelage. Thought was liberated because man felt himself to be self-governed and independent of revelation and tradition. Atheism became fashionable.”.

Konsep Pencerahan dalam pemikiran Barat berkait rapat dengan konsep modenisme. Ada pihak yang menganggap Pencerahan sebagai pendahulu kepada modenisme. Ada pihak yang menganggap kedua-duanya sinonim. Ada pihak yang berpandangan bahawa Pencerahan muncul daripada modenisme. Ada pihak yang mengatakan istilah Pencerahan ialah gambaran bagi satu pemikiran yang menerangi kegelapan Barat dengan cahaya akal dan ilmu. Adapun modenisme ialah gambaran bagi pemikiran yang memperkenalkan kekinian dalam ilmu dan kaedahnya, sebagai satu peralihan daripada zaman purba.

The concept of Enlightenment in the Western thought is interconnected to the concept of modernity. There are those who consider Enlightenment a precursor to modernity. There are those who consider both to be synonymous. There are those who view that enlightenment emerged from modernity. There are those who say the term enlightenment is a description of a thought that enlightened the darkness of the West, with the light of reason and knowledge. As for modernity, it is the description of the thought that introduced contemporariness in its knowledge and methods, in a break from antiquity.

Tanpa mengira pelbagai teori, asas dan batu penjuru modenisme ialah penghapusan agama, peminggiran atau pemisahannya daripada kehidupan, sebagaimana yang tergambar dalam pendirian ahli falsafah Jerman Martin Heidegger, dan ini selaras dengan Pencerahan. Ini juga menunjukkan bahawa modenisme dan Pencerahan adalah gambaran bagi fenomena yang sama. Ahli sosiologi Perancis Alain Touraine berkata dalam Critique of Modernity (Perancis: Critique de la modernite), “Idea modenisme menjadikan sains, bukannya Tuhan, sebagai pusat kepada masyarakat, dan paling baik hanya menempatkan kepercayaan agama di ruang dalaman kehidupan. Ini di satu pihak; di pihak yang lain, sekadar kehadiran aplikasi teknologi sains tidak membolehkan kita menyebut sesebuah masyarakat sebagai moden. Aktiviti intelektual juga mesti dilindungi daripada kedua-dua propaganda politik dan kepercayaan agama... oleh itu, idea modenisme dikaitkan rapat dengan idea rasionalisasi.”.

Irrespective of the various theories, the foundation and cornerstone of modernity is religion’s abolition, sidelining or separation from life, exemplified in the stance of the German philosopher Martin Heidegger, and it is in accordance with Enlightenment. This also indicates that both modernity and Enlightenment are a description of the same phenomenon. The French sociologist Alain Touraine says in his Critique of Modernity (French: Critique de la modernite) that, “The idea of modernity makes science, rather than God, central to society, and at best relegates religious beliefs to the inner realm of life. This is on one side and on the other side, the mere presence of technological applications of science does not allow us to speak of a modern society. Intellectual activity must also be protected from both political propaganda and religious beliefs... the idea of modernity is therefore closely associated with that of rationalization.”.

Di sini timbul persoalan: mengapa sejarah pemikiran Barat, yang digambarkan sebagai Pencerahan dan modenisme, berkisar pada tema penolakan, pemisahan, peminggiran dan pemutusan agama?

Here the question arises: Why does the history of Western thought, that is described as Enlightenment and modernity, revolve around the subject of rejecting, separating, sidelining and detaching religion?

Jawapan ini memerlukan kita merujuk kepada tempoh sejarah Barat yang dipanggil Zaman Pertengahan, yang berbeza daripada era moden. Bertrand Russell menyatakan dalam bukunya, A History of Western Philosophy, bahawa "Tempoh sejarah yang biasanya dipanggil 'moden' mempunyai pandangan minda yang berbeza daripada tempoh zaman pertengahan dalam banyak cara. Daripada semua itu, dua yang paling penting ialah: kuasa Gereja yang semakin berkurang, dan kuasa sains yang semakin bertambah." Eropah pada Zaman Pertengahan ialah sebuah Eropah di mana Gereja memegang kedaulatan mutlak dan kuasa tunggal, menguasai kehidupan, manusia, masyarakat dan negara. Morris Bishop menyatakan dalam bukunya, The Middle Ages, bahawa "Gereja, secara ringkasnya, lebih daripada sekadar penaung budaya zaman pertengahan; ia ialah budaya zaman pertengahan itu sendiri." Bishop juga menyatakan, "Gereja dan ajarannya meresapi seluruh kehidupan manusia. Seseorang tidak dapat membuat sebarang tawar-menawar, memotong jari, atau kehilangan alat pertanian tanpa memohon restu dari langit."

The answer necessitates our referring to the time period of Western history called the Middle Ages, distinct from the era of modernity. Bertrand Russell stated his book, A History of Western Philosophy, that “The period of history which is commonly called “modern” has a mental outlook which differs from that of the medieval period in many ways. Of these, two are the most important: the diminishing authority of the Church, and the increasing authority of science.” Europe during the Middle Ages was a Europe with the Church having absolute sovereignty and sole authority, dominating life, man, society and the state. Morris Bishop states in his book, The Middle Ages that “The church was, in sum, more than the patron of medieval culture; it was medieval culture.” Bishop also states, “The church and its teachings pervaded man’s entire life. One could not strike bargain, cut finger, or lose farm tool without invoking celestial favor.”.

Pada Zaman Pertengahan, Gereja memperluas kedaulatan dan hegemoninya ke atas masyarakat atas nama agama, menurut pandangan falsafah skolastik yang terbentuk pada abad ketiga belas, setelah penerimaan pemikiran yang didamaikan antara falsafah Aristotelian dan teologi Kristian. Pemikiran ini dikaitkan dengan sejumlah konsep dan ajaran yang keliru tentang manusia, alam, alam semesta dan kehidupan. Ia diterima dan didakwa sebagai mutlak, manakala kepastian hanya datang daripada pihak berkuasa suci yang tidak boleh silap. Tiada tafsiran, perkembangan atau perubahan yang diterima. Seseorang mesti mempercayainya, tunduk kepadanya dan patuh kepadanya. Gereja biasanya menolak sebarang pandangan atau kata-kata yang bercanggah dengan ajarannya. Ia menolak apa-apa pemikiran yang menjejaskan kredibilitinya. Oleh itu, Gereja menggunakan cara hukuman terhadap mereka yang meninggalkan ajarannya. Ia mengamalkan kaedah pengucilan dan menuduh penghujahan terhadap pendapat yang menyimpang daripada ajaran rasmi dan bidaah. Ia menindas sebarang gerakan intelek atau saintifik yang mencabar tafsirannya dan menyangkal konsepnya.

In the Middle Ages, the Church was extending its sovereignty and hegemony over the society in the name of religion, according to the scholastic philosophical vision that formed in the thirteenth century, upon the adoption of thought reconciled between the philosophy of Aristotelian and Christian theology. This thought was associated with a number of erroneous concepts and teachings about man, nature, universe and life. It was adopted and claimed as absolute, whilst certainties emerged from the holy infallible authority. No interpretation or development or change was accepted. One must believe in it, submit to it and be compliant to it. The Church used to refuse any view or saying that contradicted its teachings. It rejected any thought that undermined its credibility. Thus the Church used means of punishment for those who left its teachings. It adopted the method of excommunication and charging blasphemy against heterodoxy and heresy. It suppressed any intellectual or scientific movement that challenged its interpretations and refuted its concepts.

Demikianlah bermulanya gerakan penganiayaan gerejawi terhadap para pemikir yang mengkritik ajaran dan korupsi yang merajalela. Pada tahun 1415 M, John Huss (lohannes Hus) dari Czech, yang mengkritik korupsi Gereja dan menuduhnya menyimpang daripada prinsip-prinsipnya, dibakar hidup-hidup di tiang pancang. Pada tahun 1498 M, Girolamo Savonarola diseksa, digantung, kemudian dibakar di Itali. Pada tahun 1612, Bartholomew Legate dan Edward Wightman dibakar di England atas tuduhan bid'ah. Georges Minois menyatakan dalam bukunya, Gereja dan Sains: Sejarah Konflik (Perancis: L'Eglise et la science. Histoire d'un malentendu) bahawa "Sejak tahun 1544, Sekolah Teologi Paris telah mengecam Pemerhatian Aristotelian, yang dikarang oleh Pierre de La Ramee, yang mengkritik ahli falsafah Aristotle, dan beliau dilarang mengajar. Pada tahun 1546, Etienne Dolet diseksa. Menjelang akhir abad itu, pendakwaan semakin bertambah. Patrizi telah mengalami beberapa gangguan daripada Holy Office pada tahun 1595. Campanella ditangkap buat pertama kali pada tahun 1594 selepas Inkuisisi (Holy Office) mencuri kertas-kertasnya. Giordano Bruno dihukum mati pada tahun 1600. Pada tahun 1601 diikuti tahun 1602, Universiti Paris ditubuhkan, diikuti oleh parlimen untuk menegaskan semula kuasa doktrin peripatetik. Campanella dijatuhi hukuman penjara seumur hidup pada tahun 1601... Pada tahun 1616, aliran pemikiran Copernicus (Poland: Kopernik) diisytiharkan sebagai aliran pemikiran sesat. Lidah Vanini dipotong dan dia dibakar hidup-hidup, atas keputusan yang dikeluarkan oleh Parlimen Toulouse yang menggambarkannya sebagai ahli nujum, okultis, dan ateis. Pada tahun 1624, tiga pengarang yang menentang Aristotelianisme dihalau dalam tempoh dua puluh empat jam atas permintaan Fakulti Teologi di Paris. Pada tahun 1629, tindakan diambil terhadap beberapa ahli kimia anti-Aristotelian... Holy Office mengecam Galileo dan memaksanya berada di bawah tahanan rumah."

Thus the movement of ecclesiastical persecution began against the thinkers who criticized its teachings and rampant corruption. In the year 1415 CE, the Czech John Huss (lohannes Hus), who criticized the corruption of the Church and accused it of departing from its principles, was burned at the stake. In the year 1498 CE Girolamo Savonarola was tortured, hanged and then burnt in Italy. In the year 1612, Bartholomew Legate and Edward Wightman were burnt in England, due to the accusation of heresy. Georges Minois stated in his book, The Church and Science: History of Conflict (French: L’Eglise et la science. Histoire d’un malentendu) that “Since 1544, The Paris School of Theology had been condemning the Aristotelian Observations, authored by Pierre de La Ramee, who criticized the philosopher Aristotle, and he was prohibited to teach. In the year 1546, The Etienne Dolet was tortured. By the end of the century, the prosecutions were multiplied. Patrizi was subjected to some harassment from the Holy Office in 1595. Campanella was arrested for the first time in 1594 after the Inquisition (the Holy Office) had stolen his papers. Giordano Bruno was executed in 1600. In the year 1601 followed by the year 1602, the University of Paris was established followed by the parliament to reiterate the authority of peripatetic doctrine. Campanella was sentenced with life imprisonment in 1601...In 1616, Copernicus (Polish: Kopernik) school of thought was declared as a heretical school of thought. The tongue of Vanini was cut out and he was burnt alive, upon the verdict passed by the Parliament of Toulouse describing him as an astrologer, occultist, and atheist. In 1624, three authors opposed to Aristotelianism were expelled within twenty-four hours based on the request of the Faculty of Theology in Paris. In 1629, measures were taken against some anti-Aristotelian chemists... The holy office condemned Galileo and forced him to be under house arrest.”.

Namun begitu, satu siri penemuan saintifik telah dijalankan oleh para perintis gerakan saintifik di Barat, seperti Copernicus (m. 1543), Johannes Kepler (m. 1630) dan Galileo Galilei (m. 1642), yang menggoncang kepercayaan terhadap konsep Gereja dan menjejaskan kredibilitinya. Penemuan-penemuan ini memperkukuh kepercayaan terhadap pemikir-pemikir Barat berdasarkan kemampuan dan kejayaan saintifik mereka. Penyelidikan saintifik dan penentangan terhadap Gereja terus berlanjut. Kemunculan setiap penemuan baharu dan setiap pemikiran moden bertindak seperti beliung yang menyumbang kepada kehancuran binaan intelektual Gereja. Dengan itu, Gereja menerima pukulan yang menyakitkan daripada Newton (m. 1757), Linnaeus (m. 1778), Lavoisier (m. 1794), Claude Bernard (m. 1878) dan Darwin (m. 1882), sehingga kekuasaan Gereja beransur-ansur merosot. Gereja tidak lagi perlu diperbaharui, sebagaimana yang jelas dalam gerakan Martin Luther (m. 1546) dan Jean Calvin (m. 1564) yang membawa kepada Perang Tiga Puluh Tahun (1618-1648), yang hasilnya amat membinasakan bagi negara-negara Eropah. Gereja tidak lagi sekadar perlu diperbaharui. Sebaliknya, ia perlu dirobohkan. Perkara ini berakhir dengan penghinaan terhadap seluruh ajaran gerejawi para paderi, dengan menyangkal konsep, ajaran dan persepsi intelektual mereka sepenuhnya.

Nevertheless, a series of scientific discoveries were undertaken by the pioneers of scientific movements in the West, such as Copernicus (d. 1543), Johannes Kepler (d. 1630) and Galileo Galilei (d. 1642), that shook trust in the concept of the Church and undermined its credibility. These strengthened trust in Western thinkers by virtue of their scientific ability and success. The scientific research and the defiance of the Church continued. The emergence of every new discovery and every modern thought acted as a pickaxe that contributed to the destruction of the Church’s intellectual edifice. Thus there were painful blows to the Church from Newton (d. 1757), Lisnnaeus (d. 1778), Lavoisier (d 1794), Claude Bernard (d. 1878), and Darwin (d. 1882), such that the dominance of the church gradually waned. The Church was no longer required to be reformed, as apparent in the movement of Martin Luther (d. 1546) and Jean Calvin (d. 1564) that resulted into the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648), whose result was catastrophic to the European nations. It was no longer required to merely reform the Church. Instead, it was required to demolish it. The matter concluded with the defamation of priestly ecclesiastical teachings in its entirety, refuting its concepts, teachings and intellectual perceptions, absolutely.

Frasa terkenal ahli falsafah Scotland David Hume (m. 1776) dalam bukunya, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, merumuskan pandangan para sarjana tentang Gereja, pengetahuannya dan kaedah-kaedahnya pada abad kelapan belas Masihi, dengan berkata, "Jika kita ambil di tangan kita mana-mana jilid - ilmu ketuhanan atau metafizik sekolah, misalnya - marilah kita tanya, adakah ia mengandungi sebarang penaakulan abstrak tentang kuantiti atau nombor? Tidak. Adakah ia mengandungi sebarang penaakulan berdasarkan pengalaman tentang perkara-perkara fakta dan kewujudan? Tidak. Maka campakkanlah ia ke dalam api, kerana ia tidak boleh mengandungi apa-apa selain daripada sofisme dan khayalan."

The famous phrase of the Scottish philosopher David Hume (d. 1776) in his book, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, summarizes the view of scholars about the Church, its knowledge and methods in the eighteenth century CE, by saying, “If we take in our hand any volume - of divinity or school metaphysics, for instance - let us ask, does it contain any abstract reasoning about quantity or number? No. Does it contain any experiential reasoning about matters of fact and existence? No. Then throw it in the fire, for it can contain nothing but sophistry and illusion.”.

Kejatuhan Gereja disertai dengan runtuhnya ajaran dan konsep-konsepnya tentang alam semesta, manusia, kehidupan dan masyarakat. Ini diiringi dengan keyakinan yang semakin meningkat di Barat terhadap kemampuan akal manusia untuk menyingkap rahsia alam semesta, alam tabii dan manusia. Dengan itu, akal di Barat secara beransur-ansur mula menggantikan gereja yang "ilahi" serta teologinya. Rasionalisme muncul untuk menerangkan fenomena kosmos, manakala parameter masyarakat dianalisis mengikut pandangan rasional, bebas daripada segala sekatan paderi atau agama. Will Durant menyatakan dalam bukunya, The Story of Civilization Volume 7, bahawa "Sains kini mula membebaskan dirinya daripada plasenta ibunya, iaitu falsafah. Ia menanggalkan Aristotle dari belakangnya, memalingkan wajahnya daripada metafizik kepada Alam, membangunkan kaedah-kaedahnya yang tersendiri, dan berusaha memperbaiki kehidupan manusia di bumi. Gerakan ini tergolong dalam jantung Zaman Akal, tetapi ia tidak meletakkan kepercayaannya pada "akal semata-mata" - akal yang bebas daripada pengalaman dan eksperimen. Terlalu sering penalaran sedemikian telah menenun jaringan mitos."

The fall of the Church accompanied its teachings and concepts about universe, man, life and society. This was accompanied by a growing confidence in the West about the abilities of the human mind to reveal the secrets of the universe, nature and man. Thus, reason in the West began replacing the “divine” church and its theology, gradually. Rationalism emerged to explain the cosmic phenomena, whilst societal parameters were analyzed according to rational views, free from all priestly or religious restrictions. Will Durant expressed in his book, The Story of Civilization Volume 7 that “Science now began to liberate itself from the placenta of its mother, philosophy. It shrugged Aristotle from its back, turned its face from metaphysics to Nature, developed its own distinctive methods, and looked to improve the life of man on the earth. This movement belonged to the heart of the Age of Reason, but it did not put its faith in “pure reason”- reason independent of experience and experiment. Too often such reasoning had woven mythical webs.”.

Maka pemikiran-pemikiran baharu tentang manusia, penalaran, ilmu pengetahuan, masyarakat, politik, ekonomi, negara, pemerintahan dan kaedah-kaedah pun menjadi menonjol. Pandangan Francis Bacon (m. 1626), Rene Descartes (m. 1650), Blaise Pascal (m. 1662), Baruch Spinoza (m. 1677), Thomas Hobbes (m. 1679), John Locke (m. 1704), Montesquieu (m. 1755), Voltaire (1778), dan Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1778), Adam Smith (m. 1790), Immanuel Kant (m. 1804), Jeremy Bentham (m. 1832), John Stuart Mill (m. 1873) dan lain-lain menyumbang kepada peletakan asas pemikiran Barat moden.

Thus the new thoughts about humankind, reasoning, knowledge, society, politics, economy, state, ruling and canons became prominent. The views of Francis Bacon (d. 1626), Rene Descartes (d. 1650), Blaise Pascal (d. 1662), Baruch Spinoza (d. 1677), Thomas Hobbes (d. 1679), John Locke (d. 1704), Montesquieu (d. 1755), Voltaire (1778), and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1778), Adam Smith (d. 1790), Immanuel Kant (d. 1804), Jeremy Bentham (d. 1832), John Stuart Mill (d. 1873) and others contributed to laying the foundations of modern Western thought.

Ringkasan ini tentang pembentukan pemikiran Barat moden, sebagaimana diceritakan oleh ahli sejarah Barat. Tanpa mengira ketepatan dalam sejarah pemikiran Barat, dan tanpa mengira usaha membezakan fakta daripada mitos yang dibesar-besarkan untuk menyokong propaganda yang dinamakan "keajaiban Barat", yang melahirkan tamadun Pencerahan dan kemodenan, semua itu tetap menjadikan ia terbaik bagi kita untuk meneliti hakikat pemikiran Barat ini, bagi mengetahui realitinya dan kemudian mendedahkan kerosakannya.

This is the summary of the formation of modern Western thought, as narrated by the Western historians. Regardless of the accuracy in the history of Western thought, distinguishing facts from exaggerated myth serving the propaganda of the so-called Western miracle, that produced the civilization of Enlightenment and modernity, regardless of all of that, it is best for us to examine at the nature of this Western thought, to know its reality and then expose its corruption.