What is Enlightened Reason and why is it important to the future development and progress of human civilization? To answer this, we must first consider the definition of "reason". Most dictionaries define "reason" as a neurological function allowing human beings to make judgments, derive inferences, and form conclusions. By this definition, however, a "reason" for almost anything can be formed if it is based on unsound logic or unproven assumptions. Take, for example, the belief that Earth is flat. Ancient people had reason to believe Earth was flat because they simply assumed it was the case from their every day experience with other flat surfaces, as well as fact that Earth is so large that its curvature was almost imperceptible. But knowledge that Earth was round was not outside of their ability to determine. Ancient Greek philosophers such as Thales, Pythagoras, and Aristotle, used a more enlightened kind of reason based on empirical observations and careful deliberation to deduce that Earth was, in fact, a sphere. In 3rd century BCE, Eratosthenes of Cyrene performed an experiment that determined without a shadow of a doubt that Earth was spherical, and was furthermore able to calculate its size with remarkable accuracy.

One may also employ reason to justify even the most absurd and illogical statements. There are countless examples of these logical fallacies, both throughout history as well as in modern times. Consider the statement that "ghosts are real because we have thousands of years of eye-witness accounts, and they all cannot be wrong"--while one could use this as a reason to justify a belief in ghosts, it ignores the fact that the vast majority of people do not see ghosts at all.

Statistics can also be (and often are) abused in ways that lead to illogical reasoning--for example, a statistic matching death rates to particular types of buildings might lead to a conclusion that "the majority of people die in hospitals, therefore, hospitals are dangerous." Even the most intelligent human beings can unwittingly fall pray to logical fallacies, and it is of the utmost necessity to learn to identify these fallacies to prevent this kind of "false reasoning".

And what can we say about the term "enlightenment"? In Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, and other Eastern religions, enlightenment is the awakening to a higher state of consciousness, often aided by deep meditation, strict moral practices, and a focus on the heath of mind and body.

The Age of Enlightenment was a momentous period in Western history during the 18th century when the values of reason, human equality, natural rights, scientific advancement, and democracy began to overcome the old paradigms of superstition, religious oppression, and the divine right of kings.

Enlightenment can also mean "intellectual liberation", or a liberated consciousness, and is defined in this way by Immanuel Kant: "Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-imposed immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to use one's understanding without guidance from another. This immaturity is self-imposed when its cause lies not in lack of understanding, but in lack of resolve and courage to use it without guidance from another."Have courage to use your own understanding!"--that is the motto of enlightenment."

The root of enlightenment means to "make clear by light" or "to become illuminated", which in a sense applies to all these definitions of enlightenment. Combining this with "reason", we find the definition of Enlightened Reason to be "the quality of rational judgment enabled by a clarity of perception and cognition".

In short, Enlightened Reason is the practice of clear thinking and sound judgment unimpeded by dogmatic beliefs and quaint superstitions. Enlightened Reason can be viewed as a more wakeful state of consciousness, much as in the Buddhist understanding, that allows us to remain mindfully aware of the objective reality we inhabit. Enlightened Reason also embraces the inalienable ideals and movements that began in the 18th century and continue to this day--ideals such as freedom and democracy, human rights and equality, the progress of science, and ethics based on these values rather than religiously imposed morality.

Finally, Enlightened Reason is an intellectual liberation from our own immaturity and ignorance imposed by blind obedience and faith to supposedly infallible authorities.

For more on information, please EnlightenedReason.org.