The overarching theme of the Enlightenment period was reason and the pursuit of knowledge, emphasizing rational thought, scientific inquiry, and individual rights. This intellectual movement emerged in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries and criticized traditional authority, especially in politics and religion. Enlightenment thinkers, known as philosophes, such as John Locke, Voltaire, and Immanuel Kant, championed ideas like liberty, equality, and the social contract. Their ideas inspired revolutions, including the American and French Revolutions, and laid the groundwork for modern democratic principles and human rights discourse.