The cultural significance of the ***Age of Enlightenment*** in Europe was marked by a profound shift toward reason, science, and individual rights. Spanning the 17th to 18th centuries, this intellectual movement challenged traditional authority and promoted human rationality as a means for social progress. Thinkers like Voltaire and Rousseau emphasized freedom of thought, the value of education, and the social contract, influencing political revolutions, such as the American and French Revolutions. The Enlightenment laid the groundwork for modern democracy, human rights, and the secularization of society, profoundly shaping Western thought and cultural heritage.