What era marked the birth of profound thoughts about politics, science, and philosophy?
The Enlightenment, an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries, is your answer here. Think of it as a period where reason and individualism were really championed. Before this time, tradition and religious dogma often dictated how people thought about the world. But during the Enlightenment, thinkers started questioning everything, applying reason and logic to understand politics, science, and philosophy in new ways. Figures like Isaac Newton, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau were central to this shift. They developed ideas about natural rights, separation of powers, and the scientific method, which had a huge impact on the development of modern democracies and scientific thinking. The other options are important historical events, but they don't represent the broad intellectual shift that defines the birth of profound thoughts in these areas. The Glorious Revolution was a political event, the Swinging Sixties a cultural one, and the Reformation a religious movement. Only the Enlightenment directly fostered new ways of thinking about politics, science, and philosophy itself.
Picture a spotlight of 'enlightenment' shining on a dark terrain of ignorance, bringing light to new ideas.