The enlightenment was seen as one of the greatest movements in history. It was the period that supposedly moved European culture forward. The push that led to learning and development; eventual widespread industrialisation.Of course forward is a relative thing. Sometimes staying put is a better thing to do. Or if you move too far forward, too fast, then you have to go back, which can be tricky. Some would say that we are now in that position. We’ve gone too far too fast with the progress model and now face resource depletion, climate change and growing inequalities. As the global population spirals up and up there are going to be geopolitical and food crises. Not to mention acceleration in the loss of habitat and mass extinctions that are already unfolding around us.
With all these problems maybe now is a time to question the model we have hung on to for centuries. Is it the right period in history to ask whether the earlier Europeans actually got it wrong and the enlightenment has pushed us to the brink of our own destruction? Is it time to consider going back? Is it time for Benightedness?