Print popularized it the ideas of …

Print popularized the ideas of the enlightenment thinkers in the following ways:

1. Collectively the writings of thinkers provided a critical commentary on tradition, superstition, and despotism.
2. Scholars and thinkers argued for the rule of reason rather than custom and demanded that everything should be judged through the application of reason and rationality.
3. They attacked the sacred authority of the church and the despotic power of the state thus eroding the legitimacy of a social order based on tradition.
4. Print created a new culture of dialogue and debate. All values, norms, and institutions were re-evaluated and discussed by a public that had become aware of the power of reason and recognised the need to question existing ideas and beliefs.
5. The writings of Voltaire and Rousseau were read widely and those who read these books saw the world through new eyes, eyes that were questioning critical and rational.