The requirements of the times against feudalism and autocracy. 17 and 18 centuries, the bourgeoisie in western Europe developed and grew, with strong economic strength, but the dying feudal autocracy was a huge obstacle to their further development. Britain completed the bourgeois revolution and the king's power began to be restricted. This change has aroused widespread concern in European countries. In order to overthrow the feudal "old system", the bourgeoisie must create public opinion. It was under this requirement that the Enlightenment came into being. In the17th and18th centuries, natural science developed by leaps and bounds, which provided a sharp weapon for enlightenment thought, because enlightenment thinkers sought theoretical basis and thinking methods from emerging natural science in many ways. For example, Descartes thought that the only way to know the world and acquire knowledge was mathematical reasoning, while Bacon put forward induction from the special to the general and from the concrete to the abstract. Their views broke the shackles of medieval scholasticism that bound people's thoughts, and advocated scientific experiments and the study of objective things in nature. Newton's three laws and the law of universal gravitation are the greatest discoveries under the influence of this trend, which suddenly unveiled the veil of the universe and exposed its secrets in broad daylight. Newton discovered a basic law of the universe, which governs both the whole universe and the smallest objects. In this way, nature becomes a huge mechanical device that operates according to the laws of nature. This kind of mechanical device can be known by observation, experiment, measurement and calculation. By analogy, the laws of human society can also be discovered by human reason. Inspired by Newton, enlightenment thinkers tried to discover the eternal laws governing personnel and society. By the first half of the18th century, natural science research had made more remarkable achievements in physics, botany, geography and other fields, which made people realize that human beings can conquer nature and human society is constantly advancing. Enlightenment thinkers believe that progress comes from this. It was under the growing development of capitalism in 17 and 18 centuries that the Enlightenment came into being on the basis of the development of natural science. The Enlightenment rose in Britain in the17th century and reached its climax in France in the18th century. "Enlightenment" means light and wisdom in French. Enlightenment thinkers believe that the past era was a dark age of superstition and ignorance under the rule of Catholic churches and secular feudal lords, and the Enlightenment was to enter an era of wisdom and light from darkness. They call for the sunshine of reason and dispel the darkness of reality. In the final analysis, it is the bourgeoisie that demands democracy, freedom and equality. They turned rationalism into an anti-feudal banner and advocated rationality as the only criterion to measure all existing things. Anything that goes against reason should be overthrown. It calls for rational sunshine to dispel the darkness of reality, criticizes religious power and absolutism, thus realizing the bourgeois demand to eliminate autocratic kingship, aristocratic privilege and hierarchy, and realizing the pursuit of political democracy, equal rights and individual freedom. Voltaire (1694- 1778): French enlightenment thinker, writer and philosopher. Voltaire was the standard-bearer of the French bourgeois enlightenment in the18th century, and was known as "the king of ideas", "the best poet in France" and "the conscience of Europe". /kloc-In the 8th century, Voltaire became the standard-bearer of the Enlightenment. His name is still the object of worship of all people in the world who are unwilling to fight, resist violence and defend democracy and freedom. In addition, there are enlightenment thinkers such as Montesquieu, Rousseau and Kant. 14-17th century, with the slow development of capitalism, people are playing an increasingly prominent role in capitalist industrial and commercial activities, and their values are being fully displayed. Under this historical background, the emerging European bourgeoisie launched a movement called the cultural revival of ancient Greece and Rome, in fact, in order to carry forward the bourgeois ideology and culture, which is the so-called Renaissance. This movement expanded from Italy to other European countries and regions, from the field of literature and art to the field of modern natural science. It was the first ideological emancipation trend in Europe, which provided a theoretical basis and social premise for the religious reform and bourgeois revolution, and had a great impact on the whole human society and historical changes. 17 ~ 18 century, handicraft workshops in western Europe developed extensively, and the strength of the bourgeoisie continued to grow. The idea of pursuing secular happiness by opposing Catholic theology in the Renaissance can no longer meet the requirements of the times. Therefore, during the Renaissance, on the basis of observing problems with "human nature" as the center, there appeared new ideas and new viewpoints that advanced to thinking and judging world things according to human's "rationality". This is the second ideological emancipation trend in Europe after the Renaissance-the Enlightenment. This movement adapts to the needs of the developing bourgeoisie, and it is a movement to drive away ignorance and superstition and promote social progress. Therefore, after its rise in western Europe, it soon spread to most European countries, and even had a great impact on the bourgeois struggle against feudal autocracy in all countries of the world. The birthplace of the Enlightenment is Britain, where capitalism is the most developed. However, the real development of the Enlightenment was in France. French enlightenment thinkers further improved the enlightenment thought, contributed to the formation of the Enlightenment, promoted the ideological emancipation movement in Europe and America, and had a great influence on the whole world. It strongly impacted the feudal autocracy and its spiritual pillar, the Catholic Church, and made ideological and theoretical preparations for the bourgeois revolution, thus having a far-reaching impact on modern world history. Although the Enlightenment did not go beyond the category of capitalist private ownership, as a great ideological emancipation movement in human history, it had a far-reaching and extensive influence. This movement is the continuation and development of the anti-feudal and anti-church struggle in the Renaissance. It not only inherited the humanists' ideals and demanded the liberation of individuality from the shackles of the church, but also led the struggle against all superstructures in feudal society farther than humanists, with the aim of overthrowing the whole feudal architecture and establishing a bourgeois government. Therefore, this ideological movement is actually a fierce political reform movement. Both the Renaissance and the Enlightenment were European bourgeois ideological liberation movements, which had a great influence on the changes of human social history. They are inextricably linked, but they are also very different. (1) In terms of time, the Renaissance took place in the embryonic period of capitalism in14-17th century, and the Enlightenment took place in the period of further development of capitalist economy in17-18th century. ② Region and Center: The Renaissance first started in Italy and then spread to Europe. The Enlightenment first appeared in Britain and then developed to the European continent. The center of the former is in Italy, and the center of the latter is in France. (3) Ideological proposition: The Renaissance mainly pointed the finger at the Catholic Church, publicized bourgeois theory of human nature and humanism, and emphasized human nature; The Enlightenment not only pointed its finger at the Catholic Church, criticizing the Catholic Church's clerical doctrine, but also comprehensively pointed to the feudal system, criticized absolutism and hierarchy, put forward the theory of "natural human rights" and emphasized rationality. Therefore, the anti-feudal ideas of enlightenment thinkers are more systematic and comprehensive than those of humanists. ④ Influence: The Renaissance liberated people and humanity from religious bondage, which had a direct impact on the later Enlightenment and promoted people's ideological emancipation and the development of scientific and cultural undertakings; The Enlightenment strongly impacted the feudal autocracy and its spiritual pillar, the Catholic Church, and made ideological and theoretical preparations for the bourgeois revolution in Europe and America in the18th century. The Renaissance took place when capitalism was just emerging, and the bourgeoisie was still relatively weak. The Enlightenment took place when the bourgeois forces began to grow, people's minds were initially liberated, and the bourgeois anti-feudal struggle became more intense.