What is the Enlightenment primarily known for promoting?

The Enlightenment is primarily known for its promotion of reason, rights, and limited government. This intellectual movement, which flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries, emphasized the importance of rational thought and empirical evidence over superstition and tradition. Philosophers and thinkers of the Enlightenment advocated for concepts such as individual rights, personal liberty, and the idea that governments should have limited powers, deriving their authority from the consent of the governed.

Key figures like John Locke championed the notion of natural rights—life, liberty, and property—which laid the foundation for modern democratic thought and movements for political reform. The Enlightenment led to challenging the traditional authority of the monarchy and the church, thereby setting the stage for revolutionary developments, including the American and French Revolutions.

In contrast, the other options reflect ideas that are at odds with Enlightenment principles. The emphasis on tradition and religious dogma would not align with the Enlightenment's focus on reason, and absolute monarchy contradicts the call for limited government and individual rights. While global exploration and colonization occurred during this time, they were not the primary focus of Enlightenment thinkers, who concentrated more on philosophical and political ideas than on geographic expansion.