Answer: The Enlightenment was a period of scientific and intellectual innovation and of artistic innovation in Europe (the western world). The Enlightenment was a period of scientific and intellectual innovation and of artistic innovation. It instilled an interest in the process of inquiry and analysis in the people of the era as they looked in different areas for the answers to life's questions. People began to challenge traditional attitudes. The philosophes believed in progress through education. They also believed in speaking out strongly for individual rights.