Editing Sociology of knowledge (section)

=== The Enlightenment ===
Peter Hamilton argues that the thinkers of [[The Englightenment|the Enlightenment]] produced a sociology of ideas and values when they turned their attention to the scientific analysis of society.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Hamilton |first=Peter |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/891399700 |title=Knowledge and social structure : an introduction to the classical argument in the sociology of knowledge |date=2015 |isbn=978-1-315-75804-6 |location=Oxfordshire, England |oclc=891399700}}</ref>{{Rp|page=1}} He argues that specific values inherent in [[critical rationalism]], such as [[anthropocentrism]] (i.e., the assumption that humans are the most crucial element in understanding reality), were central to these thinkers' understanding of society. Hamilton argues that these thinkers were committed to progress and the freedom of the individual to determine his own beliefs and values, which are at odds with traditional moral considerations in [[theology]]. The empirical method of [[cross-cultural comparison]] became a methodology for understanding society rather than the idea of [[revealed truth]] inherent in sociology, leading to a measure of [[cultural relativism]].<ref name=":0" />

He argues that some thinkers sought to change society based on their theories. These ideas play out in the [[French Revolution]] with its [[Reign of Terror]].<ref name=":0" /> Hamilton argues that the Enlightenment can be seen as a critical response to the Christian theology used by [[Jacobins (religious order)|the Jacobins]], which manipulated people's understanding of truth to maintain a feudal order.<ref name=":0" />