--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As Enlightenment philosophers and…" description: "\"As Enlightenment philosophers and scholars consciously adopted the methods of science to establish such abstract concepts as rights, liberty, and justi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/514/michael-shermer-2567_abstract_as-enlightenment-philosophers-and-schola_695661.jpg" --- # As Enlightenment philosophers and scholars consciously… ![“As Enlightenment philosophers and scholars consciously adopted the methods of science to establish such abstract concepts as rights, liberty, and justice, successive generations have become schooled in thinking of these abstractions as applied to others in matrices-like mental rotations.” quote by Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/514/michael-shermer-2567_abstract_as-enlightenment-philosophers-and-schola_695661.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/514/michael-shermer-2567_abstract_as-enlightenment-philosophers-and-schola_695661.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/514/michael-shermer-2567_abstract_as-enlightenment-philosophers-and-schola_695661.jpg) > “As Enlightenment philosophers and scholars consciously adopted the methods of science to establish such abstract concepts as rights, liberty, and justice, successive generations have become schooled in thinking of these abstractions as applied to others in matrices-like mental rotations.” [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Philosophers turned abstract ideals into scientific concepts, leading people to mentally rotate these ideas when applying them to others. **In simple terms:** Abstract rights become mental models applied to people. Key Takeaway Recognize how we frame rights abstractly. Themes philosophy psychology rights Mood analytical thoughtful Type explanatory critical When to use this quote - legal debates - education - policy making Key Concepts abstract reasoning mental modeling ethical frameworks Questions to Reflect On - How does abstract thinking affect real policies? - Can we make rights more concrete? A Different Perspective Risk of oversimplifying complex issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/) [Enlightenment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightenment/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Liberty and justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty-and-justice/) [Philosopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosopher/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Scholar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholar/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“that held no tradition too sacred to question. Jesus was the first of the Enlightenment philosophers. 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