Discourses concerning human understanding and civilization in Philosophy of the enlightenment in Portugal

Abstract

In the philosophical debate developed in the Portuguese public sphere there was an interpretation crisis with clear consequences in the anthropological, moral and religious fields. The changes introduced in the self-representation of the men of letters contributed to the recognition of the importance of public education in society, and the idea that Arts and Sciences play a major role in the progress of a people became widespread. The cultural reformism of that century was influenced by the conceptual binomial education / civilization.