The Enlightenment valued reason above all, they thought the most important instrument for achieving knowledge. For this reason, they stimulated questioning, research and experience as a way of knowing nature, society, politics, economics and the human being.
They were totally against absolutism and its outdated characteristics. They also criticized mercantilism, the privileges of the nobility and clergy, and the Catholic Church and its methods (belief in God was not criticized).
They defended freedom in politics, economics, and religious choice. They also wanted the equality of all before the law.