The Age of Enlightenment, known also as the Age of Reason, was a philosophical movement started and representative of the 18th century, in Western Europe. The main principles of the movement were individual liberty, tolerance and ending the church and state abuses. Science played a major role in the development of the Enlightenment period. Most of the thinkers and writers of the era came from scientific backgrounds. It favored rational thought above anything else and scientific progress was associated with the replacement of the old religious and traditional authority.