What is The Enlightenment as discussed in the book, Age of Anger?

The Enlightenment, which took place during the eighteenth century, originated in France, and was characterized by the blossoming of intellectual freedom and expression. Notable intellectuals of the era included Voltaire and Rousseau, and the period saw old values and social mores erased by the intellectuals' espousal of rational thought, liberty, modernization, and science. Another key trend emerging from the Enlightenment period was the diminishing role of religion in intellectual development and theory. Instead, man was said to be in control of his own destiny, which could be changed by the development of the arts and sciences.