The Enlightenment

            The public sphere is defined in the Enlightenment reading as, “an arena of discussion and debate not affiliated with the government or any other form of authority. Gatherings were designed to be egalitarian discussions where minds from all social strata could come together and talk equally together about scientific, literary, political and academic topics”.  I feel that the public sphere became an essential part of society during the age of Enlightenment.  Before this age, people were suppressed and if they were out spoken or shared a different opinion, they were driven out or killed.  Take Galileo for example.  During the Renaissance, the Catholic Church had a lot of power and they controlled what people learned.  When Galileo tried to use Copernicans book to prove to the church that the universe was centered around the sun the book was banned for approximately 200 years.  The church also condemned Galileo for his scientific research and did not revoke that condemnation until 1992.  Before the age of Enlightenment, people were not encouraged to learn for themselves and have an opinion.  As the church lost their power and learning became available to all men, the world became more accepting of new opinions.  The public sphere that developed during the enlightenment became a very important part of society and it continues to be important today. 

            In today’s society we do not see as many physical gatherings in the public sphere, but we do have them.  One example of a public sphere could be a book club because people gather to discuss their opinions on literature that they have all read.  As a result of technology, most of our society’s public sphere takes place on the internet.  I would say chat rooms, social media sites and blogs are all part of our sphere today.  People share their thoughts in all of those settings and people can comment them and share their personal view as well.  On the internet there is no authority present and since it is not face to face conversation people are not afraid to share their true opinions. Online people debate and discuss any matter they choose.  In today’s society, people love that they have the freedom of speech and they will say whatever they want to say when they want to say it.  With freedom of speech being such a huge part of our society, I feel that having a public sphere today means that our society as a whole is educated.  I am aware that not everyone is educated and they do not share information based opinions but I do believe that our society today is more educated than it has ever been.  People have the desire to engage in intellectual conversations and debates.  Sharing opinions shows that people care about that topic.  Having a public sphere is a good thing for society because it allows people to communicate and express themselves freely.