How did Enlightenment thinkers affect understandings of therelationship between the natural world and humans?

They applied new ways of understanding the natural world to human relationships. They encouraged observation and inference in all spheres of life.The Scientific Revolution along with the Enlightenment opened a path for independent thought. Knowledge gained from the Enlightenment influenced human thought. Many of the uneducated people were unable to share in the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was defined by the knowledge and wisdom that people gained. A great emphasis was placed on scientific innovations. Ideas such as natural rights and freedom of speech inspired people to rebel. During the Enlightenment, racism and sexism were justified by "scientific evidence." False observations such as the comparison of skull sizes between men and women, whites and blacks were common, and they only led to increased discrimination.