Why is the 18th Century known as the Age of Reason?I want to know the spirit of this age and how this reflected on the people at that...

Every era has a set of Key Ideas which people who come
after them look back and identify.  All the ideas may not apply to all authors or
people, but in general they represent the attitude and genre of the period well.  For
the 18th Century, these ideas are:

 •Politics  •Wealth and
Poverty  •Elegance and Reason  •Technological and Commercial Advance   •Journalism 
 •The development of the novel

Every era rebels against the
one which came before it in some way, fashion, or attitude.  The 18th Century rebels
against the "haves and have nots" attitude of the Renaissance.  The focus changes for
the 18th Century on the values and life of the middle class rather than solely on the
upper class.  The concerns included work, domestic relations, and social
respectability.  They urged public manners and morals.  They focused more on reason and
logic than emotion and imagination.  They focused more on elegance and social
correctness which would help the middle class take more pride in itself as the backbone
of the nation.  Social work was a huge focus as people like Dickens and other critics
repeatedly pointed out the impoverished condition of children, widows, and other less
fortunates on the street. As you can see from the Key Ideas, industry becomes a focal
point as well.  More people moved from the country to settle into cities and looked for
jobs in the factories and other industries available in larger cities.  With more people
moving into the cities, there was a greater focus on individual needs as opposed to
society as a whole...more people were reading, and the with the invention of the
printing press, more people were able to afford the mass-produced books than before as
the books were painstakingly copied by hand.  Because more people were reading, new
reading materials were created...magazines, newspapers...journalism as we know it was
invented and thrived on its new audience.  The novel was also invented, and focused on
the women of the time. It was a time of relative peace as the country had just come out
of Civil War and plague.  They were reaching for change and rebelling against what had
been.  There are many names for this time period...neolithic period, Augustan Age,
Enlightenment, Age of Reason...all of which describe part of the era but none of which
adequately represent the entire time.  Check out the links I've provided for more
information.  Good Luck!