What is the major philosophical movement of eighteenth-century Europe and Colonial America, was a radically new synthesis of ideas about humanity, reason, nature, and God. This philosophy was marked by a conviction that that humans are not superstitious beings ruled by God or the aristocracy, and that all men (and some thinkers also included women) should have equal rights and opportunities for the pursuit of freedom, happiness, and fulfillment.

was a radically new synthesis of ideas about humanity, reason, nature, and God.

Explanation:

The Enlightenment, also known as the intellectual movement was a philosophical idea developed during the 18th century in European countries like France and which also extended to America. The movement promoted a set of new ideas that would see a whole new way of thinking about nature, humanity, God, and reason and this spurred the development of scientific breakthroughs by people like Sir Isaac Newton, Rene Descartes, and Galileo.

The idea discouraged the total reliance on religion as a way of thinking. It rather encourages humans to reason on their own and make conclusions from independent thinking. It contrasted a bit with Deism which stressed the belief in one God which is a belief that most people agreed with as well as the acceptance of some spiritual truths. America also adopted the Enlightenment ad this is reflected in their constitution.

separation of powers, therefore, refers to the division of government responsibilities into distinct branches to limit any one branch from exercising the core functions of another.   the intent is to prevent the concentration of power and provide for checks and balances.  

the traditional characterizations of the powers of the branches of american government are:

* the legislative branch is responsible for enacting the laws of the state and appropriating the money necessary to operate the government.

* the executive branch is responsible for implementing and administering the public policy enacted and funded by the legislative branch.

* the judicial branch is responsible for interpreting the constitution and laws and applying their interpretations to controversies brought before it.

forty state constitutions specify that government be divided into three branches:   legislative, executive and judicial.   california illustrates this approach; "the powers of state government are legislative, executive, and judicial.   persons charged with the exercise of one power may not exercise either of the others except as permitted by this constitution."

while separation of powers is key to the workings of american government, no democratic system exists with an absolute separation of powers or an absolute lack of separation of powers. governmental powers and responsibilities intentionally overlap; they are too complex and interrelated to be neatly compartmentalized. as a result, there is an inherent measure of competition and conflict

minnesota:   minnesota house research,   separation of powers: when statutes and court rules conflict, 2005