Yacob was a remarkable thinker, to be sure, but there is no reason to connect him to the Enlightenment: He didn't influence it, nor was he influenced by it, as

Yacob was a remarkable thinker, to be sure, but there is no reason to connect him to the Enlightenment: He didn't influence it, nor was he influenced by it, as far as we can tell. The only reason the article seems to connect Yacob to the Enlightenment is because he wrote around the time of Descartes, and on similar themes. But that's not enough of a connection - without a causal interaction between him and the Enlightenment, the timing is just a coincidence. Other rational and secular philosophers have lived in various times and places (China, ancient Greece, India, etc.). Yacob deserves a place of honor among them, but none of them are part of the Enlightenment. It's odd how the article tries to connect Yacob to the Enlightenment - it doesn't make logical sense, and so seems more out of the author's desire to see that connection.