Scientific Revolutionand

Enlightenment

On the back of your handout, write a response to the following questions:

1. Which of the theories do you find to be the most believable? Why? (You may include more than one)

2. Which of the theories do you believe is the least believable? Why?

3. How do these theories apply to the growing conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Europe?

Which of these theories seem familiar to you? Why would that be?

What was it?A shift from Medieval superstition and

archaic studies to a period of scientific observation, experimentation, and analysis.

Occurred during the Renaissance period (mid 14th - 16th centuries

PtolemyAn ancient Greek

astronomer and mathematician, Ptolemy's geocentric views on the structure of the universe dominated astronomy until the Scientific Revolution.

Copernicus16th centuryPolishHeliocentric theory

Planets around sunMoon around earth

“On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres

Johannes KeplerGerman mathematician(1571-1630) studied the orbits of the planets

and sought to find what defined the structure of the universe according to simple geometry.

He came up with the laws of planetary motion, which explained the orbital properties of planets, and factored extensively into Isaac Newton's later work

Elliptical orbits of planets

Galileo Galilei1564-1642Italian He studied physics, specifically the

laws of gravity and motion, and invented the telescope and microscope.

Galileo eventually combined his laws of physics with the observations he made with his telescope to defend the heliocentric Copernican view of the universe.

Dialogue on the Two Chief Systems of the World. Upon its publication, he was censored by the Catholic Church and sentenced to house arrest in 1633, where he remained until his death in 1642.

Isaac Newton1642-1727EnglishTook the current theories on

astronomy a step further and formulated an accurate comprehensive model of the workings of the universe based on the law of universal gravitation.

Principia. This work also went along

way toward developing calculus

Andreas Vesalius1514-1564ItalyWas educated in the anatomical

works and theories of the ancient Greek physician Galen, whose views on anatomy had long been the standard in Europe. Vesalius questioned Galen's authority, and published On the Fabric of the Human Body in 1543. The first great modern work of

scienceFoundation of modern biology

Francis Bacon1561-1626English philosopher Developed the

Scientific MethodInductive Reasoning:

particular to generalSystematic

observations/ experiments/ hypotheses

Rene Descartes1596-1650The inventor of deductive

reasoning (General to particular)

His work, Geometry, described how the motion of a point could be mapped graphically by comparing its position to planes of reference.

His work Discourse of Method“I think, therefore I am”Separation of mind and matter

Father of modern Rationalism: reason = knowledge

The EnlightenmentAlso known as the Age of Reason (17th-18th centuries)Was a time when man began to use his reason to

discover the worldDispelled the superstition and fear of the medieval

world. The effort to discover the natural laws which

governed the universe led to scientific, political and social advances.

Enlightenment thinkers examined the rational basis of all beliefs and in the process rejected the authority of church and state.

John Locke(1632–1704)An English political theorist who

focused on the structure of governments.

Locke believed that men are all rational and capable people but must compromise some of their beliefs in the interest of forming a government for the people.

In his famous Two Treatises of Government (1690), he championed the idea of a representative government that would best serve all constituents.

Tabula Rasa (we are molded by our experiences)

Natural (inalienable) rightsLife, liberty, property

Baron de Montesquieu(1689–1755)French political thinker The Spirit of Laws, expanded John

Locke’s political study and incorporated the ideas of a division of state and separation of powers. 3 branchesChecks and balances

Deducing that climate is a major factor in determining the type of government a given country should have.Republic (small states)Despotism (large states)Monarchies (medium states)

Voltaire(1694–1778)French writer and the primary

satirist of the Enlightenment, who criticized religion and leading philosophies of the time.

Many plays and essays frequently advocated freedom from the ploys of religionTreatise on Toleration: “All men

are brothers under God”Deism: God = clockmaker. Creates

universe (clock) and lets it go.Candide (1759), the most notable

of his works, conveyed his criticisms of optimism and superstition

Denis Diderot(1713–1784)French scholar who was the

primary editor of the Encyclopédie, a massive thirty-five-volume compilation of human knowledge in the arts and sciences, along with commentary from a number of Enlightenment thinkers. Became a prominent symbol

of the Enlightenment and helped spread the movement throughout Europe

Jean Jacques Rousseau(1712–1778) Swiss-French

thinkerBelieving that man was at his

best when unshackled by the conventions of society.

The Social Contract (1762) conceived of a system of direct democracy in which all citizens contribute to an overarching “general will” that serves everyone at once. (gov’t should embody will of majority)An entire society agrees to be

governed by its general willOpposed Divine right of Kings

Adam Smith1723–1790)Scottish economist

Objected to the stifling mercantilist systems that were in place during the late eighteenth century.

Wealth of Nations (1776)A dissertation criticizing

mercantilism and describing the many merits of a free trade system.

Laissez-faire economics!!!

Thomas Hobbes1588–1679English philosopher and

political theorist 1651 treatise Leviathan

Started the English Enlightenment.

Detailed Hobbes’s theory that all humans are inherently self-driven and evil and that the best form of government is thus a single, all-powerful monarch to keep everything in order.