Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment

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Scientific Revolution and

Enlightenment

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Forces for Change in Europe

Renaissance – Humanism (individualism) and Secularization

Discovery of the Americas 200 years of church decline Growth of national monarchies Emergence of capitalism and an independent

merchant class

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Medieval Worldview

Authoritarian – religious (Church) and secular (King)

Theocratic – rule by God’s agents, Top-down

Theocentric-all life and thought revolves around the church

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Influence of the “New Thought” on other fields of

thought Political Thought – Locke and HobbesHobbes Locke

Nature of Man passions reasonState of nature war inconvenienceSocial Contract surrender of surrender of

all power to some power toa sovereign a government(absolutism) (constitutionalism)

Alternative none revolution

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The Copernican Universe

Reconception of the Universe Reliance on 2nd-century Greek scholar Claudius Ptolemy of

Alexandria Motionless earth inside nine concentric spheres Christians understand heaven as last sphere

Difficulty reconciling model with observed planetary movement

1543 Nicholas Copernicus of Poland breaks theory Notion of moving Earth challenges Christian doctrine

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The Scientific Revolution

Johannes Kepler (Germany, 1571-1630) and Galileo Galilei (Italy, 1564-1642) reinforce Copernican model

Isaac Newton (1642-1727) “Principia Mathematica” 1687 - theory of gravity“he found a hodgepodge of isolated facts and laws. . .and left us a unified system of laws capable of application to an enormous range of physical phenomena.”

Rigorous challenge to church doctrines

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Traditional vs. Modern Views of Knowledge

Humans

Nature

God/The Church

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The Enlightenment – The Age of Reason

“The political history of the Western world since the 18th century has been dominated by

the notion of individual rights.”

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Medieval View of Rights

-ordained by birth or statusEx. aristocracy = social organization

-fixed by custom or tradition, depending on one’s place in the social hierarchy

-group privileges, not individual rights -ordained by God – “divine rights”

monarchy (absolutism) = political organization -religion affirmed traditional roles

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Core Principles of Enlightenment

“the science of human beings”

1. Reason – “self-evident”

2. Natural Law – universal

3. Progress – “a paradise on earth”

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The Theory of Progress

Assumption that Enlightenment thought would ultimately lead to human harmony, material wealth.

Decline in authority of traditional organized religion.

“Humans, through reason, could discover the natural laws of human society, which, when applied, would lead to a “paradise on earth.”

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Philosophes – public intellectuals

(Montesquieu, Voltaire, Rousseau)

“The philosophers have only interpreted the world, the point is to change it”

PropagandistsSocial activists

1751 Encyclopédie – accumulation of the new scientific worldview, the “clockwork universe”

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Deism, the Natural Religion

-God the creator, the “clockmaker” -God has revealed himself through nature - religious freedom - “My mind is my own

church” -separation of church and state -Voltaire “ecrasez l’infame” – opposed to

organized religion -natural morality – humans good by nature

Was Tom Paine an atheist?

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Economics Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, 1776

-basic principles of capitalism

private property individual self-interest the market, free enterprise supply and demand “the invisible hand” laissez-faire – no government interference free trade wealth measured by total productivity of the

society

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Law and Justice

Beccaria, Italian 1761 treatise more humane treatment of criminals abolish capital punishment no torture punishment should fit the crime rehabilitation rather than punishment prevention of crime rather than

punishment

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Education

Rousseau – education should be natural, “back to nature,” the modern concept of childhood

Locke – “tabula rasa” - empiricism (relying on sense experiences to determine reality)

liberal arts training for citizenship public, secular education humans are rational

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Politics

-popular sovereignty-power for government comes from the people

-representative government – democracy -constitutionalism -individual rights (civil rights) -equality -separation of powers/checks and balances

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Ancien Regime “Evils”

Mercantilism

Absolutism

Aristocracy

The Church

Slavery

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Louis XIV (The “Sun King,” 1643-1715) L’état, c’est moi: “I am the state.” Magnificent palace at Versailles, 1670s,

becomes his court Largest building in Europe 1,400 fountains 25,000 fully grown trees transplanted

Power centered in court, important nobles pressured to maintain presence

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Louis XIV“Dude

look like a lady”

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Versailles

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