The Scientific Revolution & The Enlightenment World History: Europe.

The Scientific Revolution&

The EnlightenmentWorld History: Europe

BackgroundWhat did the Renaissance do?

The Renaissance sparked interest and curiosity about many things, allowing people to start to think for themselves

What did European Exploration do? New lands, people, and animals opened the idea that

there were new truths to be discovered. New research and new equipment were developed and people looked more carefully at the world around them

What did the Reformation question? The Reformation led people to question and challenge the

original views of God, the church, and salvation

BackgroundScientific Revolution

A new way of thinking about the natural world based upon careful observation and a willingness to questions accepted beliefs

The EnlightenmentA new intellectual movement that stressed reason

and thought and the power of individuals to solve problems

This is also known as the Age of Reason

The Scientific Revolution

The Scientific Revolution (1500-1700CE)

The Scientific Revolution was a new way of thinking about the natural world

Based on: Careful observation of natureA willingness to question widely accepted beliefsReason and logic

Result the expansion of scientific knowledge

Geocentric Theory vs. Heliocentric Theory

Geocentric: Idea came from Aristotle, explained by PtolemyGod put the Earth at the center of the universe

Heliocentric:Copernicus studied planetary movements and

concluded that the sun was at the center and planets/stars revolved around it

Johannes Kepler planets move in elliptical orbits around the sun

Galileo GalileiAstronomer, built his own telescope

Published Starry Messenger his findings supported Copernicus’ ideas

Published Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems his works angered the church

Put on trial by the church in 1633Under torture, he agreed the ideas of Copernicus

were false

Spent the rest of his life under house arrest

The Scientific Method

A logical procedure for gathering and testing ideas

Begins with a problem or question arising from an observation

Advanced by Francis Bacon and Rene Descartes

Isaac NewtonCame up with the

Law of Universal Gravitation (law of gravity)

Wrote The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy one of the greatest scientific books ever written

The Scientific Revolution Spreads

Scientific Instruments Microscope (bacteria, blood cells), mercury barometer,

thermometer (Fahrenheit and Celsius)

Medicine and the Human Body On the Structure of the Human Body (human anatomy

book), smallpox vaccine

Chemistry Robert Boyle is considered the founder of modern

chemistry Boyle’s Law explains how volume, temperature, and

pressure of gas affect each other

The Scientific Revolution Spreads

The ideas of reason and order soon spread from science to other areas of study

Philosophers and scholars began to rethink long-standing ideas

Focus on rights and liberties of ordinary citizens

This challenged the relationship between government and its people, with many results

The Enlightenment

BackgroundThe Enlightenment

A new intellectual movement that stressed reason and thought and the power of individuals to solve problems

A result of the ideas from the Scientific Revolution

Sought new insights on government, religion, economics, and education

The Start of the Enlightenment

Started from some key ideas put forth by two English political thinkers of the 1600s:Thomas Hobbes Social ContractJohn Locke Natural Rights

Both wrote about government and human nature but each had very different conclusions!!

Thomas Hobbes – Social Contract

Wrote The Leviathan (1651)

Influenced by the English Civil War

He believed:All humans were naturally selfish and wicked

(acted in their own self-interest)Countries needed a ruler with total power to keep

the citizens under controlThey needed a social contact an agreement in

which the people hand over their rights to a strong ruler and in exchange they gain law and order

John Locke – Natural Rights

Wrote Two Treatises on Government

People have the ability to reason and to make good decisions if given the proper information

All people are born free with three natural rights life, liberty, and property

Governments should exist to protect these rights

Governments should be formed with the approval (consent) of the people

People, not god, should choose leaders

Philosophes - FranceBelieved people could apply reason to all

aspects of life

Five core beliefs:1. Reason2. Nature3. Happiness4. Progress5. Liberty

Voltaire – French Philosophe

French writer – wrote over 70 books

Used his writing to fight for tolerance, reason, freedom of religious belief, and freedom of speech

Believed in the separation of church and state

Baron de Montesquieu –Separation of Powers

French political thinker, wrote The Spirit of Laws

A monarchy with limited power makes a country stable and secure

Developed the idea of “separation of powers”Government should be divided or spread out

among different branches of government so no one individual or group has too much power and as a result threatens liberty

Jean Jacques Rousseau

Wrote The Social Contract

Swiss philosopher

Direct Democracy—where people vote in person to make all laws—was the way to protect individual freedom

Government should be a contract between rulers and the people

Cesare Beccaria

Wrote On Crimes and Punishments

Felt that many parts of the justice system were unfair:TortureSecret trialsHarsh sentencesCorrupt judges

His book called for punishments designed to preserve security and order

Mary Wollstonecraft – Women’s Rights

Enlightenment thinkers had many traditional views on women – limited education, focus on home life, inequality in marriage, ect.

She wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Women

Women should have an education because it’s the key to gaining equality

Urged women to enter into male dominated fields such as medicine and politics

Adam Smith - Economics

Scottish moral philosopher and economist, father of “modern economics”

Most famous work is The Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations

Collection/study of what builds a nation’s wealth

Discusses division of labor, productivity, and free markets

Legacy of the Enlightenment

Enlightenment thinkers encouraged reform but were not active revolutionaries

However, their ideas inspired future revolutions

Three Long-Term Effects on Western Civilization1. Belief in Progress

2. A More Secular Outlook

3. Importance of the Individual

Effects on Society

Religion

Political Theory

Economic Theory

Education

Psychological Theory

Gender Theory

An Important Note As We Move Forward!

Most Enlightened thinkers opposed democracy

Supported some level of autocratic rule but…

The benefits were supposed to be for the people

NOT for personal power but for the welfare of the

people

THIS DID NOT ALWAYS WORK AS IT SHOULD!

An Important Note As We Move Forward!

When “enlightened rulers” didn’t take care of the people…enlightened thinkers realized there had to be a way to create change

The concept of revolution was validated as a legitimate means to produce social and political change