3. The Scientific Revolution
1500 - 1687
By 1000s AD, the Europeans were behind the
rest of the world in science and technology
1295 – Marco Polo, a European explorer, visits
Asia and sees their advancements… He
comments on the inferiority of the Europeans
Now Europe really picks up the pace… By the
1800s Europeans have the attitude that they are
superior to China!
4. Origins
ScientificRevolution of the 17th and 18th
centuries explored the world of nature
and the heavens
◦ Used to be taught by religious institutions
People rejected priests to study by
themselves
People started to test theories
New discoveries in physics, medicine,
biology, and chemistry
5. The Scientific Revolution
A new way of thinking emerges:
1) Secular – “of this world”
- This is the focus of things on this world, not so much about religion.
- Around the 1500s there’s a shift from theology to philosophy;
taught in universities.
(politics, natural sciences, etc…) we still have Ph.D.s
- They believed that while God did create the Universe, he did so in
a way that we humans could understand, reconstruct, and know.
2) Rational – reason things out, and think about everything!
3) Reason – Humans CAN figure out the way the world works (Laws of nature)
by studying physics, biology, chemistry, and politics (i.e. what
makes society work).
4) Progress – You get to knowledge through progress!!! To do this humans
need to re-engineer the world.
At this time we see a rise in literacy and city populations…
6. The Scientific Revolution
Nicholas Copernicus (1473 - 1543)
A Polish Priest who wrote in Latin
- Up to the time of Copernicus, people thought that there was a
sort of crystal sphere the kept the planets, moon, and stars in
orbit around the Earth.
-Copernicus proposed the idea that the Earth revolved
around the sun, and not vice versa… The sun was the center of the
Universe, not the Earth.
-In 1543 Copernicus published De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium.
He waited until he was about to die before publishing it because he knew
what he was proposing would be trouble… He sends a letter to the Pope
before its publication… ”I don’t mean to…”
He provides a Possible Alternative Explanation…
8. The Scientific Revolution
Johannes Kepler (1571 - 1630)
A German who also publishes in Latin
- Kepler proved Copernicus was right through mathematics
-To do this he needed to gather a lot of information. He uses night
observations (over the span of years) from a Danish Nobleman
named Tycho Brahe.
- Kepler uses his information to make accurate models of the heavens.
- Kepler demonstrates that planets move in an elliptical orbit… not a
circular orbit that Copernicus had previously said.
9. The Scientific Revolution
Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642)
- He was one of the first Europeans to build
and use a telescope (he didn’t invent it!)
- Galileo used a telescope to observe the
moon, and saw craters. This proved that the moon
was not a perfect sphere… hmm… trouble…
- He saw moons on Jupiter (thus we have the Galilean Moons of Jupiter)
- Aristotle didn’t mention moons… there they are!!!
- Galileo used the scientific method to come to his conclusions;
(Observe – Define – Test… Rethink, Observe, Experiment, Observe,
Test…)
10. The Scientific Revolution
Isaac Newton (1643 - 1727)
-Wrote “Principia Methematica” which contained mathematical
descriptions of how the world works (up to the speed of light, as
Einstein later proves…)
Law 1:
Every object continues in its state of rest or of uniform motion in a straight line, unless it is
compelled to change that state by forces impressed upon it.
Law 2:
The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on the object, is in the
direction of the net force, and is inversely proportional to the mass of the object.
Law 3:
Whenever one object exerts a force on a second object, the second object exerts an equal and
opposite force on the first.
11. Discussion Questions
◦ Why was the Church so opposed to the heliocentric theory?
◦ If you were Galileo or Copernicus, would you have fought for
your beliefs, even at the risk of being executed or jailed?
◦ Are there ideas or beliefs that you would defend today at all costs?
◦ Major advances in science are often controversial because they
change our way of thinking, raise important ethical questions, or
come into conflict with traditional religious values. Give examples
of scientific advancements that have raised such controversy
during your lifetime.
12. Why so important?
The rise of a secular (non-religious society)
The rise of the individual (end of absolutism)
Advances in navigation, applied mathematics
Improves trade and the overall quality of life
13. Two Significant Philosophers
Read the article on Rene Descartes and
Francis Bacon and answer the following for
each:
◦ What aspects of learning did they influence? How?
◦ What type of reasoning did they come up with?
What did it involve?
◦ Write down their most famous quote
◦ What are their legacies?
14. The Enlightenment
1687 - 1826
The 18th Century proudly referred to itself as the "Age of
Enlightenment" and rightfully so for Europe had dwelled in the dim glow
of the Middle Ages when suddenly the lights began to come on in men's
minds and humankind
moved forward.
To understand the natural world and humankind's place in it solely on
the basis of reason and without turning to religious belief was the goal
of the wide-ranging intellectual movement called the Enlightenment.
The movement claimed the allegiance of a majority of thinkers during the
17th and 18th centuries, a period that Thomas Paine called the Age of
Reason. At its heart it became a conflict between religion and the inquiring
mind that wanted to know and understand through reason based on
evidence and proof.
Many “Enlightenment Thinkers” were atheist…
15. The Enlightenment
1687 - 1826
Why 1826? This is the year that Thomas Jefferson dies… The
Declaration of Independence was an Enlightenment document…
-Those capable of reading (nobles, merchants, and some artisans)
are exposed to enlightenment ideas…
-The peasants at this time are too busy to care, plus, the nobles don’t
Want educated peasants… (insert France here…)
“Philosophes” – French for Philosophers
LOTS of philosophers at the time were French
Political Philosophers that influenced Jefferson:
1) John Locke (1632 – 1704)
2) Baron de Montesquieu (1689 – 1755)
3) Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712 – 1778)
Those good at explaining Newton to the Laymen:
1) Madam du Chatelet (1706 – 1749)
2) Denis Diderot (1713 – 1784)
17. The Enlightenment
John Locke (1632 - 1704)
Treatise on Government (1 and 2)… #2 in 1690
-Addressed the question: What is the purpose of government?
- What is the purpose?
- To protect the natural rights of its citizens…
- Everyone has them
- Life, Liberty, and Property…
-If the government isn’t doing it’s job, it’s illegitimate and people
have the right to overthrow it.
- 2 years previous to the second treatise was “The Glorious Revolution” in
1688 – 1689, where James II is ran off the thrown and replaced by Mary,
James’ daughter… she has to agree to the English Bill of Rights… No one
Rule without sharing power with Parliament
-Locke agreed that James was properly and justly disposed
- Later Jefferson would use this for his grievances to King George III
18. The Enlightenment
Montesquieu (1689 - 1755)
Spirit of the Laws - 1748
-Montesquieu believed in the separation of powers idea
Checks and Balances
* One person could not be judge, jury, and executioner
- Without checks and balances there would be tyranny…
* This has a huge influence on our constitution…
19. The Enlightenment
Rousseau (1712 - 1778)
The Social Contract - 1762
- Government is not there for the glory of God, but because there are
obligations between the government and its people.
- The Social Contract was first published in Amsterdam… He would have
gotten in trouble if he had published it in France…
1) Popular Sovereignty (Sovereignty = the right to rule)
- Not from God, but from the people. This was a radical
thought at the time! Up until now sovereignty was from
God.
2) General Will – Works well for Democracy and Dictators
- The decisions of government should be what people want
Tyranny of Majority… Bad though!... Hitler said he represented
the general will of Germany (also Mussolini of Italy)
20. The Enlightenment
Diderot (1713 - 1784)
Encyclopedia
- Diderot was the editor of the Encyclopedia from 1751-1765… The
Rational Dictionary of the Sciences.
- He recruits experts to write on different topics (to put knowledge in
Leymen terms)… for quick reference. There were MANY volumes.
His Purpose: was to change the general way of thinking… to put the
Enlightenment in the hands of the general public.
He later gets in trouble with the king over later volumes (after #1)…
The Vatican in Rome puts it in the index of “bad books”
21. The Enlightenment
Literacy Rates (males)
1600 1800
France 1/6 2/3
English 1/4 1/2
Chaterlet
- Translates Isaac Newton into French
Adam Smith
Wealth of Nations - 1776
- This book was an attack on mercantilism – it said that less
government was necessary… A person (or markets) left to their own
devices could do better than governments.
There are certain things that government should do: Laws, and national
Defense…
22. The Enlightened Despots
The courts of Europe became enlivened as philosophes tried to persuade rulers to
adopt their ideas… Some did accept the Enlightenment ideas, while others still
practiced absolutism. Those that did became known as “Enlightened Despots”
Frederick II (1740-1786) - aka Frederick the Great
- He exerted extremely tight control during his reign of Prussia
- Saw himself as the “first servant of the state” working for the
common good.
- Reduced torture and allowed free press
- Simplified laws, and reorganized the govt’s civil service
- Tolerated religious differences
* In the end he still wanted a strong monarchy and power for himself
Catherine the Great
- Exchanged letters with Voltaire and Diderot
- Believed in equality and liberty
- Abolished torture and established religious tolerance
- Criticized serfdom (being tied to the land)
* In the end she did not intend to give up her power…
Joseph II (son of Maria Theresa of Austria)
- Continuing his mother’s reforms, he was the most radical of the enlightened Despots
- He would travel in disguise as a peasant to see how they lived
- Supported religious equality for Protestants and Jews (Catholic Empire)
- Ended censorship = free press
- Sold monastery property if it did not educate or care for the sick
* After his death many of his reforms were canceled…
23. The Enlightenment
These ideas have reached the public by now…
They start to influence others… Thus we
see
the start of revolutions in America and
France.
