The document provides context about the Enlightenment period from 1650-1800. Key developments included Kepler discovering the first law of planetary motion in 1605, Galileo developing the telescope and supporting the Copernican model of the solar system in 1609, and Newton publishing "Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica" in 1687, which reflected the growing scientific revolution. Exploration and imperialism brought Europeans into contact with new cultures, while the declining influence of the church led philosophers to question religious beliefs and the existence of God. The document asks how these contextual aspects are incorporated in the novel Perfume.