The EnlightenmentPgs 543-556

Medieval Science

Most scholars determined what was true or false based on the early Greeks and Romans, or the Bible

Many believed in the geocentric theory the universe revolved around the Earth

Christians believed that God deliberately placed the Earth at the center

Scientific Revolution

Scholars began to develop new theories about science and the natural world

These theories were based on careful observation and willingness to question accepted beliefs

Discoveries, and fortunate circumstances, led to the scientific revolution

Scholars began to travel to Asia, Africa, and the Americas

The Printing Press helped spread new and challenging ideas

The Heliocentric TheoryScholars began to dispute the claims of the geocentric theory

Nicholas Copernicus, a Polish cleric and astronomer, was troubled by this theory

Copernicus focused on an ancient idea that the sun was the center of the universe

He studied the stars for 25 years and concluded that the sun was at the center

Called the Heliocentric TheoryHe did not publish his findings until the end of his life because he feared ridicule and persecution

Galileo Galilei

At 17 years old Galileo disproved one of Aristotle’s theory’s

He then discovered that a falling object accelerates at a fixed and predictable rate

He disproved Aristotle’s idea that heavier objects fall faster

Galileo had learned of a lens that could see far off objectsHe then improved the invention creating the telescope in 1609 Which he used to study the heavens

Both Catholic and Protestant leaders feared Galileo’s findingsGalileo was warned not to support these ideas

When he ignored the warnings, he was summoned to Rome and the Inquisition

He read a signed confession that his findings were falseLived under house arrest until his death

Scientific MethodAll of the new theories and ideas developed led to the development of the scientific method

A logical procedure for gathering and testing ideas

Two men Francis Bacon and Rene’ Descartes helped create this approach

They believed scientists should discard old ways of thought and pursue actual proof

Modern science is based on these foundations

Observation, experimentation, scientific reasoning, to form conclusions

Sir Isaac Newton

A mathematician and Physicist from Cambridge

He studied the theories of those before him, Galileo, Copernicus, etc…

Newton combined all of the ideas about space and motion into 3 laws

The most important law was “the Law of Universal Gravitation”

The Scientific Revolution Spreads

Based on new theories and ideas, new inventions were created

Microscopes(1590)Mercury Barometer(1643)Thermometer(1714)

Greek ideas that the human body was designed similarly to those of pigs was disproved when physicians began to dissect human corpses

In the early 1700’s vaccine’s were introduced to battle small pox

Chemists also began to question Aristotle’s belief that their were only 4 elements

All of these inventions led to dramatic changes in how people viewed the world

Europe’s EnlightenmentEnlightenment was also known as the Age of Reason

A new view on government arose:The Social Contract

The Social Contract developed the idea of the government’s power comes from the consent of the governed

Governments agree to protect individual rightsCitizens agree to live in an ordered society

Three thinkers used the social contract to end up with different governing structures

Absolute MonarchyLiberal MonarchyLiberal Republicanism

Absolute Monarchy

Thomas Hobbes wrote Leviathan which expressed the Horrors of the English civil war

He felt humans were naturally selfish and wicked

He believed to create order people gave up their rights to a strong ruler

Hobbes felt absolute monarchy was ideal and could impose order and demand obedience

Liberal MonarchyJohn Locke had a more positive view of human nature

He felt people were born free and equal with three natural rights:1. Life 2. Liberty 3. Property

The government’s job was to protect these rights

If the government failed the people had the right to overthrow it

• The best government structure to do that was a constitutional monarchy

Liberal Constitutionalism

• Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed in democracy more than the previous two thinkers

• He wrote a book called On the Social Contract– Liberty is only possible if everyone

participates in the writing of that law

Separation of Powers• Baron de Montesquieu, a French writer, was

devoted to the study of political liberty– He believed Britain had the best government

because the power was divided between the king and Parliament

• He called the division between different branches of government separation of powers

• He felt ”Power should be a check to power”– Meaning each branch of the gov’t would check

the other

• His ideas became the basis for the U.S. Constitution

John Locke Thomas Hobbes

Baron de Montesquieu

The Enlightenment’s Impact

• Over a few decades new ideas and philosophies challenged old ways

• Progress in science, nature, medicine, politics, and society was happening and people were behind it

• People began to have a more secular outlook– Many openly questioned religious beliefs and church

teachings

• Individualism was beginning– People began to look to themselves for guidance in

what is right and wrong– Rather than a king or pope