Scientific Revolution & the Enlightenment Review Wes Mitter & Noah Pham
What was the Scientific Revolution? It was the useage of precise knowledge of the physical world based on the union of experimental observations with sophisticated mathematics in the 17th Century.
Causes of the Scientific Revolution -The Renaissance stimulated science by rediscovering ancient mathematics -Navigational issues on sea voyages during the age of expansion created a need for scientific advances - More universities had expanded their courses and professorships of math, astronomy and physics within faculties of philosophy. -More people began to question faith and began to use more reasoning in their philosophies
Geography There was no definite origin of where the revolution began, but it was a movement that inspired philosophers all throughout Europe.
Intellectual Movement Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)- One of the earlier philosophers, his hypothesis was of a heliocentric universe and how all of the planets revolved around the sun. - This challenged Ptolemy's theories of a geocentric universe, which many had believed was true - Also caused controversy towards the bible, stating that the universe was geocentric
Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) -Built the best observatory in Europe and was able to collect massive data on his observations of universe. - Discovered comets shooting through crystalline spheres - Ironically Brahe did not believe in Copernicus' theory, but he thought that planets revolved around the sun, and the sun revolved around the Earth.
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) - Was a student of Brahe -First great Protestant Scientist -3 laws of Planetary Motion: -Orbits of planets are elliptical -Planets do not move at uniformed speed while in their orbits -The time it takes for a planet to orbit the sun is directly based on its distance from the sun.
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) -Developed laws of motion -used the experimental method (controlled experiments) -Law of inertia: object that is in motion that remains in motion until it's stopped by external force. - Created the first person to use a telescope as a scientific instrument, and was able to validate Copernicus' heliocentric view. -His views became controversial in Catholic Countries - In 1633, Pope Urban VII forced Galileo to retract support of Copernicus. He was then put on house arrest for the rest of his lifetime
Francis Bacon (1561-1626) -Had utilized the Inductive method for scientific experimentation: -Idea of using specific observations to get to the general theory: -Observations> hypothesis> pattern of experiments> organization of data - Bacon's inductive method combined with Descarte's deductive reason structured the backbone of the Scientific Method
Rene Descartes (1596-1650) -Advocate of deductive reasoning - using a general theory to find a specific observation - Theory > hypothesis > experiment> observation > confirmation - "I think, therefore I am." - Demonstrated the relationship between algebra and geometry, coined the term "father of modern mathematics" -
Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) - Combined Copernicus' theories of astronomy with the physics of Galileo to explain the order and design of the universe - Principle of universal gravitation: "what comes up must come down" theory - Natrual laws of motion- gravitation are evident in the movement of heavenly bodies and earthly objects; used mathematical principles to explain motion. -Newton's theories challenged medieval beliefs and was the foundation of the Enlightment view of God: Deism -God created the universe to his design, then no longer intervenes. God is the great "Clock maker"
William Harvey -He explored and dissected the human body to observe how blood traveled through the circulatory system -Found the properties on how the heart beat and pumped blood
Religion - Of course, the Catholic Church had many oppositions against the philosophes of the 17th century - They wanted the people to strictly believe what the bible stated and not have educated views going against traditional beliefs. - Protestant countries became the leaders of the scientific revolution, especially in England.
Deism - The belief that reason and observation of the natural world are sufficient to determine the existence of God - Belief that God gave people the ability to reason -Enlightenment Thinker Voltaire believed to see God as the great "clock maker" where he created the whole universe and stepped aside to let it run
Technology -A crucial invention that was used at this time was the telescope, by Galileo. -His telescopes were able to see 3 times the distance as regular telescopes. -With this, Galileo was able to observe the moon clearly, sunspots, and the 4 satellites of Jupiter
Chronometer -Clock that is precise and accurate to be used as a time standard; it's used to determine longitude by means of celestial navigation at sea level -Created by John Harrison
Impacts on Society -Improvements on exploration: the chronometer gave mariners ability to determine longitude -The inspiriation of experimentation helped accelerate the Agricultural revolution in the 18th century -Improvements in medical knowledge helped improve quality of life later in the 19th and 20th century
Timeline
The Enlightenment: What was it? *It was a Cultural Movement of intellectuals in the 17th and 18th centuries. *It reformed society with the use of reason and challenging ideas. *Fundamental idea was that natural science and reason could explain everything in life. Faith in Reason
Political John Locke (1632-1704) * Wrote the Two Treatises of Civil Government 1690 *His state of nature was that humans are basically good but lack protection. *Consent of the goverened is key. *Purpose of government is to protect people's natural rights which were life, liberty and property. *Believed in Tabula Rasa, which is the belief that the human mind was born as a blank slate. It registered input from the senses passively.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (17121778) *Wrote the Social Contract (1762). He believed that there should be more emphasis on consideration of people than property. *The consensus of the majority should rule the nation.
Baron de Montesquieu (16891755) *Spirit of the Laws(1748). This piece of literature called for seperation of powers in government into three branches *He wanted to implement the checks and balances system. The U.S.A. based alot of it's fundemental ideas off of Montesquieu's ideas.
Enlightenment and Absolutism -Form of Absolute monarchy in which rulers were influenced by the Enlightenment. These monarchs embraced principles of the era, espeacially the emphasis upon rationality, and applied it to their territories
Frederick the Great -One of the greatest rulers in Germany - Son of Fredrick William I who gave him a strong military education -Allowed religious freedom - saw himself as the "first servant of the state" -After a very bloody Seven Years' War, due to violating the Austria Pragmatic Sanction, destruction encouraged Frederick to help improve society with enlightenment reforms to increase the power of the state
Catherine the Great(1729-1796) *Was Empress of Russia from July 1762 to November of 1796. *One of the greatest rulers in European history. *She was a lover of French Culture. She considered herself a child of the Enlightenment.
Enlightened Despotism(17401790) *The philosophes believed that rulers should promote the good of the people. *They still believed that people were not capable of ruling themselves.
Seven Years' War *Took seven years. *The cause was that Maria Teresa wanted to regain Silesia from Prussia and they gained Russia and France as allies. *They all wanted to conquer Prussia and divide it's territoties among the winners. *"Diplomatic Revolution of 1756" France and Austria allied against Prussia. However, Brittain supported Prussia with money. *Bloodiest war in Europe since the Thirty Years' War which took thirty years. *Treaty of Paris(1763)-Prussia permanently retained Silesia. France lost all of it's colonies in North Ameria to Great Britain and Britain gained more territory in India.
Video on Enlightenment and Absoutism
Economic: Adam Smith (1727-1790) *Wrote the Wealth of Nations. This books is now considered the bible of capitalism (Laissez-faire). *He believed that the economy should be governed by the natural laws of supply and demand. *He believed that government got in the way of laissez- faire.
Social: Marquis di Beccaria *He wrote On Crimes and Punishment(1764). He sought to humanize criminal law based on enlightenment thoughts and ideas. He wanted equality before the law. *He opposed torture and the death penalty. *Punishment for crime should be based rationally on the damage done to society.
Voltaire(1694-1778) *Extremely influential. He wrote his critcisms of society with sarcasm. * He challenged Catholic theology. *He influenced France into the French Revolution, for he hated bigotry and wanted religious toleration. *He believed in equality before the law but not among the classes.
Mary Wollstonecraft *Born and raised in England. *She promoted political and educational equality for women.
Diderot's Encyclopedia (1765) *A vast variety of political and social critiques from various Enlightenment philosophers and authors. *It tought people to think for themselves. It tought them to think critically and objectively. *Banned in France and placed on the Index of Prohibited Books by the pope.
Salons *Women played a crucial role in the salon movement. *A plethora of the brightest minds of the enlightenment gathered in the salons to talk about the major issues of the day. * The philosophes favored increased rights and education for women. * Organized by Madame de Geoffrin