-The Scientific Revolution and

Enlightenment-

WHY WOULD THE CHURCH BE SO AGAINST NEW SCIENTIFIC IDEAS?

I. Challenging Old Ideas

A. The Scientific Revolution involved challenges to the traditional way of understanding the universe

B. These ideas were controversial because they challenged accepted truths, respected ancient scientists and the Roman Catholic Church

II. Two Theories of the Universe

A. The Geocentric Theory envisioned an earth-centered universe

1. This idea was first proposed by

Aristotle

2. It was later supported by Ptolemy

B. The Heliocentric Theory envisioned a sun-centered universe

1. This idea was proposed by a

Polish astronomer, Nicoloaus Copernicus, during the Renaissance

2. It was supported by the Italian astronomer, Galileo

C. The Catholic Church supported the Geocentric Theory because it was consistent with religious doctrine that god had made the earth a special place in the universe

1. For 1,500 years, the Church supported almost all of Aristotle’s scientific theories as fact

III. Conflict Over the Theories

A. Copernicus was so fearful of being considered a heretic that he waited until the last year of his life to publish his theory

1. However, his ideas spread despite Church condemnation and were eventually embraced by others

B. Galileo used the telescope (which he invented) to study the movement of the planets and published works

supporting Copernicus’ Heliocentric Theory

1. Catholic clergy members had Galileo brought before the Inquisition where he was forced to recant his findings under threat of excommunication and torture

2. Despite his public recant of his theory, Church officials placed Galileo under house arrest for the rest of his life in an attempt to silence him

IV. Scientific Discoveries Validate the Heliocentric

Theory

A. The later findings of Johannes Kepler, a Danish mathematician, used data to

prove the Heliocentric Theory

1. He also discovered that planets have elliptical(not circular) orbits around

the sun

B. Sir Isaac Newton was the pioneer of modern physics

a. He was an English scientist who developed the law of

gravity to explain the movement of the planets

b. This further confirmed the

Heliocentric Theory

2. His theories asserted that all celestial bodies are attracted to each other by an invisible force directly related to the mass of the object

3. Newton believed that god had designed the universe like a giant clock, with gravity dominating its motions

V. The Scientific Method

A. The scientific approach used by Copernicus and Galileo eventually turned into a new approach to science called the “Scientific Method”

B. The Scientific Method involves the following steps:

1. Developing a question

2. Forming a hypothesis

3. Testing the hypothesis through experiments

4. Analysis of data

5. Forming a conclusion

C. This method was championed by Francis Bacon

1. He was an English writer who felt that scholars had assumed Aristotle’s teachings to be truth without testing them

2. He emphasized the need for experimentation over simple observation in arriving at conclusions

VI. What Does it all Mean?

A. Like the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation, the Scientific Revolution saw the proposal of many new ideas and techniques that challenged traditional thinking

B. This set the stage for the Enlightenment, a political movement of the 1600s and 1700s which involved political theorists questioning

traditional beliefs about government

-The Enlightenment-I. Pre-Enlightenment English Philosophers

A. Even before the Enlightenment in France, two English philosophers were already publishing political theories about politics in the 1600s

B. Thomas Hobbes wrote “The Leviathan”

1.He argued that human beings are violent by naturea. Life in nature is “Nasty, brutish, and short”

2. People must form a contract with a ruler who will have total power and keep order

3. He believed that the best form of government is an absolute monarchy, because individual freedoms lead to chaos

C. John Locke wrote “Two Treatises on Government”

1. He argued that human beings are born basically neutral, like a “blank slate”or a“Tabula Rasa”

2. People form a contract with a ruler, but they have the “natural rights” of life, liberty, and property

3. If the leader is a tyrant and breaks the social contract, subjects have the right to rebel

II. The Enlightenment in France

A. The Enlightenment was a political movement that originated in France during the mid-1700s

1. It focused mainly on politics and society and involved the writing of many French political writers and

philosophers known as the “Philosophes” & they met in Salons

2. These ideas challenged the concept of absolute monarchy

3. Many of the ideas would later be the basis of rebellion in the French Revolution

The EnlightenmentThe intellectuals of the Enlightenment were called philosophes &

they shared some basic beliefs. They met in Salons…..

New truths could be discovered by using

logic & reason

Everything could be explained by observing universal truths

known as natural laws

A belief in progress, that the world can be improved, & that life should be enjoyed

People are born with natural rights

(personal freedoms that protect liberty)

III. Key Enlightenment Thinkers

A. Jean Jacques Rousseau wrote “The Social Contract”

1. He believed human beings are good and kind in nature

a. People are naturally “noble savages”

2. Society corrupts individualsa. “Man is born free, but

everywhere is in chains”3. People form a social contract with each other, and must respect the “general will”, or majority rule

a. Democracy is the best form of government4. People have the right to rebel if their natural rights are taken away

B. Voltaire

1. People are endowed with the natural right of freedom of speech

“I may not agree with a word you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”

2.Hefavored an enlightened monarch who respects the rights

of the people

Quick Writing/discussion Prompt: Do you agree with Voltaire?

Voltaire once said:Voltaire once said:““I may disapprove of what you say, but I will I may disapprove of what you say, but I will

defend to the death your right to say it.defend to the death your right to say it.””

When, if ever, should freedom of speech be

restricted?

Consider schools, TV, radio, wartime, etc.

Political Ideas of the Enlightenment Italian philosophe

Cesare Beccaria criticized abuses in the justice system

Beccaria was upset with the use of torture, corrupt judges, secret trials,

& severe punishments for crimes

Beccaria argued that people accused of crimes should be given a fair & speedy trial and that capital

punishment & torture should be abolished

Quick Writing Prompt: Do you agree with Beccaria?

Is capital punishment Is capital punishment an acceptable form of an acceptable form of

punishment for punishment for crimes? crimes?

C. Baron de Montesquieu wrote “On the Spirit of Laws”

1. The best model of government is one with multiple branches where power is divided

2. These branches also should have checks and balances to limit one another

3. He admired the English system of government which already had this system in place

Montesquieu’s model of gov’t also included a system of checks & balances in which each branch of gov’t

could limit the power of the other branches

Quick Thinking Prompt: Which is whichSeparation of powers or direct democracy?

Take power from one Take power from one king & divide king & divide it among 3 branches it among 3 branches of govof gov’’t that each can t that each can limit other branches limit other branches

Let the people make Let the people make all decisions directly all decisions directly to ensure what the to ensure what the majority wants, the majority wants, the majority getsmajority gets

Montesquieu Rousseau