Chapter 10: Revolution and Enlightenment

Section 1: The Scientific RevolutionBackground to the Revolution:

Middle Ages, scientists relied on a few ancient authorities like Aristotle but there are several reasons why philosophers abandoned old views and developed new ones:

1) Renaissance humanist discovered works by Ptolemy,

Archimedes, and Plato that had disagreed with Aristotle

2) invention of new instruments like the telescope and microscope

3) printing press spread ideas4) the study of mathematics

A. Revolution in Astronomy:

The Ptolemaic System: A geocentric model of the universe; earth was fixed and motionless; beyond the spheres was Heaven, where God and saved souls resided

Nicholas Copernicus wrote On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres. In the book he introduced the heliocentric model of the universe, where planets revolved around the sun, moons revolved around planets, and apparent movement of the sun was

caused by the earth spinning

Johannes Kepler discovered the laws of planetary motion. Kepler’s First Law: orbits of planets was

elliptical not circular; sun off-center

– Galileo:• first to use a telescope: discovered mountains on the

moon, four moons revolving Jupiter, and sunspots.• Wrote The Starry Messenger; said planets were

composed of material substance rather than just orbs of light; widely read made Europeans aware of the works of Copernicus and Kepler as well.

• Galileo was put on trial for heresy because his writings threatened church teachings that the heavens were fixed and unchanging and that seemed to contradict the Bible

– Isaac Newton:• explained motion in the universe and tied

together the ideas of Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo

• wrote Principles of Natural Philosophy; in the book Newton defined the laws of motion; crucial to his whole argument was the universal law of gravitation; this law states that every object in the universe is attracted to every other object by a force called gravity.

Breakthroughs in Medicine and Chemistry:

• Anatomy was based on the work of Andreas Vesalius; wrote On the Fabric of the Human Body; in the book, he discussed what he found dissecting human bodies; presented an accurate description of the organs and structure of the body

• William Harvey wrote On the Motion of the Heart and Blood; showed that the heart was the beginning point for the circulation of blood in the body; also proved same blood flowed in both veins and arteries and makes a complete circuit as it passes through the body.

– Chemistry:• Robert Boyle worked on the properties of gases;

Boyle’s Law: the volume of a gas varies with the pressure exerted on it

• Antoine Lavoisier: invented system of naming chemical elements

– regarded as founder of modern chemistry.

• Women and the Origins of Modern Science:

– Margaret Cavendish: wrote Observations Upon Experimental Philosophy; in the book she was critical of the growing belief that humans, through science, were masters of nature

– Maria Winkelmann: discovered a comet; was refused a teaching position because of her sex

• Descartes and Reason:– Rene Descartes’s wrote Discourse on Method;

in the book he emphasized the importance of the mind and reason; mind and matter were completely separate; famous quote: “I think, therefore I am”; Descartes has been called the father of modern rationalism: the belief that reason is the chief source of knowledge.

• The Scientific Method: a systematic procedure for collecting and analyzing evidence; developed by Francis Bacon; Bacon believed scientist should use inductive reasoning to learn about nature – proceed from the particular to the general

Section 10.2: The Enlightenment

“The Thinker”

• Path to the Enlightenment:

• Philosophers saw the success scientist had using reasoning to discover physical laws (Scientific Revolution) therefore philosophers were confident they could use reasoning to discover natural laws and influence society (Enlightenment)

• John Locke wrote Essay Concerning Human Understanding; in the book he argues that everyone is born with a blank mind (tabula rasa = blank tablet) and people are molded by their experiences; if people were exposed to the right influences, then people could be changed and a new society created.

Tabula Rasa

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Philosophes and Their Ideas

– Montesquieu: • wrote The Spirit of The Laws: in this book

Montesquieu tries to use the scientific method to find natural laws that govern the social and political relationships of human beings

• While studying England’s monarch, he found it to have three branches of government: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. The government functioned through separation of powers each checking and limiting the others powers; this system provided the greatest security for the state

Voltaire:• wrote Treatise on Toleration; in the

book he promoted religious

toleration

• Theory: the universe is a clock

and God is the clock-maker

• also wrote against corrupt officials, inequality, and the injustice of the slave trade; his writings offended the government and church; he was imprisoned and exiled for his writings; his books were censored and burned therefore Voltaire becomes an ardent defender of the freedom of speech

Diderot:• wrote the Encyclopedia; a 28 volume

collection of knowledge he edited; its purpose was to “change the general way of thinking”

• articles supported religious toleration, and called for social, legal, and political improvements

Toward a New Social Science

– Economics:• The Physiocrats: group who was interested in identifying the

natural economic laws that governed human society; argued that if individuals were left alone to pursue their own economic interest, all society would benefit

• Laissez-faire economics: let people do what they want; no interference by government

• Adam Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations. He believed in laissez-faire and he argued the government had only three roles:

1. protect society from invasion

2. defend citizens from injustice

3. maintain public works projects

Cesare Beccaria• wrote essay On Crimes and

Punishments; in the book he argues punishments should not be exercises in brutality; also opposed capital punishment

The Later Enlightenment:

– Rousseau:• wrote Discourse on the Origins of the Inequality of

Mankind; in the book he argues that people had adopted laws and government to protect private property and in the process become enslaved to the government

• wrote The Social Contract; he argues an entire society agrees to be governed by its general will; self-interest must be given up for what is best for the entire community

• wrote Emile; a novel that argues that an education should foster children’s natural instincts

Social World of the Enlightenment:

– The Growth of Reading: more books were published and many books were directed at the middle class and women; magazines and newspaper began to be published in the early 1700s

– The Salons: drawing rooms of the wealthy upper class’s; invited guests and took part in conversations about the ideas of the philosophies; these gatherings helped spread the ideas of the Enlightenment

Religion in the Enlightenment:

– Methodism – new religious movement started by John Wesley; stressed the importance of hard work and encouraged behaviors that led to spiritual contentment