2. Background to the Revolution
• During the Middle Ages, educated
Europeans took more interest in the
world around them.
• However, they still relied upon a
few ancient authorities, especially
Aristotle, for their scientific
knowledge.
3. • Changes in the 15th
and 16th
Centuries
led to the abandonment of old views
and the development of the new ones.
Renaissance humanists discovered
the works of Ptolemy, Archimedes,
and Plato and realized that many
ancient thinkers had disagreed with
Aristotle.
4. • Technical problems associated with the
changes taking place during this time
spurred a movement towards
observation and measurement.
–The inventions of new instruments
such as the telescope and
microscope made fresh observations
and discoveries possible.
5. – Mathematics also played an important role in
these new ideas. Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo,
Newton and others developed new theories
that became the foundation of the Scientific
Revolution.
– Because these thinkers believed the secrets of
nature were written in the language of
mathematics and discarded the old views, this
period is sometimes referred to as the Age of
Reason.
6. A Revolution in Astronomy
• Medieval philosophers had
constructed a geocentric
model of the universe called
the Ptolemaic system
because it was based on
the ideas of Ptolemy in the
second century A.D.
• The earth was at the center
and was motionless.
7.
8. • Copernicus
published “On the
Revolutions of the
Heavenly
Spheres” in which
he disagreed with
the Ptolemaic
Model.
9. • Copernicus called
his idea about the
universe the
heliocentric system.
• He believed that the
planets moved
around the sun and
that the earth was
not the center of the
universe.
10. • Johannes Kepler’s
observations confirmed
that Copernicus was
correct about the sun
being the center of the
universe by tracking the
elliptical orbits of the
planets (showing they
weren’t circular as
Copernicus had said).
11.
12. • Galileo, a
mathematician, was the
first European to make
regular observations of
the heavens using a
telescope. He showed
that the planets were
not pure orbs of light
but were made of
materials like the earth.
13. • Galileo published his discoveries in
“The Starry Messenger” in 1610.
• His ideas brought him under suspicion
by the Catholic Church which backed
the Ptolemaic model.
• He was ordered to abandon his ideas
about the universe because they
contradicted the Bible.
14.
15. • Despite the new
ideas of
Copernicus, Kepler,
and Galileo, it was
an Englishman
named Isaac
Newton who finally
tied everything
together.
16. • Newton, in his Principia, defined the
three laws of motion that govern the
planetary bodies, as well as objects
here on earth.
• In his universal law of gravitation, he
explained why the planetary bodies
travel in an elliptical pattern. Objects in
the universe are attracted to every other
object by a force called gravity.
17.
18. • Newton’s ideas showed the universe
as a well-regulated machine that
worked according to the laws of nature.
• Newton’s theory of the world
dominated until the 20th
Century when
Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity
created a new view of our universe.
19. Breakthroughs in Medicine
and Chemistry
• Medicine had changed very little until the 16th
Century.
• It had been dominated by the teachings of
the Greek physician, Galen (who lived in the
second century A.D.)
• Galen’s views were often wrong because he
used animals, not people, for his dissection.
20.
21. • The new anatomy of
the 16th
Century was
based on the work
of Andreas Vesalius
who used the
dissection of human
bodies for his
findings.
22.
23. • This allowed him to come up with a
more accurate view of the individual
organs and general structure of the
human body.
• However, he still followed Galen’s
incorrect idea that there were two kinds
of blood: one kind in the veins and
another kind in the arteries.
24. • William Harvey showed
that the heart, not the
liver, was the beginning
point for the circulation
of blood.
• He also proved that the
same blood flowed in
both the veins and
arteries. This meant that
the blood makes a
complete circuit as it
flows through the body.
25. • The new science of
chemistry arose in
the 17th
and 18th
Centuries.
• Robert Boyle was
one of the first to
scientifically conduct
controlled
experiments.
26. • He specifically studied the
properties of gases which led to the
development of Boyle’s Law.
• This states that the volume of a gas
varies with the pressure exerted on
it.
27. • Antoine Lavoisier
invented a system of
naming the chemical
elements ; much of
which is still used.
• He is considered the
founder of modern
chemistry.
28. Women and the Origins of Modern
Science
• Margaret Cavendish, in
her book “Observations
Upon Experimental
Philosophy,” criticized
the belief that humans,
through science, were
the masters of nature:
“man cannot have a
supreme and absolute
power.”
29. • Maria Winkelmann was an
astronomer who then
became an assistant to her
husband, Prussia’s main
astronomer.
• After his death, she was
denied a job as an assistant
astronomer at the Berlin
Academy, even though she
had the background and
had discovered a comet,
because of her gender.
Any kind of scholarship was
not considered the role or
duty of women.
30. Descartes and Reason
• Rene Descartes used
the doubt and confusion
of all of the new ideas
of this time to arrive at a
new philosophy.
• He decided to set aside
all that he had learned
up to this time and start
again.
31. • Descartes said he could rationally be
sure of only one thing – his own
existence.
• He asserted that he would accept only
those things his reason said were true.
• His first principle was “I think, therefore
I am.”
32. • Descartes’ second principle involved the
separation of mind and matter (and of mind and
body).
• He said this separation allowed scientists to view
matter as something dead that could be
investigated independently by reason.
• He is known as the father of modern rationalism
because his system is based on the idea that
reason is the chief source of knowledge.
33. The Scientific Method
• During the Scientific Revolution, people
were concerned about how they could
best understand the physical world.
• The result was the creation of the
scientific method – a systematic
procedure for collecting and analyzing
evidence.
34. • Francis Bacon, an
English philosopher,
was the person who
developed the scientific
method.
• He believed in using
inductive reasoning, or
making generalizations
from observations to
test hypotheses (going
from specific evidence
to general principles).
35. Medical Advances
• Edward Jenner
developed the first
vaccine for smallpox
using the scientific
method. Even though
there was some
resistance, it caught on
and significantly
reduced the deaths
from smallpox.
37. Path to the Enlightenment
• The Enlightenment was an 18th
Century philosophical movement of
intellectuals who were impressed
by the achievements of the
Scientific Revolution.
38. • They hoped to use the scientific
method to improve society.
• Common words used by the
Enlightenment thinkers were
reason, natural law, hope, and
progress.
39. • The Enlightenment was especially
influenced by the ideas of two 17th
Century Englishmen: Isaac
Newton and John Locke.
40. • Newton saw the
physical world and
everything in it as a
giant machine.
– He had discovered
natural laws that
governed the physical
world.
– Intellectuals believed
they could now discover
laws that governed
human society.
41. • John Locke, in his
“Essay Concerning
Human Understanding,”
argued that people
were born tabula rasa
or with blank minds.
• Everything they became
was due to the
surrounding world.
42. • He believed that if you changed the
environment and exposed people to the right
influences, they could be changed and a new
better society could be created. This
contradicted the view of an earlier
Enlightenment thinker, Thomas Hobbes.
Hobbes believed people needed a strong
government because they were not guided by
reason but by a ruthless struggle for self-
preservation. Without absolute power, there
would be no order in society.
43. • In his Two Treatises of Government, Locke had a
more optimistic view of human nature. He believed
people were basically reasonable and moral. They
had certain natural rights, or rights that belonged
to all humans from birth. These included life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. He argued
that people formed governments to protect these
rights. If a government fails to protect these rights,
the people have the right to overthrow that
government. Clearly he favored a limited
government over one with absolute power. These
ideas would later influence the American
Revolution.
44. • By using Newton’s methods,
intellectuals now believed they
could discover the natural laws that
all social institutions should follow
to produce an ideal society.
45. Philosophes and Their Ideas
• The intellectuals of the Enlightenment were
known as philosophes, meaning
philosophers.
• To them, the purpose of philosophy was to
change the world for the better.
• While most philosophes were French, the
English had provided the inspiration.
46. • The philosophes were writers,
professors, journalists, economists,
and, most of all, social reformers.
• Three French philosophes
dominated Enlightenment thought:
Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Diderot.
47. • In his The Spirit of
the Laws,
Montesquieu tried to
use the scientific
method to find the
natural laws that
govern the social
and political
relationships of
human beings.
48. • Montesquieu identified three basic
kinds of governments:
–Republics: suitable for small states
(countries)
–Despotism: appropriate for large
states
–Monarchies: ideal for middle or
moderate-sized states
49. • In his study of England’s government,
Montesquieu identified three branches:
–The executive (or monarch) who
enforces the laws
–The legislative (or parliament) that
makes the laws
–The judicial (or courts) that interpret
the laws
51. • This type of government functioned
through separation of powers which
keeps one person or group from gaining
too much power through the use of
checks and balances.
• Montesquieu’s work influenced
American philosophes who then
influenced the drafting of the U.S.
Constitution.
52.
53. • Voltaire was especially
well-known for his
criticism of Christianity
and his strong belief in
religious toleration.
He battled corruption,
injustice, and
inequality, and
defended freedom of
speech.
54. • Voltaire believed in deism,
an 18th
Century religious
philosophy based on
reason and natural law
which built on Newton’s
idea of a world machine.
• In the Deists’ view, God
(the mechanic) created the
universe which ran like a
clock without His
interference on its own
natural laws.
55. • Voltaire’s outspoken criticism offended the French
government and the Catholic Church.
• He was imprisoned and forced into exile.
• His books were outlawed and even burned, but he
continued to defend the principle of freedom of
speech.
• His beliefs influenced several of our founding
fathers.
56. • Diderot was
most famous for
his
“Encyclopedia,”
of 28 volumes
which helped
spread the
ideas of the
Enlightenment.
57. • Many of Diderot’s articles attacked
religious superstition and supported
religious toleration.
• Other articles called for social,
legal, and political improvements
that could lead to a more tolerant
and humane society.
58. Toward a New Social Science
• The philosophes’ belief that there
are natural laws that govern human
society led to the development of
the social sciences of economics
and political science.
59. • The Physiocrats, a French group, were
interested in indentifying the natural economic
laws that governed human society.
–They believed that individuals should be
free to pursue their own economic self-
interest.
–Government should not impose regulations
on the economy.
60. • This doctrine became
known as laissez-faire
(“hands off” or “let the
people do what they
want”).
• The best statement of
laissez-faire was made
by Adam Smith in his
work, The Wealth of
Nations.
61. • Laissez-faire was a rejection of mercantilism which
required colonies to send everything back to England
instead of making a higher profit elsewhere. Since
mercantilism required government regulation of the
economy to achieve a favorable balance of trade for
a country, philosophes rejected that view.
• Smith believed the government should only have
three basic roles
– Protect society from invasion
– Defend from injustice
– Keep up public works (such as roads and canals)
62. The Later Enlightenment
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau was
the most famous philosophe
of this time.
• In his Discourse on the
Origins of the Inequality of
Mankind, he argued that
people had adopted laws and
government to protect their
property which had led to
their enslavement.
63. • In another work, The Social Contract, he
said an entire society agrees to be
governed by its general will (majority
rule). This would result in true liberty.
• Unlike many Enlightenment thinkers, he
believed that emotions, as well as
reason, were important to human
development. The two needed to be
balanced.
64. Rights of Women
• Mary Wollstonecraft is viewed as
the founder of the women’s
rights movement.
• She argued that the power of
man over woman was as bad as
that of monarchs.
• If reason was found in all
humans, women had reason and
were entitled to the same rights
as men.
65. Social World of the Enlightenment
• The common people, especially the
peasants, were mostly unaware of
the Enlightenment.
• The major appeal of the
Enlightenment was among the
upper classes.
66. • In the 18th
Century, publishing and reading
began to grow which helped spread the ideas
of the Enlightenment.
• Many books were now directed at the middle
classes.
• The development of newspapers and
magazines for the general public began in the
18th
Century.
67. • Enlightenment ideas
were also spread
through the salons;
elegant drawing
rooms of the
wealthy upper class
where guests
gathered to discuss
the ideas of the
philosophes.
68.
69. • In this salon, a
young Mozart is
playing the
harpsichord in the
middle of the room
as an opera singer
performs while
playing the guitar.
70. • The salons brought writers and artists
together with aristocrats, government
officials, and wealthy middle class
people.
• The women who hosted the salons were
in a position to sway political opinion
and influence literary and artistic tastes.
71. Religion in the Enlightenment
• Although many philosophes attacked
religion, in the 18th
Century most
Europeans were still Christians.
–Many wanted a deeper personal
devotion to God.
–Methodism was the most famous of
the new religious movements.
72. • John Wesley was
the founder of this
new movement
and his Methodist
societies helped
each other to do
good works.
73. • The Methodist
movement appealed
mostly to the lower
classes.
• Methodism proved that
the search for reason
had not eliminated the
need for spiritual
experience.
