Transcript The Scientific Revolution - Pleasantville High School

Unit 2: Scientific Revolution &
The Enlightenment
CHAPTER
22
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Enlightenment and
Revolution, 1550–1789
Time Line
1543
1628
Copernicus
publishes
heliocentric
theory.
1762
John
Locke
defines
natural
rights.
William
Harvey
describes
heart
function.
Catherine
the Great
rules
Russia.
1690
1550
1789
Galileo
observes
heavens
through
telescope.
1609
Newton
publishes
law of
gravity.
1687
1748
Montesquieu
describes
separation of
powers.
The Roots of Modern Science
 The Medieval View
 Most knowledge in the
Middle Ages came
from the Bible and
Greek/Roman
sources.
 Supports geocentric
theory—moon, sun,
planets revolve around
Earth
Why didn’t anyone challenge Aristotle,
Ptolemy, & the Church?
 During Dark Ages in
Europe life was very,
very tough (little food,
little protection, a lot of
disease)
 No books to learn
from…only the Bible.
 Kings didn’t allow for
public education…NO
KNOWLEDGE.
The Roots of Modern Science
 A New Way of Thinking
 Renaissance prompts new ways of thinking (1300-1600)
 Scientific Revolution—new way of viewing the natural world—
based on observation and inquiry
 New discoveries, overseas exploration open up thinking
 Scholars make new developments in astronomy and
mathematics.
 Questioned Greco-Roman ideas
 Questioned Church teachings
 Use of scientific method and human intellect.
A Revolutionary Model of the Universe
 The Heliocentric Theory
Widely accepted geocentric
theory challenged as inaccurate
 Copernicus develops the
heliocentric theory—planets
revolve around the sun
 Later scientists mathematically
prove Copernicus to be correct

Nicolaus
Copernicus
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
 Believed in Copernicus’s idea, but he also believed that the planets
move in ellipses, or oval paths.
A Revolutionary Model of the Universe
Galileo Galilei
 Galileo’s Discoveries
 Italian scientist Galileo
Galilei makes key advances
in astronomy.
 He makes discovery about
planet surfaces using
telescope
 Supports heliocentric theory
 4 moons of Jupiter (Jupiter
has 8 moons)
 Sun spots
 Catholic clergy members forced
him to recant his findings under
threat of excommunication and
torture
 Church officials placed Galileo
under house arrest for the rest of
his life in an attempt to silence
him
Isaac Newton
 Used math to prove the ideas




of Copernicus and Galileo
Called the force gravity, or
that all objects fall towards
Earth
Said all of nature follows laws.
Motion in space and earth
linked by the law of universal
gravitation—holds that every
object is universe attracts
every other object
Newton views the universe as
a vast, perfect mechanical
clock.
The Scientific Method
 A Logical Approach
 Revolution in thinking leads to development of scientific
method—a series of steps for forming and testing
scientific theories
 Bacon and Descartes
 Thinkers Bacon and Descartes help to create scientific
method
 Bacon urges scientists to experiment before drawing
conclusions
 Descartes advocates using logic and math to reason out
basic truths
The Scientific Method
Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
René Descartes (1595-1650)
The Triumph of Reason
Rene Descartes is the founder of modern
rationalism. This is the belief that reason is the
chief source of knowledge.
To Descartes, one fact seemed to be beyond
doubt—his own existence.
Descartes clarified this idea by the phrase, “I
think, therefore I am” or “Cogito ergo sum.”
Francis Bacon and
the Scientific Method
Sir Francis Bacon
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
Reflection Question
 Do you exist to provide for the government, or does
the government exist to provide for you?
Scientific Revolution influences the
Enlightenment
 Use of reason
 Natural laws govern human behavior
 Application of the scientific method to solving the
problems of society
 The Enlightenment rejected traditional ideas and
supported a belief in human reason
Definitions…
 What are natural/ unalienable rights?
 What are natural laws?
 What is a philosopher?
What ideas concerning Government
came out of the Enlightenment?
 Do Now – Analyze the following quote:
 “It is true that in democracies, the people seem to act
as they please; but Political Liberty does not consist in
an unlimited freedom…we must have continually
present to our minds the difference between
independence and liberty. Liberty is a right of doing
whatever the law permits, and if a citizen could do
what the laws forbid he would no longer be in
possession of liberty, because all of his fellow citizens
would have the same power.”
How does disobeying laws lead to a loss of liberty?
Philosophers and the “State of Man in
Nature”
 Man in the State of Nature:
Human’s way of thinking,
feeling and acting without
any influence.
 Are we Naturally good or
evil? How do we control
good or bad behavior?
Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679)
 People are cruel, greedy





and selfish
If not strictly controlled
they would fight, rob and
oppose each other
Supports absolute
monarchies.
Emphasized social
contract
The state of nature is
cruel
The Leviathan –
publication
John Locke
 More optimistic view of human nature
 All people had natural or unalienable





rights
The rights of life, liberty and property
Gov’t’s power comes from the consent
of the people and is therefore limited
Should protect natural rights/ if not had
a right to rebel
Two Treatises of Government
Influenced the Declaration of
Independence and the US Constitution
2 Different Views on Government and People
 Thomas Hobbes


Felt humans were naturally
selfish and wicked
Believed that w/o government
there would be war between
man.

Felt to escape life one should
give all rights to a strong ruler.
In exchange the people gain
Law + Order
 This is the Social Contract
 John Locke

More positive outlook than
Hobbes
Felt people could learn from
experience
 Favored Self Government
 Felt everyone is born with 3
natural rights
 Life, Liberty and Property.


Believed a governments
power comes from the
consent of the people.
What Was the Enlightenment?
The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement in
Europe during the 18th century that led to
a whole new world view. New theories about government,
philosophy, economics and religion. It focused mainly on
politics and society and involved the writing of many French
political writers and philosophers known as the “Philosophes”
Enlightenment Principles
• Religion, tradition,
and superstition
limited
independent
thought
• Accept knowledge
based on
observation, logic,
and reason, not on
faith
• Scientific and
academic thought
should be secular
A meeting of French Enlightenment thinkers
Immanuel Kant
According to the 18thcentury philosopher
Immanuel Kant, the
“motto” of the
Enlightenment was
“Sapere aude! Have
courage to use your own
intelligence!”
Baron de Montesquieu
 Separation of Powers
 Three branches of gov’t
 Legislative, judicial, and executive branches
 System of checks and balances/each branch will
keep the other from getting too powerful
 US Constitution
 Separation of powers would prevent tyranny
 “Power Should be a check to Power”
Montesquieu’s Spirit of Laws (1748)
 In it, Montesquieu described “separation of
powers”
 He modeled it after England, and said there should
be 3 powers of government:
1. The legislative power, which makes laws
2. The Executive power, which carries out laws
3. The judicial power, which interprets the law

“Power should be a check to power.”
Jean Jacques Rousseau
 “Man is born free and




everywhere he is in chains”
Civilization corrupted
man’s natural goodness/
‘General will’ of the people
creates a society/direct
democracy
Wrote the “Social
Contract”
Majority should work for
the common good
Voltaire (1694–1778)
• Championed social, political, and
religious tolerance
• Freedom of speech, freedom of
religion, toleration, use of
reason
• “ I do not agree with a word you say
but I will defend to the death your
right to say it”
• His ideas are found in the US
Constitution EXCEPT the abolition of
slavery.
Cesare Bonesana Beccaria
 Beliefs
 Laws existed to preserve social
order, not avenge crime.
 Accused should receive speedy
trials.
 Torture should never be used.
 Degree of punishment should
match seriousness of crime.
 Capital punishment (death
penalty) should be abolished.
The U.S. Constitution
• Separation
of powers
• Checks and
balances
• Bill of
Rights
Painting depicting the Constitutional Convention
Mary Wollstonecraft
 Women should be
equally educated along
with men.
 Women should enter
professions traditionally
dominated by men like
medicine and politics.
 Wrote A Vindication of
the Rights of Woman
Impact of the Enlightenment
 People have confidence that human reason can solve
social problems
 A more secular outlook emerges as scientific
thinking replaces superstition, fear and intolerance
 The individual becomes more important as people
use their own ability to reason and judge
Impact of the Enlightenment
 Governments and the Church did not like the ideas
of the Enlightenment and many books were burned
and scholars tortured and killed
 Influenced the American, French , and Latin
American Revolutions.
 Influenced the writing of the Declaration of
Independence, the US Constitution, and The
French Declaration of the Rights of Man and
Citizen
 Political impacts such as the Separation of Powers
and Enlightened Despots, or rulers who believed in
Enlightenment ideals
“Enlightened Monarchs”
 Most of Europe ruled by
absolute monarchs
 Receptive to Enlightenment
ideas
 Instituted new laws and
practices
Enlightened Monarchs
• Frederick II, Prussia
• Catherine the Great, Russia
• Maria Theresa, Austria
• Joseph II, Holy Roman Empire
• Gustav III, Sweden
• Napoleon I, France
Enlightened Despots
 Some monarchs accepted Enlightenment ideas.
They were known as Enlightened Despots.
 Maria Theresa of Austria: improved the tax
system/ Tax the clergy and the nobles/ made
primary education available in her kingdom.
 Joseph II: practiced religious toleration, ended
censorship and abolished serfdom.
 Catherine the Great: asked the nobles for advice,
freed some of the peasants, built schools, and
hospitals. Practiced religious toleration and
promoted education for women.
How does the Enlightenment affect the
American Revolution?
The Glorious Revolution + Enlightenment
prepared grounds for the American Revolution
•
•
They encouraged the idea that the government should be in
the interests of the governed rather than the ruler
Americans Win Independence
 The Influence of the Enlightenment
 Colonial leaders push for independence, rely on
Enlightenment ideas
 Declaration of Independence—document justifying colonial
rebellion
 Leader Thomas Jefferson writes Declaration, uses ideas of
John Locke
Americans Create a Republic
 The Federal System
 Constitution creates three branches of government
 Provides checks and balances—ensures branches share
power equally
 Promotes federal system—power divided between nation
and states
 The Bill of Rights
 Some fear too much national power, few protections of
rights
 Leaders win support for Constitution by adding a Bill of
Rights

Ten amendments to Constitution that protect freedoms
Belief in Progress – actually believing that
humanity could solve social problems
2. Secular Outlook – Not looking to the church for all
knowledge
3. Importance of the Individual – looking to
themselves for knowledge and guidance
1.