Changes in science, philosophy, & political ideas relating to wider changes in Britain

what did the diggers believe in?

free/communal land → basically the first communists

what did the ranters believe?

sin was created by god therefore sinning more makes you more godly; more radical of the groups

what did the levellers believe in?

increasing the franchise; more of a political movement

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what did the quakers believe in?

rejected authority + didn’t take oaths

define rationalism.

the principle of basing opinions and actions on reason and knowledge rather than on religious belief or emotional response

define empiricism.

the idea that all learning comes from only experience and observations

what prompted the enlightenment to really take off?

the english civil war

when did debate around authority, particularly of the monarchy, increase in england?

1640 - aftermath of the english civil war

how did the interregnum increase debate around the authority of the monarchy in england?

increase in freedom and religious toleration → allows questioning/opposition to monarchy

who were the two main philosophers that developed in the time when the monarchy’s power was being debated?

thomas hobbes and john locke

what were thomas hobbes beliefs?

• society can only function with a strong leader otherwise it will descend into chaos → royalist

• did not believe in DROK

• kings could only be removed if they threatened their own peoples safety

• supported absolutist monarchs/ones that abused their power/were bad

what were john lockes beliefs?

• the king should protect the rights of the people → if the king takes away the peoples rights, they have the right to overthrow

• promoted power of the people/equality of men

• did not believe in DROK

• disagreed with enforcing one single, true religion - he said you cannot force belief

what was the philosophes belief of a ‘social contract’?

the obligation to obey civil government under the ‘social contract’ was conditional upon the protection of the natural rights of each person

what was hobbes and lockes belief of a ‘state of nature’ and how did they differ?

hobbes → state of nature was lawlessness and chaos

locke → characterized by the absence of government, but not necessarily chaos

what did francis bacon ‘create’ as a philosopher?

the baconian method → rejecting preconceived theories, never taking anything at face value, using observations to understand natural phenomena, not religion (secular)

what did francis bacon question as a philosopher?

questioned the impacts religion had on decision making in science

why was the implementation/access of philosophes theories limited in 1625-88?

• many were secular - wasnt wholly accepted yet

• many theories were published posthumously by the royal society

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when did sir isaac newton become president of the royal society?

1703

what areas of science was sir isaac newton involved in?

optics (light), mechanics (physics), calculus (mathematics)

what were robert boyles beliefs on religion and science (and their relationship)?

an extension of his religious work which enhanced his own divine understanding of creation

believed that science and religion were mutually supportive

saw his scientific work as a religious duty

who was christopher wren?

english architect and astronomer

founder of the royal society

what were some of christopher wrens most notable creations/discoveries?

• helped rebuilding and designing infrastructure of london after the great fire

• st pauls catheral

• observed the moon

what did william petty do, considering he did not make ‘discoveries’ in the traditional sense?

• introduced systematic methods for quantifying national wealth

• analyzed population dynamics (demography)

• evaluated the effectiveness of public policies

• studied human ecology (sociology basically)

what work did william harvey complete?

discoveries about the human body (blood flow, the heart, valves) which trumped that of galen’s theories