1.11 The Enlightenment & Scientific Revolution

In his 1543 book, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, Nicolaus Copernicus claims that

The planets revolved around the sun, not Earth.

How did Johannes Kepler contribute to the Scientific Revolution?

Provided mathematical calculations regarding planetary orbits that supported heliocentric theory

How does Galileo Galilei contribute to the Scientific Revolution?

Provided the first observational evidence in support of Copernicus heliocentric theory using the telescope

What did Galileo discover using his telescope?

4 moons of Jupiter and phases of Venus

In the Copernican view, humans were _________; God was _____________.

humans were no longer at the center of the universe; God was no longer in a specific place

How did Isaac Newton contribute to the Scientific Revolution?

formulated the laws of motion and gravitation, which provided the final proof of heliocentric theory

What does Isaac Newton’s universal law of gravitation do?

Explains why the planetary bodies continue their elliptical orbits about the sun

René Descartes promoted emphasizes on ____ and _____ as the basis for knowledge, encouraging broader ______ of ____ and _____, which aided a more _____ ______.

Doubt and reason as the basis for knowledge, encouraging broader acceptance of empirical evidence and critical thinking, which aided a more scientific approach

Francis Bacon contribute to our understanding of _____ by _____

Science by introducing inductive reasoning and the scientific method

Montesquieu contributed to our understanding of _____ by _____

Government by introducing the idea of checks and balances through separation of power

Voltaire contributed to our understanding of _____ by _____

Philosophy by advocating for freedom of religion and speech without government intervention

In Deism,

God made the world and allowed it to run freely according to its own natural laws

Denis Diderot’s most famous contribution to the Enlightenment was

The Encyclopedia

Adam Smith contributed to our understanding of _____ by _____

Economics by introducing the concept of laissez-faire

In laissez-faire,

the state should not interfere in economic matters

Jean-Jacques Rousseau contributed to our understanding of _____ by _____

Philosophy by introducing the concept of the social contract

In the system of enlightened absolutism,

rulers sought to apply Enlightenment principles of reason, progress and tolerance while maintaining their absolute power.