scientific revolution
change in how we view our universe; from god to math and science; one of the greatest accomplishments in history
nicolaus copernicus
wrote "revolutions of the heavenly spheres"; first to challenge the ptolemaic system; said earth moved around the sun; ruined humans "chain of being" of not being #1; father of heliocentricism
the ptolemaic system
earth is the center and above is 10 crystals that reach god
johannes kepler
suggested elliptical orbits; found that planets travel at different speeds, and move faster as they approach the sun, and slower as they move away from it (Laws of Planetary Motion)
galileo galilei
wrote dialogues on "Two Chief Systems of the World"; first to use the telescope correctly; shattered the ptolemaic system; saw craters on the moon (supposed to be circles by god) and 4 moons revolving around jupiter; first to believe the universe was subject to cold, mathematical, mechanistic laws; like a machine; god was no longer the creator of the universe; discovered inertia; excommunicated; fights for freedom of thought
sir issac newton
wrote "principia mathemetica", all objects moves through mutual attraction (gravity) - explained the orderly motion of planets; invented calculus; invented laws of motion (how things move) and optics (how you see things); replaced ptolemy's theory; said the natural universe became a realm of law and regularity (everything can be proven with math); said god no longer needed to explain the universe, but was still the first creator
francis bacon
induction (scientific method); father of empiricism (see to believe it), attacked any truth solely based on tradition; one must observe before an attempt explanation, the last test of a theory was if it described what could actually be observed; leads to inductive reasoning (again and again), advocated innovation and change; believed all knowledge came from experience; said science has a practical purpose to improve human life
rene descartes
deduction (truth can be reached through reason), done in the mind using math and logic; proved his existence "I think, therefore I am" (cogito ergo sum); proved gods existence; said all nature can be explained with deductive reasoning and mathematical proofs; invented analytical geometry (x & y)
scientific method
descartes method (deduction) + bacons method (induction)
blaise pascal
genius mathematician (pascals triangle); invented the calculator; said reason and science were no help in the matters of religion, only the heart and a leap of fail could prevail christianity; said reason is weak because it can't solve all human nature and destiny problems; faith drives mortality aka nature isn't always right, don't disregard faith; bet: it's a better bet to believe in god than to not
thomas hobbes
wrote the "leviathan" during the civil war so he came to the idea that people are bad; said man is born materialistic and egotistical, and that life is "nasty, brutish, and short"; original human state was pure freedom - chaotic and horrible, every man against man; said you needed a social contract (giving up freedom) to become civil and safe (power comes from the people ruling, not god) - replaced divine right to kings; ruler had to impose order and safety; no rebelling
John Locke
wrote "two treatises on government"; said man by birth is good and the original state was one of perfect freedom and equality with natural rights to life, liberty, and property; social contract to "umpire" their disputes and reserve natural rights; you can rebel; put reason into government; governments job is human freedom; said humans are born as tabula rasa (blank slate) and that experience teaches all - shifted child raising/character development
deism
monotheism based on reason; believed church exploited peoples ignorance and superstition and spread wars; said god was the great clock maker who created a perfect universe and then stepped away; born with religious knowledge, but no specific church is right on religion; knowledge only comes from investigation; afterlife determined by ones actions on earth; god is distant and does not intervene
enlightenment of the 18th century
1690-1780, now applied to the people; said natural science and reason can explain all aspects of life; scientific method can explain laws of nature and man, social sciences possible; progress is possible if laws are understood and followed
denis diderot
tried to accumulate all human knowledge and promote enlightenment ideas (the encyclopedia project) free and open learning for anybody
philosophes
looked to england with free society and constitutional government; saw church as the main enemy of human happiness; gathered in salons to discuss latest books and news; women hosted
madame de pompadour
one of the most popular and charming hostesses; advanced french patronage of the arts and the belief in french pride
madame du chatelet
helped interpret the new science and bring it to more people through Voltaire
religion...
stood opposed to reason and science, slowed human progress and perpetuated superstition and ignorance and violence
voltaire
said "crush the infamous thing" (the church); also said "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
mary wollstonecraft
wrote "vindication of the rights of women", said women are not inferior to men, they only appear to be because of the lack of education; women should not be ornaments; first feminist
baron de montesquieu
applied reason to gov; wrote "spirit of the laws"; said division of gov into 3 branches, executive(signs laws), legislative(makes laws), and judicial(reviews laws); checks and balances
jean-jacques rousseau
the "black sheep" of the enlightenment; said rationalism and civilization were destructive, not liberating; wanted to return to nature, wanted "general will"; spoke to children and gov, said children should be raise self-expressive and away from civilization to learn through experience; in "social contract" argued for direct democracy; society is better than its individual members; evil comes from uneven distribution of wealth, better to be poor and moral than rich and immoral
john wesley
founder of methodism; a pietism sought to revive protestantism; said calvinism and predestination were not agreeable with god; also upset over lack of care for the people; preached in open fields, emphasized universal salvation
andreas vesa
advanced anatomy and the human body
william harvey
found that the blood circulates through the body
robert hooke
found cells
robert boyle
chemist