Issac Newton (1642-1727)

 Education 

• Attended Cambridge 

• Was taught there 

 Reclusiveness 

• He wanted to be very secretive about his idea 

• Not open to criticism 

• He would experiment on himself  

 Three Areas of Expertise

 Optics (Eyes) 

 Descartes’ view of light 

• Argued that light was white 

• Believed that speed impacted the color 

• Prism added imperfections 

 Newton’s Experiment and Conclusions 

• Believed that light was made by color 

  • It was a dual-prism experiment

  • Proved that light was made of color 

 Mathematics

 Calculus

• Invented differential calculus 

• giving predictions for how the universe would move based on math 

 Gravity (Most famous) 

• Synthesized Kepler and Galileo 

Theory of  Universal Gravitation 

• Can be used for everything in the universe 

• Mutual Gravitation: The size of the body had a gravitational relationship with another massive body 

o Principia Mathematica (1687)

• It was published against Newton's wish, but it was done because a patron recognized and published his genius. 

• Take the data and scrutinize it. 

 Newton’s Three Laws 

1. A body remains at rest unless acted on by an opposing force 

2. Acceleration is related to the force used and the body’s mass  

3. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction

• IT IS A UNIVERSAL EXPLANATION ON WHY THE UNIVERSE MOVES 

 Alchemy 

• The goal is to transform ordinary materials into gold. 

• Mystical sciences 

 Theology 

• The majority of his were writings 

• Biblical commentator 

 Theological Views 

• Didn’t believe in the view of the Doctrine of the Trinity 

  • Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit  

  • Viewed God as the Prime Mover of the Universe  

 John Locke (1632-1704) 

 Post-English Civil Wars

• Working in the Restoration of Monarchy 

• Response to absolutism 

  • Locke and Hobbes have something in common  

 What is the Nature and Purpose of Government?

• Chaos and protection of the people 

 Locke’s View of Human Nature

• More optimistic than Hobbs 

• Total Freedom of Equality 

 Government, according to “Nature”

• No need for government 

• Self-enforced government 

  • But life got complicated 

 Creation of “Civil Society” 

• Nature and government come in to help fix these disputes 

• Governments are NOT built on absolutes.   

 Social Contract

• Where people came together 

 Contractual Government 

• Humans only give some rights to the government 

  • Rights are Enumerated 

    • Rights have been given to the government 

 Conditional Government

• Governments have limitations 

• When they go beyond the will of the people, humans have the right to dissolve the government and form their own 

 Contrast with Hobbes 

• More optimistic 

• Human nature was rational and equal 

• Utilized the toleration of religion 

 Separation of Powers

• Neither the Kings nor the Parliaments were absolute 

 “Law of Nature” in Humans

• Life, Liberty, and Property