Scientific Revolution & Enlightenment

  • Characteristics of The SR

    • Reason and rationality

    • Observation

    • Self Discovery

    • Breaking away from absolutism and the past.

  • Originated during the Renissance Era which lead to the discovery of the New World.

    • This period of intellectual and cultural rebirth fostered new ideas about human rights, governance, and the nature of knowledge.

  • The Printing Press

    • Affordable, higher literacy, and people gained the ability to easily disperse their ideas

  • Protestant Reformation

    • Challenging the authority of the Catholic Church.

    • Read the Bible yourself.

    • Divine Right concept weakened.

  • Scientific Societies

    • All discoveries requires money.

    • Elite class people pay for the experimenters to discover new things because it may boost their miltary power.

  • Rene Descartes (1596-1650)

    • Metaphysics and Scientific Method

      • Understanding how we process everything

    • “I think, therefore I am”

    • Only put your eggs in a basket that can be proven.

    • Devote Christian

  • People begin to attempt to prove the existence of God through metaphysics, science, math, etc.

  • Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

    • Experiment!

    • Founder of the Scientific Method

    • Says that nature is God’s second book

  • Geocentric Model:

    • Everything is drawn to the center

      • Earth is therefore at the center of the universe because we are God’s beloved.

      • This view emphasizes humanity's unique position in the cosmic order, reflecting the belief that celestial bodies revolve around Earth as a testament to divine significance.

  • Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543):

    • Man of faith/Catholic, really good mathmatician.

    • On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres:

      • essentially says the Sun is at the center of the universe.

      • people blew it off because he was a mathmatical genius.

    • Heliocentric Model: Sun is at the center of the universe.’

  • Johannes Kepler (1571-1630):

    • Off the back of Copernicus, he creates the Laws of Planetary Motion.

      • through math, proves where planets will be.

      • People question faith because scientific inquiry begins to provide answers about the natural world, leading to a shift towards reason and empirical evidence in understanding the universe.

  • Galileo:

    • Made the telescope better and discovered thousands more stars.

    • “Without math, one is wandering in a dark labyrinth.”

    • Laws of Motion

    • Called before the church twice and is put on trial in 1633

      • essentially said that he is a believer and hes trying to understand what God made better.

  • Questioning the world around them.

  • Sir Issac Newton (1642-1727):

    • Comes up with the Universal Laws of Gravitation.

    • Principia (1687):

      • This seminal work lays the groundwork for classical mechanics and serves as a key text in the scientific method, emphasizing observation and mathematical reasoning. Includes the Universal Law of Gravitation.

  • Enlightenment Origins:

    • Scientific Revolution

    • Recognition of influential rulers

    • Urban growth, industrial development and communication improvements.

    • Desire for change.

    • Emergence of new philosophies that challenged traditional authority and dogmas.

  • Characteristics of Enl.

    • Reason

    • Questioning faith in religion.

      • People stop putting the blame on religion.

    • Faith in science

    • Progress

    • Order in the Universe.

  • The Coffee House and Knowledge:

    • People start sharing knowledge at these coffee houses, giving the opportunity to exchange ideas.

    • All men and the rich are at these establishments, engaging in lively debates that foster intellectual growth and promote new ways of thinking.

    • Women were discluded because of their place in the household.

      • Unless they worked at the coffee house

    • Rahel Varnhagen (1771-1833) & Salons:

      • Rahel Varnhagen was a prominent figure in the salon movement, hosting gatherings that encouraged the participation of women in intellectual discourse. Her salons provided a space for distinguished guests, including writers, philosophers, and artists, to exchange ideas, challenge societal norms, and advocate for greater gender equality in enlightenment thought.

      • Jewish, upper-middle class woman.

      • Salons are similar to book clubs to put it in simple terms.

  • Adam Smith (1723-1790):

    • The Wealth of Nations

    • Applies what Newton said about Universal Law to economics.

      • free market economy is a natural system, governed by universal law.

        • Universal Law = Supply & Demand.

      • Government has a responsibility to protect our given rights and otherwise be very limited in anything else they do.

        • This hands-off approach allows the economy to self-regulate, similar to how natural laws govern the physical universe.

        • Patents become needed to protect your right to your property.

  • John Locke (1632-1704)

    • Human Nature = Reason and tolerance

    • “Government by consent of the governed”

    • Tabula Rasa: Blank Slate, learning by experience and knowledge.

  • Voltaire (1694-1778) & The Philosophes

    • Master of Satire

      • Satire was a way to make fun of people without being killed and noticed.

      • Causes society to start questioning without outright calling out the established norms, encouraging a shift in thought that ultimately led to greater demands for individual rights and governmental reform.

      • Philosophes: those engaged in the Enlightenment writings, meetings, etc.

  • Jean Jacques Rosseau (1712-1778)

    • The Social Contract

    • From Geneva (where Calvin did most of his speaking) and did most of his work in France

      • lived during the peak of absolutism

    • “The social contract's terms, when they are well understood, can be reduced to a single stipulation: the individual member alienates himself totally to the whole community together with all his rights. This is first because conditions will be the same for everyone when each individual gives himself totally, and secondly, because no one will be tempted to make that condition of shared equality worse for other men....”

      • Hence, the agreement fosters a mutual reliance and respect among citizens, promoting the welfare of the entire society over individual desires.

    • The General Will: will of the people.

      • your property thus belongs to the general will

    • Government is the middle man between the people and the sovereign.

      • expression of the people

    • Participation is a must such as voting, serving in the military, etc.

      • Only if you want to reap the benefits of society under the government.

      • This active involvement fosters a sense of responsibility and ensures that the government remains accountable to its citizens.

      • If you don’t participate, you could be killed, imprisioned, and more.

  • Immanuel Kant (1724-1804):

    • A prominent philosopher of the Enlightenment, Kant advocated for the importance of individual freedom and the use of reason in the quest for knowledge.

    • Golden rule

    • If you want to be enlightened, go out and experience it.

      • This principle encourages individuals to actively engage with the world around them, promoting a form of learning that goes beyond theoretical understanding.

    • What is Enlightenment?

      • “Sapere aude! ‘Have courage to use your own reason!’- that is the motto of enlightenment.”

      • If you are unelightened, it is no ones fault but yours.

      • “For this enlightenment, however, nothing is required but freedom…”