Scientific Revolution

Scientific Thought in 1500• Based on ancient and medieval ideas

– Religion/Church• Based on Aristotle’s principles

– Belief in a motionless, static Earth at the center of the universe

– 10 crystal spheres moved around Earth– Difference b/w celestial spheres and Earth– Offered an understandable explanation for what people

saw– Fit in with Christian doctrine– Science is just a branch of religion, reinforced religion

Arguments for Aristotle• Heavens are in the realm of God – must be

perfect, no blemishes• Bible stories – state Earth is static• God created Earth in his own image – must

be center of universe, significant• Fixed stars are everlasting and unchanging –

others are optical illusions

Causes of Scientific Revolution• Medieval Universities provided framework

– Incorporated philosophy into the curriculum– Critically think about scientific problems

• Some monarchs supported science– Louis XIV and French Academy

• Renaissance stimulated science by rediscovering ancient mathematics– Patrons supported scientists

• Better ways of obtaining knowledge about the world– Navigation manuals – exploring

• Gresham College and Royal Society of London– Improved tools – telescopes, sextants– Improved the scientific method– Empirical, experimental research– Deductive reasoning– Graph equations

Role of Religion• All religions opposed Copernicus’ theories to some

extent• Initially – Protestant and Jewish leaders were more

hostile than Catholics– Exceptions: Netherlands, Denmark

• England – Royal Society • After Galileo’s trial – Catholics became more hostile• Many scientists thought their work exalted God

– Newton – devout Christian – believed he was explaining God’s message

Nicolaus Copernicus• Polish clergyman

and astronomer• Overturned the

Medieval view• Earth revolved

around sun • Heliocentric Theory

- sun is at the center of universe

• Conflicted with church

• Dedicated work to Pope

Tycho Brahe• Danish noble• Built an observatory

to study heavenly bodies

• Collected data on planetary movements

• Planets revolve around sun, sun and planets revolve around Earth

Johannes Kepler• German• 3 laws of planetary

motion:– Planetary orbits are

elliptical – Planets do not move at a

uniform speed– Time for orbit depends

on distance from sun• Proved mathematically

that sun is at center• Destroyed Aristotle

Galileo Galilei• Italian math professor • Discovered the laws of

motion using the experimental method– Acceleration experiment

• Law of inertia – object moves in continuous motion unless stopped by some external force

• Made his own telescope• 4 moons of Jupiter• Moon is not smooth• Tried for heresy but he

recanted

Newton• English• Synthesized the integral parts

into a whole• Integrated astronomy of

Copernicus with the physics of Galileo

• Stood on the “shoulders of giants”

• Set of mathematical principles to explain motion

• Law of Universal Gravitation– Every body in the universe

attracts every other body in a mathematical relationship

– Force depends on size of object and the distance between them

Francis Bacon• English politician and

writer• New knowledge =

empirical, experimental research

• Inductive reasoning –use logic, collect data, compare and analyze– Bring data together,

make conclusions

Rene Descartes• French philosopher• Analytic geometry• Cartesian Duality – world

is made up of the physical and spiritual

• Deductive reasoning –reduce to mind or matter

• Bacon + Descartes –scientific method

• Andreas Vesalius – founder of modern human anatomy

• William Harvey – blood is pumped through the veins by the heart

• Robert Hooke – founder of the “cell”• Robert Boyle – modern chemistry• Joseph Priestley – discovered oxygen• Antoine Lavoisier - Combustion• Zacharias Janssen – first microscope

• Anton van Leeuwenhoek – microbiology, bacteria in red blood cells

• Evangelista Torricelli - barometer• Gabriel Fahrenheit - mercury

thermometer• Anders Celsius – Celsius scale• Edward Jenner – vaccination for smallpox

Consequences

• Helped create the international scientific community – new social group

• New way of obtaining knowledge -Development of the scientific method

• Few economic/social consequences in the beginning – more of an intellectual revolution

THE ENLIGHTENMENT

IMPACT OF THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION• Before 1500, what was true or false was based on

ancient Greek/Roman authors or Bible• Scientists beliefs did not match ancient beliefs• Old ideas are replaced with new theories =

Scientific Revolution• Question Everything!• Use reason in the area of science –

now apply to all aspects of life

CRISIS IN EUROPEAN THOUGHT1) Crisis for the religious – Aristotle is disproved!

– Religious wars – is religious unity really necessary?

2) No real truths – can religion truth ever be known with absolute certainty?3) Travel Literature – shows many different beliefs and customs – who is right or wrong?4) Locke – human development is shaped by education and social institutions

– Humans are not born with certain ways of thinking

THE ENLIGHTENMENT(LATE 1600S TO 1700S)• Age of Reason – an

intellectual revolution• Geared toward upper and

middle classes3 CONCEPTS• Science and reason can

explain everything– Nothing accepted on faith– Rationalism

• Scientific method – explains society and nature

• Progress

WHY DOES IT MATTER NOW?• Freedoms and some forms of government in many countries today are a result of Enlightenment thinking

• Era where man transitioned – from being chained by the accepted beliefs of the church to being free to think for themselves!

Old Way ofThinking

New Way of Thinking

• Superstition

• Rituals

• Accepted beliefs of Church

• Ignorance

• Reason

•Creativity

• Progress

• More opportunities for the talented, hardworking, intelligent

BEGAN IN FRANCE – WHY?• French was the international language of

the educated classes– Cultural leader, wealth, more people

• Not as many restraints• Philosophes asked many fundamental

philosophical questions about life– Spread messages through satire and double

meanings– Novels, plays, histories, dictionaries, etc.

• “The Public” – educated upper and comfortable middle classes

THOMAS HOBBES

• All humans are naturally selfish and wicked

• Without government to keep order, there would be a war of every man against every man

• Leviathan

THOMAS HOBBES (CONT).• Social Contract – agreement between

people and government, involving rights and responsibilities

– To escape war, people need to give up rights to a ruler

– In exchange for rights, people get law and order

– People DO NOT have the right to rebel, no matter how unjust

– Monarch’s responsibility to protect people from themselves

JOHN LOCKE• People are naturally

reasonable and moral• Tabula Rasa – “blank

slate” – at birth– Learn from experience– Essay Concerning Human

Understanding• Second Treatise of Civil

Government - People have natural rights belonging to all that govt should protect– life, liberty, property

JOHN LOCKE (CONT).• Social Contract – needed to keep order

– Government’s responsibility to protect natural rights

– People’s right to make sure government is limited and powers are acceptable to all citizens

– If government fails in duties, people’s right to overthrow

• People can choose their government – power comes from the consent of the people –foundation of democracy

BERNARD DE FONTENELLE(FRENCH) • Stressed the idea of

progress – don’t look back to ancients

• Made science witty and entertaining for a broad nonscientific audience

• Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds

• Skeptical of absolute truth and organized religion

PIERRE BAYLE (FRENCH)

• French Huguenot expelled by Louis XIV

• Historical and Critical Dictionary

• Skeptic– Nothing can be known

beyond all doubt – especially religious truth

– Humanity's best hope –open-minded toleration

MONTESQUIEU(FRENCH)• Persian Letters

– Persian travelers who criticize European customs and practices

• Spirit of Laws– Compared governments

– Separation of powers

– Checks and balances

– Liked England’s govt

FRANCOIS MARIE AROUET “VOLTAIRE”

• Imprisoned in the Bastille• Royal historian in France• Humans cannot govern

themselves• Best hope – a good monarch• Challenged Catholic theology

– God - Great Clockworker –built it, then let it run

• Freedom of religion and speech

• Candide

MADAME D’CHATELET

• Companion to Voltaire

• Passion for science

• Excluded because of her sex

• Translated Newton’s work into French

DIDEROT AND D’ALEMBERT

• Editors of the 17 volume Encyclopedia– Collection of articles

– Summed up the new world-view

• Banned by Church – put on Index– Anyone who read or bought it -

excommunication

THE LATER ENLIGHTENMENT• More rigid, dogmatic systems• Baron Paul d’Holbach – humans are machines

completely determined by outside forces– System of Nature– Atheist– Free will, God, immorality of soul – foolish myths

• David Hume – human mind is a bundle of impressions – senses

– Undermines Enlightenment use of reason

• Marie-Jean Caritat and Jean Jacques Rousseau

MARIE-JEAN CARITATTHE MARQUIS DE CONDORCET

• Fought slavery – Society of the Friends of Blacks

• Progress of the Human Mind

• 9 stages of human progress had already occurred

• 10th - perfection

ROUSSEAU• Attacked Enlightenment

ideas

• Reason and civilization destroys the individual

• Must also rely on emotion and instinct

• Social Contract– General will – interests of

the people (not necessarily the majority)

– Govt should make decisions based on general will

IMMANUEL KANT

• Freedom of the press

• Wrote What is the Enlightenment?

THE SPREAD OF IDEAS• Market for books grew

– Popular titles on various subjects

– Illegal book trade – books that denounce political figures or are pornographic

– Reading Revolution - nature of reading changes –individual and silent

– Call for autonomy of the written word – no censorship

• Salons – social gatherings of intellectuals– In the homes of rich women – Madame Geoffrin

– Involved discussion and debate

ENLIGHTENED ABSOLUTISM

ENLIGHTENED ABSOLUTISM

• Most Enlightenment thinkers thought political change came from above – from the king/queen

– Monarchy so deeply rooted – can’t get rid of it completely

• Absolute rulers had “mixed” results ruling in an enlightened manner

FREDERICK THE GREAT OF PRUSSIA• Not like his father the Soldier King

• Liked poetry and the arts

• Tried to run away with best friend at age 18

• Caught and was forced to watch as his best friend was beheaded

FREDERICK THE GREAT OF PRUSSIA

• Built on the accomplishments of his father• When Maria Theresa became Empress of Austria, others

swarmed her land – War of Austrian Succession– Frederick won Silesia from Maria Theresa during the War of

Austrian Succession (1740-1748)• Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle

– Doubled population and made Prussia powerful• He fought successfully to defend Prussia from external

threats. – 7 Years War (1756-1763) – everyone attacked Prussia (except

England who defended them)• Peter III of Russia called off attack

FREDERICK THE GREAT OF PRUSSIA• Allowed religious freedom

• Promoted education-no censorship

• Legal reform – laws simplified, no torture, judges decided cases quickly and impartially

• Reconstructed agriculture and industry

• He was unwilling to change Prussia’s social structure

• Rejected calls for civil rights for Jews

– Moses Mendelssohn – spoke out for Jewish rights, reason can strengthen religion

– Jews lived in ghettos, couldn’t participate in activities, could be expelled at any moment

CATHERINE THE GREAT OF RUSSIA• German princess but related to the Romanovs of Russia

• Chosen to be wife of Peter III

– Was quiet in the beginning and studied Enlightenment thought

• Peter came to throne and ordered off attack of Frederick II (Prussia) during 7 Years War

• Catherine conspired with military leaders to depose Peter III in a palace revolution

– Her lover, Gregory Orlov, and his brothers then murdered Peter

CATHERINE THE GREAT OF RUSSIA

• Imported Western culture to Russia– Imported Western architects, sculptors, musicians and

intellectuals– Patronized philosophes –Voltaire, Diderot

• Domestic reform – better laws, no torture, religious toleration, improved education, strengthened local govt.

– The Pale of Settlement – region set aside for Jews to live

RUSSIA• Pugachev’s rebellion – Emelian Pugachev

(Cossack) led uprising of serfs – Proclaimed himself the true tsar and declared

serfdom, taxes, and army service abolished– Slaughtered landlords & officials– Captured and savagely executed– Put an end to Catherine’s efforts to reform

serfdom – gave nobles absolute control over serfs

• Expansion of Russia – Split up Poland between Russia, Prussia, Austria

AUSTRIAN HABSBURGS• Maria Theresa (1740-1780)

– Limited power of papacy in her realm– Administrative reforms, revamped tax system– Improved agricultural population (serfs)

• Joseph II (1780-1790)– Joseph II pursued reforms aggressively

• Religious toleration to Protestants and Jews• Abolished serfdom

– His rapid reforms sent Austria into turmoil and, after Joseph’s death, his brother Leopold II was forced to repeal his radical edicts.

ABSOLUTISM IN FRANCE• Louis XV – Louis XIV’s great-grandson – 5 years old

– Duke of Orleans rules in the meantime– Nobility made a comeback – High courts of France (parlements) became a check on absolute

power• Evaluated monarch’s laws before they are given force

• Financial difficulties (wars) forced French monarchs to tax people – regardless of social class

– Parlement of Paris – rejected taxes– Louis had to Absolutely demolish them!

• Hired Rene de Maupeou as chancellor to crush the judges– Abolished Parlements and exiled judges

• Created a new docile parlement

• Louis XVI – weak and eager to please – all reforms taken back

OVERALL INFLUENCE OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT• French absolutism declined - weak

• Eastern and east-central Europe – ruler must make reforms

• Absolutist monarchs wanted reforms that would strengthen the state

– Humane laws = productive people = better country• Stronger state = more power internationally

– Catherine – nobility

– Frederick – status quo

– Joseph – peasants