History

• Scientific Revolution


  Helped people see the world differently and allowed them to use reason and knowledge to find and explore things
• Bacon's scientific method


  1. Examine facts

  2. Observe different things

  3. Conduct experiments

  4. Analyze results
• The Catholic Church's reaction to the Scientific Revolution

  They were enraged because they thought the theories would make people question the Catholic Church's teachings
• Major figures in the Scientific Revolution


  • Galileo
  • Kepler
  • Bacon
  • Copernicus
  • Isaac Newton
  • Andreas Vasalius
• Galileo


  • Used a telescope to prove Coperncursius's theory of everything revolving around the sun
• Kepler


  • Orbits of planets were elliptical
• Bacon


  • Developed the scientific method, also known as using reason and knowledge
• Copernicus


  • Created the heliocentric theory which states that everything revolves around the sun
• Isaac Newton


  • Created the laws of motion and the laws of gravitation as well as the studies of light
• Andreas Vasalius


  • Revolutionized the study of biology and anatomy
• Similarities between the Reformation and the Scientific Revolution


  • Use of the printing press
  • Religion and reason
• Connection between the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment


  Observation and reason allowed laws to be applied to real-world situations. Enlightenment thinkers wanted to apply this to human life.
• Major figures of the Enlightenment


  • Thomas Hobbes
  • Baron de Montesquieu
  • John Locke
  • Voltaire
  • Beccaria
  • Abigail Adams
  • Mary Wollstonecraft
• Thomas Hobbes


  • Thought that there should be absolute rule by kings (monarchy)
• Baron de Montesquieu


  • Thought that there should be three branches of government. Separation of powers.
• John Locke


  • Thought that there should be natural rights and a social contract
• Voltaire


  • Believed that there should be religious tolerance and freedom of speech
• Beccaria


  • Thought that there should be rights of the accused and he cared about the innocent
• Abigail Adams


  • Thought women should have rights like men
• Mary Wollstonecraft


  • Men and women should be treated like rational humans
• Influence of Enlightenment ideas on political developments in the United States

  Development of the Constitution and Bill of Rights
• It also limited the power of the monarch and guaranteed certain rights to individuals.
• Locke's idea of natural rights is reflected in the declaration's statement "all men are created equal" and its emphasis on individual liberty and equality under the law.
• Enlightenment thinkers such as Montesquieu and Voltaire also had an impact on American politics through their advocacy for separation of powers and checks and balances in government.
• How are the ideas of the Scientific Revolution similar to the ideas of the Enlightenment?

  Most are moving away from classical thinking and are now focused on reasoning and truth
• In what ways did the Renaissance and the Reformation influence the Enlightenment?


  The Reformation showed that people could rebel against church authority, therefore Enlightenment thinkers went even further rejecting authority and showing freedom
• Why did most Enlightenment philosophers continue to believe in God?
• The new ideas of the Enlightenment clashed with some previously held beliefs about religion, morality, and government


  Some ideas clashed because the Christian faith said that people trusted the Bible (God's word.) But this led to a new idea that people could find the truth in themselves and their path
• Age of Enlightenment


  Period of time when people developed new ideas about human existence
• Enlightenment thinkers


  • Put great trust in reason as the key to human progress
  • Inspired by the example of scientists such as Galileo and Newton
  • Used observation and logic to understand the physical world
  • Overturned old beliefs
• The Enlightenment began in Europe


  Early 1700s
• New age of reasoning


  1. Governments and social institutions would be based on rational understanding

  2. People in cities like Paris gathered in salons to discuss philosophy and ways to improve the human experience
• Age of Reason


  Many of their ideas were based in science and reason
• Scientific Revolution

  • Observation and reason revealed laws that applied to physical world
  • Enlightenment thinkers wanted to apply this approach to human life
  • Asked big questions and, like scientists, used reason and observation to help understand and make progress.
• Renaissance Humanists

  • Questioned accepted beliefs
  • Celebrated the dignity and worth of individuals
  • Emphasized finding rational solutions to human problems
• Classical Ideas

  • Trust in reason
  • People should have a say in their government
  • Democracy (Athens)
  • Republic (Rome)
• Reformation & Questioning the Church

  • Protestants rebelled against Church
  • Chose individual conscience over Church authority
  • Enlightenment thinkers rejected authority in order to uphold the freedom of the individual
  • Decisions based on rational thinking over faith 
  • Faith in humanity to solve their own problems
• Thomas Hobbes

  Absolute Rule of Kings

  John Locke

  Natural Rights & Social Contract

  Baron de Montesquieu

  Separation of Powers

  Voltaire

  Religious Tolerance & Free Speech

  Cesare Beccaria

  The Rights of the Accused

  Jean-Jacques Rousseau

  Social Contract
• English Philosopher


  One of the first thinkers to apply observation and reason from Scientific revolution to politics and society
• Wrote Leviathan


  1651