The Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution

Standards – Rewrite both in your own words 7.61 – Trace how the main ideas of the Enlightenment can be traced back to such movements and epochs as the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, the Greeks, the Romans, and Christianity. 7.62 – Describe the accomplishments of major Enlightenment thinkers, including Locke and Charles-Louis Montesquieu.

New Ideas The Scientific Revolution was influenced by both Christian and Muslim. During the Middle Ages, Arab and Jews in the Islamic empire preserved Greek and Roman science. Indian-Arabic numbers that are used today. As the Crusades went on, many Europeans learned what they were doing.

Thomas Aquinas and other Christian thinkers showed that Christianity and reason could work together. Europeans built universities – in these schools teachers and students helped the growth of science. Gradually, scientific knowledge expanded in Europe.

The Age of Enlightenment During the 1700s, European thinkers were impressed by advances in science. Believed they could discover the scientific laws that shaped human behavior. Help shape a better society. Viewed reason as a “light” that uncovered error and showed the path to truth.

Political Thinkers Political thinkers tried to use reason to improve government. Natural Law: a law that applied to everyone and could be understood by reason. Two very different thinkers used natural law to develop their ideas: John Locke Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes English Writer – wrote about government and society. England torn apart by war. The king wanted absolute power, parliament, however, demanded a greater role in governing. There was a balance of power.

Hobbes’s Beliefs 1651 – Hobbes wrote Leviathan. Argued that natural law made absolute monarchy the best form of government. Humans – naturally violent and selfish. Could not be trusted to make wise choices on their own. People need a government with the power of a leviathan. What does this mean?

Absolutism – ruler with absolute, or total, power. Do you think Hobbes had evidence to support his conclusion about the best government?

John Locke and the Glorious Revolution John Locke believed differently. Natural law should support citizens’ rights. Government should answer to the people. During Locke’s life, another English king wanted to be a strong ruler. Parliament opposed his wishes. Civil war was threatened and the king fled the country. Parliament then asked Mary, the king’s daughter, and her husband William to take the throne. Known as the “Glorious Revolution”.

John Locke

Resulted in a constitutional monarchy – written laws limit the power of the monarch. Agreed to the Bill of Rights – which guaranteed basic rights for people. 1690 – Locke wrote Two Treatises of Government. Government should be based on natural law and natural rights. Life, liberty, property. Should protect people’s rights – based on a social contract. An agreement between the people and their leaders. If rulers took away people’s natural rights, the people had a right to rebel and set up a new government.

Hobbes or Locke? Or Hobbes v. Locke: Dawn of Justice On a separate sheet of paper, briefly describe the two different view points of Hobbes and Locke. What are the pros and cons to each? Which do you agree with more, and why? 2 paragraphs.

Montesquieu After the Glorious Revolution, many thinkers in France admired the government of England. They liked it better than the absolute monarchy in France. In 1748, a French thinker, Baron Montesquieu, published a book called The Spirit of the Laws. Stated that England had the best government Separation of powers – power should be equally divided among the branches of government: Legislative Executive Judicial

The branches Legislative – make the laws Executive – enforces the laws Judicial – interprets the laws and makes judgments when the laws are broken. Why separate the powers?

By separating these powers, government could not become too powerful and threaten people’s rights. Believed in the rights of individuals. His writing influenced the writing of the constitutions of many countries, including the United States Constitution.

Wrap up for the Enlightenment The use of reason in guiding people’s thoughts about philosophy, society, and politics defined a time period known as Enlightenment. It was also known as the Age of Reason due to the emphasis on the use of reason. The Enlightenment was the response of the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Exploration.

A movement from 1680-1800s A philosophical movement (intellectual movement). This time would transform almost all of Europe and cause dramatic change in the church. People begin having opposition to authority. People began focusing on human rights and the role of man. Bold ideas of democracy came about as well!