The Evolution of Thought…and of Man ~The Copernican and Darwinian Revolutions~

The Enlightenment ~An Introduction~  16th-18th Century  Europe  Spans artwork, music, science, and philosophy  Key Intellectual Principle:  The Individual’s Changing Role in Society

Major Figures Impacting Enlightenment Ideas  Copernicus (pre- Enlightenment)  Descartes (Enlightenment)  Darwin (post- Enlightenment) Nikolaus Copernicus

Copernicus  Heliocentric System vs. Ptolemy’s Geocentric System  Earth as dynamic, not static  Implications of this…especially religiously

Descartes  Used Copernicus’ theory to create a new world view  Challenged many fundamental Christian beliefs

Altered Perspectives…

Observations in Nature  New geological activity observed!!!  Fossils discovered  Not explained Biblically  HOW old is the earth?!

Social Changes  Protestant Reformation and the role of the individual  Debated role of God in the universe…”hands off” or “hands on?”  18th Century idea of evolution

Darwin  Avoided discussing evolution  Avoided discussing his theories relative to humans  Bridged science and nature  Introduced logic to the process of evolution

Darwin, continued… “I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term Natural Selection.” ~Charles Darwin, Origin of Species

In Conclusion…  Copernicus: a dynamic Earth  Descartes: a dynamic world view  Darwin: dynamic, yet logical, biological evolution