Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment Ch. 6

Scientific Method The revolution in astronomy and physics led by Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo and Newton led to the general expansion of in many fields of science. The Scientific Method was developed by Francis Bacon and Renes Descartes. – Hypothesis – Empirical knowledge gained by observation – Application of mathematics and reason to arrive at a conclusion supported by the above, subject to further application of same method.

Scientific Measurement Just as navigators used compass, astrolabe, sextant and chronometer and astronomers the telescope to improve their ability to observe the celestial objects they relied on, other sciences developed other tools. – Microscope of Jansen used by Leeuwenhoek to study microscopic life forms – Thermometers of Farenheit and Celsius to measure temperatures – Barometer of Torricelli to measure atmospheric pressure These tools could be applied to many sciences and were.

Expanding Fields of Science As more tools became available, more sciences developed. – Medicine rejects accepted wisdom of the Roman Galen – Vesalius undertakes 1 st scientific dissections of human bodies – Harvey determines actual function of heart and circulatory system – Jenner develops 1 st vaccination to prevent a disease –Small Pox.

Expanding Fields of Science Chemistry – Robert Boyle rejects Aristotelian system of 4 elements in favor of a more complex atomic model in which atoms form elements and element combine into compounds. – Joseph Priestly and Antoine Lavoisier determine that air is a compound of several gases including oxygen. Every scientific discovery triggers more interest in science.

Enlightenment Ultimately, the existence of rational and orderly laws regulating the physical universe lead some men to conclude that similar laws must exist in nature to regulate the fabric of human society. Just as natural laws, if understood provides means of improving our control of nature, these laws, if discovered, could improve our relationships with one another. An Age governed by Reason would emerge.

Hobbes and Locke By the 17 th Century, all of Europe was governed by two systems of Government. Most states were Absolute Monarchies—1 man, or woman, wielding absolute power, which they normally gained through hereditary succession. One Nation was slightly different—England-- where the monarch’s power was limited and, so, was a Constitutional Monarchy.

Hobbes and Locke In the 1640’s, England had been torn by a Civil War which had led to the death of King Charles II and the creation of a dictatorship under Oliver Cromwell. Thomas Hobbes, an English philosopher concluded that man, due to his fallen nature, required a strong government to maintain order and prevent chaos. Men willingly surrendered freedom to government in return for security, the Social Contract.

Hobbes and Locke Hobbes held that the people wanted and required a strong monarch whose powers were defined by law. This is what had existed in England before the Civil War. The government imposed order and demanded obedience. It was a Leviathan. John Locke another witness to the Civil War and its aftermath drew a very different conclusion.

John Locke Natural Rights According to Locke, men were basically good and sought to improve themselves. They could make mistakes, the Civil War, and learn from them. They did not need an absolute master, they needed the opportunity to make decisions to benefit all. They possessed natural rights to Life, Liberty and Property.

Locke Natural Rights Government existed to safeguard these rights for the individuals who had allowed the government the power to govern. Governments which failed to protect these rights lost the right to govern. James II of England had been overthrown in the Glorious Revolution because he threatened these rights.

John Locke Natural Rights The Two Treatises on Government published after the Revolution defined the concept of popular sovereignty, Government based on the consent of the governed. It proclaimed that political revolution was the ultimate right of the citizen. It laid the framework for discussion and action in Europe and in America.

France of the Philosophes Since France regarded itself as the most civilized nation in the west, it also assumed that it was best suited to determine the nature of the Natural Laws that ruled human relationships. The Philosophes, political philosophers had great influence throughout the west. Voltaire, Rousseau, Baron de Montesquieu had much influence at home and abroad.

5 Guidelines for The Enlightenment Reason: All truth can be attained by logical thought Nature : Natural law governs everything and nature is good. Happiness: The natural state of man, provided by adhering to natural law. Progress: Part of the nature of man and society. Liberty: The key to all of the above.

Voltaire Francois Marie Arouet Used Satire to attack all the institutions of France, civil and religious. Twice imprisoned and once exiled for his support of Natural Rights and challenges to existing authority. Widely regarded as the most brilliant of the Philosophes.

Jean Jacques Rousseau Born in Switzerland but lived most of his life in France. Outspoken supporter of individual rights and believer in the negative impact of civilization and its institutions on the natural nobility of the individual—The Noble Savage. Governments must be derived from the consent of the governed for the Common Good. Individuals form a Social Contract. All citizens are equal. No Monarchy or Nobility.

Baron de Montesquieu Author of Spirit of the Law an attempt to study and classify governments throughout history. Select best features from those studied. – Separation of Powers – Tri-Partite: Executive, Legislative, Judicial – Checks – Balances Sound Familiar?

Spread of the Enlightenment Despite the fact that many of these men harshly criticized the existing institutions of government –they were celebrated in the salons of the nobility and discussed in the coffee houses of the middle class as pointing the way to a better world based on reason. They inspired some rulers to adopt some of their Ideas– the “Enlightened Despots.”

Enlightened Despots Frederick the Great of Prussia Catherine the Great of Russia Joseph II of Austria