Scientific Revolution Objective: I can explain how the scientific revolution impacted religious, political, and cultural institutions by challenging how people viewed the world.

Scientific Revolution  The Enlightenment grew out of the scientific revolution  an intellectual movement that emphasized studying the natural world and the heavens (space) rather than blindly accepting old ideas about these subjects.

Center of the Universe ???  Most Europeans believed the theory of the universe as described by Ptolemy (Second Century A.D.). He stated that the earth was the center of the universe.  By the 1500s and 1600s, scientists began to question this commonly held belief.  The first, Nicolas Copernicus, who developed a theory that the sun was the center of the universe and the earth and other heavenly bodies (planets) revolved around it.  Galileo Galilei built the first telescope. Through it, he saw that the planets did indeed revolve around the sun.

Partner Question  Describe the difference between the old theory on the center of the universe and the new theory on the center of the universe.

Significance  The discovery contradicted the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, a major power in Western Europe. Galileo

Partner Question  Why might the Roman Catholic Church be troubled by the new theory developed by Copernicus and proven by Galileo through the telescope? [Hint: Domino Effect]

Development of the Scientific Method  Early 1600s  Francis Bacon and Rene Descartes began to devise new methods of explaining the natural world.  The result was the development of the scientific method—the study of the natural world by means of direct observation and experimentation.  This method enabled the English scientist Isaac Newton to develop a theory of gravity.

Significance  The principles of the scientific method were soon applied to the study of human behavior.  People began to use reason rather than faith to answer questions about human nature and society.  This way of thinking was so strong an influence on all kinds of intellectual activity in the 1700s that the period became known as the Age of Reason.

Partner Question  Can you assess the value or importance of using reason rather than faith in answering questions about human nature and society?  In other words, what is the value or importance of using reason rather than faith?

Church & State  In medieval Europe, the church and the state were closely linked. It was the duty of every political authority -- king, queen, prince or city councilman -- to support, sustain and nurture the church. With notable exceptions, the church reinforced the political authority of the states, and the states reinforced the authority of the church.

Church & State  French churchman Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet tutored Louis XIV's son in the principles of royal absolutism: "God establishes kings as his ministers, and reigns through them over the people.... [K]ings are sacred because of their office; they are the representatives of the divine majesty.“ Divine Right

Partner Question  Explain the concept of divine right.

Partner Question  Explain the concept of divine right.  Kings and queens have a God-given right to rule and that rebellion against them is a sin. This belief was common through the seventeenth century and was urged by such kings as Louis XIV of France.