1. Additional Information about the the Scientific Revolution

2. Isaac Newton
English mathematician, astronomer, and natural philosopher
Empirical; materialist; opposed to René Descartes
Sought to answer the question of how the planets moved in such an orderly fashion
1697, wrote Principia Mathematica to explain his theory of universal gravitation
Every object in the universe is attracted to every other object using a force proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square distance between their centers
Fundamentally changed science forever
Created the three Laws of Motion

3. René Descartes 1596-1650 French Philosopher
Rejected Aristotle and Scholasticism
Philosophical opposite of Francis Bacon
Represented the use of deductive reasoning (vs inductive)
Hypotheses → particulars; pure logic
Innate ideas (exist independently of observation; no observations for true knowledge)
Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy

4. René Descartes Cont.
Began in a vacuum; sought to destroy all foundations for knowledge (much like Bacon but in a different way)
“Cogito ergo sum”- I think therefore I am
One’s own reason is his foundation for his knowledge and his existence
Reason reflects on itself and discovers innate ideas such as the fact that God exists
Only innate ideas are guaranteed as true because they come from God, who cannot/would not deceive anyone
God’s existence is based off of one’s own
Separation between mind/spirit and matter/body [Cartesian dualism]
Separates people from their bodies and the material world

5. Blaise Pascal 1623-1662 French philosopher
Sought to unite new science and religion
Emphasized that man was unworthy of God and his love/mercy; belief can only be a leap of faith stemming from reasons of the heart (not logic necessarily)
Made the famous argument that it was safer to believe in God just in case God was real than to risk eternal life by not believing God is real

6. Witch Hunts 1400-1700 70,000-100,000 executed
NOT anti-woman; however, about 80% of the witches executed were women
Old unmarried women, widows, midwives, and herbalists/healers were the most suspicious groups but anyone could be accused of being a witch (including a priest or prince)
Witch hunts were the product of
Mass hysteria
Religious or political conflict/a lack of authority
The need to blame someone for bad circumstances
A very religious mindset and fear about the power of the occult (devil) working in the world
Both princes and the Church used the fear of witches to control the common people
All that was required was the testimony of one person to begin a trial

7. Witch Hunts cont.
lty/nlocklin-sofer/witch-hunt-rpg/

8. Effects of the Scientific Revolution on Europe
Led directly to the Enlightenment
Improvements in exploration which increased trade
Spirit of experimentation which helped accelerate the Agricultural Revolution, Commercial Revolution, and Industrial Revolution
Improvements in medical knowledge and in the realm of anatomy, chemistry, and microbiology
Perhaps the beginning of the debate of science vs. religion, especially after the Galileo trial