The Scientific Revolution
Before 1500, few questioned
the Bible and Greek philosopher
Aristotle
What was true and false about
the universe came from these
sources
The Medieval View
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Earth was an unmoving object located at the
center of the universe- the sun and planets
moved around the Earth
(sun rising and setting seemed to support this view)
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Aristotle & Ptolemy from Greece supported
geocentric theory – earth-centered
universe
Religion guided views too: Christianity taught
that God had placed Earth at the center of the
universe
Geocentric Theory
Nicolaus Copernicus
(1473-1543)
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Sun-centered
universe –
heliocentric theory
Earth is no different
than any other planet
On the Revolutions of
the Heavenly Spheres
(1543)
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
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Pushes use of
experiments and
observations
Planetary movement is
a mathematical formula
Planets move around
the Sun in elliptical
orbits NOT circles
Confirms Copernicus
ideas
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
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Brainpop
GALILEO – designs 1st telescope
w/lens & sees movement of the stars
& moons (similar to the movement
of the planets)
Church believes heavens are fixed,
unmoving and the earth of central 
they are furious w/Galileo!
Galileo is accused of heresy (crimes
against Church)  1633 brought to
trial before Catholic Inquisition & he
recants his statements
Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
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Universal law of motionevery object in the universe
attracts every other object
Mathematical Principles of
Natural Philosophy (1687) Explained gravity
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Universe is a giant clock- all
parts work together but God
set clock in motion
William Harvey (1578-1657)
Harvey
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Published On the
Motion of the Heart
and Blood in Animals
(1628)
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Showed that heart
acted as a pump to
circulate blood
throughout body
The Enlightenment
--Age of Reason
Movie Clip
What was it?
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Emerged out of the
Scientific
Revolution and
ended in the French
Revolution
Spokesmen = Rising
Middle Class
Paris = Center of
Enlightenment
Search for new
laws/ways to govern
humans
Key Ideas
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Distrust of Tradition
and Religion
Scientific method
could be applied to
society as well
Man is naturally good
The World of the Old Regime
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Built on tradition
World of hierarchy,
privilege and
inequality
Allied with the Church
Challenged by
supporters of the
Enlightenment
Conflict with the
Capitalistic Middle Class
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Size and increasing
power of the Middle
Class
New notion of wealth
w/mercantilism
Tension and discord
created by the Middle
Class
The Philosophes (Philosophers)
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18th century French intellectuals
Truth through reason
Natural laws – natural is good and
reasonable
Happiness – belief in natural laws leads to
happiness
Progress – for society (can be perfected)
Liberties – people should be free
The Problem of Censorship
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The attempt of the
Old Regime to control
new thinking
Publishers and writers
hounded by censors
Over 1000 booksellers
and authors
imprisoned in the
Bastille in the early
1700’s
Famous Enlightenment Thinkers
Thomas Hobbes (1588 –1679)
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Wrote Leviathan (1651)
Convinced that all
humans are wicked and
evil
Humans exist in a
primitive state and give
consent to the
government for selfprotection
Belief: Absolute
monarchies
John Locke (1632-1704)
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People learn from experience
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Favored self-gov’t, people rule
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Natural rights: life, liberty,
property
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gov’t protects these rights and
if not, people overthrow gov’t
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Wrote Two Treaties on
Government (1690)
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Inspired American Revolution
Francois Arouet
Voltaire (1694-1778)
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Wrote Candide
Govt. to protect
people’s freedom &
tolerance
There should be
separation of church
and state
“Ecrasez l’infame” –
“Crush the evil thing”
Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755)
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The Spirit of the Laws
(1748)
“Power should be a
check to power” – this
is beginnings of
separation of powers
Influence in the US –
legislative, executive,
judicial
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
(1712-1778)
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Individual freedom
“Man is born free, and
everywhere he is in chains.”
Belief: Direct democracy
1762- Wrote The Social
Contract in which he stated
that Gov’t is a contract b/w
people and rulers
The Role of the Salon – Spreading Ideas
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Wealthy women of
Paris hosted social
gatherings known as
salons
Philosophers, writers,
artists, scientists
gathered to share
ideas
Madame Geoffrin –
most influential salon
hostess
Diderot’s Encyclopedia
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Encyclopedia (28 volumes)
Collected articles regarding all
topics: science, politics,
economics, slavery, human
rights, religion, etc.
Critics were outraged & Pope
threatened to excommunicate
Catholics who read it!
Translations helped spread
enlightenment ideas across
Europe
Art and Literature
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Enlightenment is reflected
in the arts – music,
literature, painting, and
architecture
Baroque – grand and
ornate TO
Neoclassical – simple and
elegant, Classical music –
Haydn, Mozart,
Beethoven
Development of novels
Enlightened Despotism
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The manner of
political reform –
monarchs who
embraced new ideas&
reforms
Frederick the Great of
Prussia
Catherine the Great of
Russia
Joseph II of Austria
Impact of Enlightenment
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Ideas led to people challenging long held
ideas about society
Political philosophies of the Enlightenment
inspired American and French revolutions
in the 1800s