Unit 4: Scientific, Philosophy and Political
Developments
4.1 Contextualizing the Scientific Revolution and the
Enlightenment
❖ Rediscovery of ancient Greek and Roman works (much like the time of the Renaissance)
with the increased observation of the natural world
➢ Observation, experimentation, MATH (calculus shall never escape you!!) challenged
traditional structures of thoughts
■ Interplanet Janet (Copernicus, Galileo, Newton. William Harvey
➢ Increased but contested emphasis on reason in European culture led to prevailing
thoughts about social order, institutions of government, and the role of faith
■ Empiricism
■ Skepticism
■ Rationalism
■ Individualism: needs of each person more important than the needs of the
whole
● Made people more self-reliant
❖ Printing Press (1450): more people educated
❖ Effects of the commercial revolution during the 18th century: new demographic changes
❖ Protestant Reformation: people with humanistic education and precedent of questioning
church
4.2: Scientific Revolution
New ideas and Methods:
❖ Francis Bacon: Father of empiricism, created the scientific method
➢ Empirical Theory: all knowledge derived from observation and sense-based information
➢ Changed from scholastic thinking→ more doing and helping humans
➢ Scientific Columbus: science more complicated as more worlds/minds emerging
➢ Choosing new paths with new scientific discoveries from New World
➢ Linked science and materialism → increase in human improvement and innovation
❖ Rene Descartes: argued that humans were born with innate knowledge through God
➢ Later led john lockes to combat the theory of empiricism
Anatomy and Medicine
❖ Studying human anatomy, bodily systems
❖ William Harvey (1628): discovered blood circulation
Astronomy and Alchemy
❖ Copernicus: changed dominant sta quo view
➢ Ptolemaic Systems- mathematical calculations accordion to astronomy
➢ Geocentric: earth center of the universe
➢ Heliocentric: sun center of universe and planets further from the sun take longer to orbit
❖ Kelper: mixed Brahe tables with heliocentric model → solve the problem of planetary motion
➢ More evidence to support Copernicus model
❖ Galileo: took the telescope to the skies and determined that the heavens were more complicated than
they had though
➢ Experiments only fit into the Copernicus model
➢ Fit into the new type of science: present argos and evidence to gain political support
➢ Figured out that the universe is subject to mathematical laws and applied
mathematics to all parts of society ( color, beauty, social interaction)
➢ Excommunicated with the church
❖ Issac Newton: discovered gravity
➢ Empiricism: phenomenon must be observed before explained
4.3 The Enlightenment
Traditional Ideas
❖ Thomas Hobbes:
➢ Leviathan: all humans are innately selfish and only interested in gaining wealth for
themselves → cannot rule themselves and need strict leadership (the king)
New Political ideas
❖ John Locke: life, liberty, and property for all men
➢ Against Hobbes, stated behaviors are learned
➢ God gave men all rights and the government is supposed to protect them not grant
them
❖ Voltaire (1694-1778)
➢ Letter on the English: how well a constitutional monarchy was working
➢ Religious tolerance would be natural
❖ Jean Jacques Rousseau:
➢ Social contract theory: people in society agree to give up some of their rights to lead to a
functioning society
➢ Men and women have innately different roles
❖ Baron de Montesquieu
➢ Limit role of absolutist → government split between different branches for checks and
balances
Women’s Rights
❖ Women were involved in the enlightenment through coffeehouse and salons (allowed to
participate in intellectual conversations to a certain extent)
❖ Mary Wollstonecraft:
➢ Vindication of Women’s Rights (1792): women were never given the right opportunities
■ Response to Rousseau ( shows that women given the education can have
intellectual thoughts)
■ Used enlightenment thoughts to counter his writings
Economic Theories
❖ Adam Smith: laissez-faire, father of economics
➢ Wealth of Nations: economy regulated by demand, supply, and competition and
opposed strict gov’t regulation, NOT COMPELTELY FREE MARKET
➢ Invisible hand
Religious Theories
❖ Voltaire: freedom of religion
➢ Deist- god but he doesn't act in our daily life; watches over us as we act in
accordance with science
➢ Skepticism: doubt in anything that you know
❖ Romanticism (18th Century) return to nature
➢ Developed by Rousseau
➢ Side by side with Enlightenment but doesn't become as widespread until after
4.4 18th Century Society and Demographics in Europe
❖ Population growth: agriculture revolution and trade with new world → more stable supply
of food
❖ Urbanization: agriculture revolution and closure acts meant that there were less people
needed to farm
➢ Move to towns and cities
➢ Smaller family units b/c less expensive
➢ Cottage industry→ core emphasis on core values and raising children (
4.5 18th Century Culture and Art in Europe
❖ Authoritarian gov’t → salons and coffeehouses
➢ Private newspapers and books
❖ Church and traditional monarchies were questioned with enlightenment and scientific
revolution
4.6 Enlightened Absolutist
❖ Characteristics of EA:
➢ Centralization
➢ Absolute control
➢ Pragmatic
■ Concern for lower classes and state as a whole
❖ Prussia
➢ Downfall of the HRE→ rise of Prussia
➢ First king in Prussia created prof. Army, soldier king increased military power (early
1700s)
➢ Fredrick the Great
■ Most enlightened
■ Established meritocracy
■ Patron of arts
■ Religious tolerant
■ Brought immigrants to prussia (Hohenzollien)
■ No internal tariffs
❖ Austria
➢ Pragmatic Sanction: Charles VI makes it so that his daughter (Maria) can be ruler
➢ Austrian Succession War:
■ Nobles attack already weak monarchy with pragmatic succession and
diversity in austria
■ Strengthens Maria’s rule
➢ Maria Theresa (1717-1780)
■ Elevated bureaucrats
■ Removed internal tax
■ Made edu mandatory for the middle class
■ Increase healthcare for poor
■ Deported protestants and jew
➢ Joseph II
■ Improved peasants welfare
● Removed serfdom and passed law for nobles to share tax burden
■ Religious tolerant
■ Meritocracy
■ Increase in militarization
❖ Russia
➢ Catherine the Great
■ Opened up girls school
■ Humanitarian aid
■ Decrease in aristocratic power