Enlightenment/Scientific Revolution Thinkers
Scientists:
Nicolaus Copernicus – Polish astronomer who believed the earth was round & sun was
center of the universe; did not publish his views for fear of reprisal.
Isaac Newton – Published his theories on gravity; wrote Principia (understanding the
universe); developed calculus; made discoveries on colors and completed the astronomical
ideas of Kepler and Galileo.
Johannes Kepler - German astronomer and mathematician; proved Copernicus’s hypothesis
with mathematical formulas and that the planets traveled in an ellipse; calculated the position
of the planets with amazing accuracy; discovered new stars and improved the telescope.
Galileo Galilei - Believed Copernicus; built his own telescope and published his ideas, but
Catholic Church banned the book; was threatened with torture and death by the Catholic
Church; forced to recant his views; developed the “law of falling bodies” which said the
speed at which objects fall is not proportional to their weight.
Francis Bacon - English philosopher who helped develop the scientific method; claimed that
ideas based solely on tradition or unproven facts should be discarded completely.
Rene Descartes - Believed truth must be reached with reason; invented analytic geometry;
incorporated scientific thought into philosophy; invented the Cartesian Coordinate System;
believed that everything is made by an equal or greater force (God); coined the phrase “I
think, therefore I am.”
Andreas Vesalius – Dissected human bodies to make discoveries in anatomy; published On
the Structure of the Human Body and helped prove that Galen’s theories were wrong
William Harvey – English physician who concluded that blood circulates throughout the
body, pumped by the heart and returning through the veins; helped prove Galen’s theories
wrong; worked as the personal physician of King Charles I (England).
Robert Hooke – English scientist who used the newly invented microscope to discover the
cell.
Robert Boyle – Irish scientist who helped establish chemistry; criticized alchemists and
attacked the theory of four elements in The Skeptical Chymist; defined what an element was
Joseph Priestly – English chemist and clergyman who conducted experiments into the
properties of air and discovered the existence of oxygen; studied carbon dioxide and invented
carbonated drinks.
Antoine Lavoisier – French scientist who conducted experiments that probed the nature of
air and discovered that materials do not throw off a substance called phlogiston when burned;
discovered the nature of combustion.
Marie Lavoisier – Contributed significantly to her husband’s work; learned English and
Latin so that she could translate scientific essays and books; read numerous articles and
condensed them.
Tycho Brahe – Danish astronomer from the late 1500s who set up an observatory to study
heavenly bodies and accumulate data on planetary movements.
Political Scientists:
Thomas Hobbes – Used the idea of natural law to argue that absolute monarchy was the best
form of government; said violence and disorder came natural to human beings; wrote
Leviathan (life without government); believed in the “social contract” and that people do not
have the right to rebel; believed life without absolute government would result in absolute
chaos.
John Locke – Based his ideas on natural law; believed that the state of nature of man was
reasonable and moral and that people created government to protect natural rights; wrote Two
Enlightenment/Scientific Revolution Thinkers
Treatises of Government (people created government); said people had the right to overthrow
the government; believed in a “social contract”.
Enlightenment Thinkers:
Jean-Jacques Rousseau – Opponent of the Enlightenment; criticized reliance on reason;
believed human beings were naturally good, but civilization and institutions were corrupt;
wrote The Social Contract – right to rule rested in the people and they could remove an
oppressive government (helped shape democratic thought from the 1700s to the present).
Voltaire (real name was Francis-Marie Arouet) – French author and Deist who wrote
Candide (challenged everything happens for the best); served time in the Bastille; exiled
from France; admired English ideal of religious liberty & freedom of the press; promoted
Bacon’s philosophy and Newton’s science; criticized the Catholic Church and the French
government.
Baron de Montesquieu (real name was Charles-Louis de Secondat) - Promoted idea of
separation of powers; admired the English government; wrote The Spirit of Laws; believed
that power should be equally divided among three branches of government: legislative,
executive, and judicial; also believed in the rights of individuals.
Enlightened Despots:
Catherine II - Russian ruler; exchanged letters with Voltaire; spoke out against serfdom;
made reforms in law and government, but praised Enlightenment values more than she
practiced them (crushed serf revolts); made many attempts to westernize Russia
Maria Theresa – Disagreed with the secularism of the Enlightenment; Catholic ruler of
Austria; introduced humanitarian reforms; set up elementary schools; freed all serfs on her
estates; her son Joseph II carried reforms even further.
Frederick II - Prussian ruler that ruled as an absolute monarch; believed as king he was the
“first servant of the state”; abolished torture except for treason and murder; established
elementary schools and promoted industry and agriculture; established an academy of art &
science for gifted children
Miscellaneous:
Hugo Grotius – Dutch jurist who called for an international code based on natural law;
believed that one body of rules could reduce the dealings of governments to a system of
reason and order.
Adam Smith – Economist who wrote Wealth of Nations; argued people acted according to
their self interest, but through competition, promoted general economic advance; believed
government should avoid regulation in favor of individual initiative and market forces.
Denis Diderot – Editor of Encyclopédie (28 volumes that covered sciences, technology, &
history); Encyclopédie criticized the Church and government and praised religious tolerance;
spent time in prison for his writings.
Immanuel Kant – Critic of the Enlightenment; German thinker who believed that reason
could not answer the problems of metaphysics; wrote Critique of Pure Reason (1781);
asserted that reality consisted of separate physical and spiritual worlds.
Mary Wollstonecraft – British author who favored equal education for women and men so
that both sexes could contribute equally to society; wrote A Vindication of the Rights of
Women (mid 1700s); work contributed to the women’s rights movement in Europe & U.S.