Leo Huang, Ani Karagianis, Colleen Sharp, Tony Yang
Key Concept 1.1: The worldview of European intellectuals shifted from one based on ecclesiastical and classical authority to one based primarily on inquiry and
observation of the natural world.
Renaissance (1350-1550)
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Humanism
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Secularism
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focus on making lives better in this life and less in the afterlife
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humans stood to gain rewards
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education became more about gaining rewards, and self-help manuals directed how to live one’s life
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Classics- back to Greek and Roman classics as moral center
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Individualism- focus on learning and human affairs and the power of the individual
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Power
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human control over the environment
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cartography, musical notation, bookkeeping, and better organized politics were all part of the Renaissance’s increase
control over affairs
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Petrarch: “Father of Humanism”, Popularized the idea that Italy was entering a new age
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Philosophers and writers
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Lorenzo Valla: excelled in discipline of philology (study of ancient languages)
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Pico della Mirandola
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Neo-Platonism: humans had a part of divinity, which could be recaptured through intellectual exploration
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Lorenzo de’Medici: strong advocate of civic humanism
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Education
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Humanists founded schools for boys and girls, Well-rounded in liberal arts, Structure and promotion through levels
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Printing Press- 1455
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Johann Gutenberg, Assisted in spreading Renaissance and Reformation Greek and Latin texts
Analysis: The moving away from previous knowledge and authority began in the Renaissance era, setting off a spark for the later intellectual ages. People in the
Renaissance no longer relied on just authority to tell them what to do, think, and say. Instead, humanists and civic humanists sought to create their own way of
thinking and eventually controlled their new way of thinking through reforms in education and the emergence of the printing press.
Key Concept 1.3: Religious pluralism challenged the concept of a unified Europe.
Protestant and Catholic Reformations
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Christian Humanism (Northern Humanism)
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criticized the churches abuses (stated below) but wanted to reform the church from within and maintain its unity.
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Thomas More- was willing to die for his beliefs and eventually did when he opposed Henry VIII’s takeover of the Catholic Church.
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Erasmus- Criticized the church’s abuses and promoted the power of education to spread the messages of the Bible
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Church’s abuses
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The Renaissance papacy under Pope Alexander Vi was corrupt, taking matters away from the spiritual to the physical.
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simony- buying and selling of high church offices, nepotism- giving offices to relatives, pluralism- holding multiple church offices,
absenteeism- not residing in one’s spiritual domain because one held multiple positions, sale of indulgences- paying money to
reduce the sinner’s or a relative’s time in purgatory
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Luther (Ninety- Five Theses)
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sola scriptura-only authority in Christianity is the Bible, doctrines and practices need to be supported by the revealed word of God
alone, sola fide- salvation comes from faith alone, sola gratia-salvation comes by the free gift of God’s grace
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Retained 2 sacraments:Baptism & Lord's supper (consubstantiation- presence of Jesus coexists with the bread and wine, does not
actually become the body and blood of Jesus)
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condemned peasant revolts
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translated Bible so it could be read by all
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Zwingli (evangelical reformer and was more radical than Luther)
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agreed with Luther on 2 sacraments however believed bread and wine were symbolic for the body and blood
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Calvin (established reformed faith in Geneva (1536))
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justification by faith alone, also agreed with Luther on 2 sacraments, strong emphasis on predestination
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believed political system was to fulfill the moral law of a christian community
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Calvinism spread most among middle class and nobility and eventually became the Huguenot religion in France
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Anabaptists: adult baptism, total separation of church and state, lived in their own small, peaceful communities
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Anglican Church:Henry VIII wanted a divorce but Pope would not grant it because Holy Roman Emperor was the nephew of his wife
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Act of Supremacy in England, which put Henry as head of the Catholic Church in England and legitimated his baby with Anne Boleyn
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Catholic Reformation- Council of Trent: fixed religious vices, got rid of pluralism and indulgences, absenteeism, but not the hierarchy of the
church
Analysis: The pluralism of religion created a tense Europe, as the new religions conflicted with the old due to rising prices wishing to break from the Holy Roman
Republic and brought new ideas into the context of European religion. Eventually, the prestige of the Catholic Church would slowly decrease as the Protestant
movements rose and their injustices exposed. The culmination of the tension in Europe would be the Thirty Years’ War, where the struggle for religion escalated into
a struggle for politics, a demonstrative end to Europe’s bitter response to pluralism in religion. The 30 Years’ War marked the end of the religious wars, Holy Roman
Empire, and the decline of the Catholic Church’s influence over Europe.
Key Concept 1.4: Europeans explored and settled overseas territories, encountering and interacting with indigenous populations.
Exploration and Columbian Exchange (1450-1600)
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Reorientation of the intellectual world
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Europeans wanted to create more accurate maps (grids and keys- more precise)
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Gerardus Mercator: mass produced globe and created 3-D space on 2-D map
Reevaluating and critiquing European society
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Michel de Montaigne: introduced skeptical attitude toward European customs
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native cannibalism is no worse than war
Analysis: The most important intellectual development of the age of exploration was the new critique on European society. Formerly, European society had been a
paragon of excellence because it had virtually nothing to be compared to. After the Columbian Exchange, a new form of skepticism was formed, questioning the
might of the civilized European society. The outlook on life changed now that a new lens could be looked through.
Key Concept 2.3: The popularization and dissemination of the Scientific Revolution and the application of its methods to political, social, and ethical issues led to
an increased, although not unchallenged, emphasis on reason in European culture.
Scientific Revolution
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Aristotle, Ptolemy, Galen
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qualitative, logical and rational capacities to determine nature of objects
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Aristotelian-Ptolemaic view of cosmos- “logical” view, perfect circles, heavens were separate substance, geocentric, earthly objects
fell straight down
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Based on scholasticism, strong emphasis on church dogma and tradition
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Scientists/ Thinkers:
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Copernicus debunked Ptolemy’s theories and announced heliocentrism
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Galileo- law of accelerating bodies, empirical support for heliocentric theory, no perfect heavenly bodies-rough surfaces
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Kepler- proved that stars and planets moved in elliptical orbits rather than perfect circle
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Bacon- approached science with observation and mathematics, inductive thinking (Scientific method), general to specific
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Descartes-deductive reasoning, cartesian dualism (separation between mind and body)
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Hobbes wrote Leviathan- social contract, humans state of nature is violent
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Locke- inalienable rights (life, liberty, and property), right to rebel against a tyrannical government, his idea of Tabula Rasa made
adults care more for their children’s learning
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Women in the Scientific Revolution
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Women attempted to participate in the Scientific Revolution but were ultimately restricted intellectually. New medical research
discovered women have smaller skulls and wider hips which shows their intellectual inferiority and how they are fit for the domestic
sphere. However, there were some exceptions like Maria Sibylla Merian and Maria Winkelmann.
Enlightenment: : An effort to apply the methods and principles of the Scientific Revolution to issues of political, economic, and social reform
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Main Ideas of the Philosophés
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laws could guide human reason and observation just as they guided planets or the human body in science
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reason: the concept that the world is knowable to the human mind
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secularism: science and rational should replace theology politically, deism (God created the world that left it to function on its own),
organized religion was often considered unnecessary
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equality: believed in the betterment of the lower classes, but most did not think the lower classes should rule
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progress: using knowledge to create benefits for humankind
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Religion during the Enlightenment
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most Enlightenment philosophés were focused on a secular and scientific view of the world though there were some who still
believed in the religious view
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Philosophers and Leaders:
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Diderot-one of the 1st outspoken atheists, compiled the highly secular Encyclopedie, no importance of ecclesiastical or political
authority involved in its explanations
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Hume-agonistic, anti-dogma, morality cannot come from nature, ethics are based on our moral sense, not reason
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Kant- “dare to know and think for yourself!”, constructivism (mind shapes outside world), reason determines all
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Voltaire- hater of organized religion after the Calas Affair, satirical accounts of human nature (Candide)
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Montesquieu- Spirit of the Laws, type of government depended on the place (Ex: large nations favored despotism, middle-sized
nations favored monarchies, smaller nations favored republics), favored Checks and Balances to combat tyranny and other vices
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Smith- labor is the ultimate source of value, supply and demand should determine what is produced, produce goods with a
comparative advantage, higher division of labor
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Beccaria- utilitarianism (go for pleasure, avoid the pain), legal and penal reforms, prevent crimes rather than punish them
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Rousseau- Social Contract, general will of the people, chauvinist, “cult of sentiment” emotional displays equaled sincerity, a new
approach for children’s learning, focusing on positive experiences rather than reason
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Women often hosted the salons where the philosophes met and shared and there were a few women who participated in the Enlightenment,
like Mary Wollstonecraft, who began feminism with her 1792 novel, Vindication of the Rights of Women.
Analysis: Branching off of the idea of a new authority, the scientific revolution and the Enlightenment ushered in reforms in both daily lives and intellectual causes.
Arguably among the top intellectual events, both of these eras sought to use reason and make it applicable to all parts of life. The Scientific Revolution expanded the
known sciences away from religion based dogma, and the Enlightenment sought to make everything else into a science, veering away from the former spiritual
authority.
Key Concept 3.3: The problems of industrialization provoked a range of ideological, governmental, and collective responses.
Ideologies as Result of French and Industrial Revolutions
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Conservatism
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believed human nature to be driven by passions and believed in change through adaptation (Edmund Burke)
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Supported restoration governments of post-1815
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Liberalism
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religious toleration, individual rights, more representative government
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expansion in suffrage for property holders
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“Government is to promote the greatest good for the greatest number”- Jeremy Bentham
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John Stuart Mill- freedom of expression
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Socialism
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social and economic planning, cooperation and shared property to realize human needs
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utopian socialism- Robert Owen and Henri de Saint-Simon
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Feminism
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sprung from unequal ownership of property and combined unequal social classes with gender roles
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Nationalism
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cultural revival and celebration of traditions
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desired free states based on ethnic and linguistic identity
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one specific type of nationalism was pan-slavism (the unity of all Slavs) which inspired uprisings
Analysis: The dual revolutions not only set off industrial and political change, but intellectual and ideological change. As a result of the turbulence of both revolutions,
new ideologies and rivaling factions were created (liberalism vs. conservatism, capitalism vs. communism/socialism). These new ideologies created a sense of disunity
between nations, even if the nationalism within the nation was still growing strong. The disunity would continue on into the 20th century and keep evolving to create
serious conflicts such as the Cold War.
Key Concept 3.5: A variety of motives and methods led to the intensification of European global control and increased tensions among the Great Powers.
Imperialism:
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Racial Darwinism and Eugenics- produced a sense of racial inferiority, gave way to imperialism
European’s believed themselves to be superior, thus had a sense of duty to civilize people in other areas.
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There was also the spread of European knowledge to the conquered areas
Key Concept 3.6: European ideas and culture expressed a tension between objectivity and scientific realism on one hand and subjectivity and individual
expression on the other.
The Nineteenth Century
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Romanticism
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reaction to the Enlightenment ideals of reason and science
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Emotions: knowledge and creativity came from feeling and passion
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Intuition: imagination and the “minds eye” reveal the truths of nature
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Nature: drew inspiration and awe from its power and mysteries
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Nationalism: emphasized change and connection to the past
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Religion: coincided with a religious revival in Catholicism as spirit, mysticism, and emotions were important to both
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The Unique Individual: celebrated an individual of genius and talent
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Positivism
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influence of organized religion was declining, instead replaced with belief in the power of science
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progress must rely on empirical investigation of reality, avoiding generalizations
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Marxism:
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Communist Manifesto :3 tenets of Marxist Socialism: nationalization of property, universal suffrage, and redistribution of property
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Alienation of Labor: The increasing division of labor separated the worker from the product,
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thus allowing the fellow man to exploit him.
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Labor Theory of Value: Marx believed that the value of a product equaled the amount of labor put into said product.
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Dialectical materialism: Based on Hegel’s ideas of thesis→ antithesis→ and synthesis, Marx believed that material forces produced
change which was called economic determinism.
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Class Struggle: Marx: the proletariat will develop a sense of class consciousness and unite to overthrow the bourgeoisie.
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Revolution: Marx thought that rule by the proletariat would arise from organization and planning, not separate communes and
assassinations. However, he believed that a revolution might succeed in particular nations.
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Science: the irrational
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Darwinian Evolution
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random variations allowed different species to survive over time
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natural selection challenged the religious view that everything was designed
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evolution of humans undermined humanity’s special place
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Physics
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quantum mechanics and relativity theory undermined Newtonian physics that made the cosmos appear orderly and
natural
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Einstein: space and time do not exist, relative to the observer
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Psychology: Freud’s Psychoanalysis: intent to unlock hidden desires
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Psyche: Id (pleasure principle), Ego (reason), Superego (conscience), subconscious (dreams)
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irrational motivations, unconscious repression
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Sociology
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human actions resulted from factors rather than choice
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criminologists made studies to show if a criminal might have genetic basis instead of choice (not free will)
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Philosophy:
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Vitalism-nature could not be divided in analyzable parts, human behavior characterized by forces
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Nietzsche- chaos is inherent in nature, human thought constituted a “will to power”, in which the individual could overcome himself,
“God is Dead”
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Religion:
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works stressed secular and often anti-Christian sentiments
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Protestantism split into modernists and fundamentalists
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Pope Pius IX- anti-modernism
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Leo XIII-advance the cause of social justice, socialism reflected Christian teachings (but rejected Marxism)
Analysis: As the age of Enlightenment grew to a close with the age of revolutions continuing, a backlash to the highly reason-based Enlightenment gave way to the
Romantic age. Even then, the Romantic age eventually came to clash with the realist age as the romanticized view of nationalism, liberalism, and revolutions waned
as the revolutions did. The realist age came to its peak when the new sciences and a new lease on religion had grown in the post-revolutionary era.
Key Concept 4.3: During the twentieth century, diverse intellectual and cultural movements questioned the existence of objective knowledge, the ability of reason
to arrive at truth, and the role of religion in determining moral standards.
World War I
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The intellectual context of World War I included the glorification of war and the growth of human behavior as irrational.
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It called on patriotic behavior and sacrifice, which created the divide between “weak” and “strong” nations.
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Europeans had a lot of faith in technology and science solving their problems and creating a short war.
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Nationalism: The war made it difficult for nations to compromise their national honor and nationalism also fed the tensions in the
Balkans that started the Great War.
Change from religious to a more secular society in Europe
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Potential dangers of the destructiveness of weapons created through science
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The people throughout Europe raised concerns for objective knowledge and began to introduce existentialism and postmodernism.
Analysis: The glorification of war through propaganda a patriotism throughout countries led to a divide between “weak” and “strong” nation. The new technology
shown through devastating weaponry and violence allowed people to realize the dangers of science. As the objective nature of the world was challenged by a more
subjective view of new thinkers and ideas. Religion continues to play a key role in European society; however, people started to question the accuracy of the bible.
Key Concept 4.4: Demographic changes, economic growth, total war, disruptions of traditional social patterns, and competing definitions of freedom and justice
altered the experiences of everyday life
The Next Wave:
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Feminism
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After women gained the vote, they turned their desires to economic and cultural equality
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Reproductive rights-rights such as birth control and legalized abortions were key in the progress of more women entering the
workforce
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The Feminine Mystique- In this work, Betty Friedan urges women to battle oppression that limited their ability to gain leadership
roles in academics, business, and government.
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The Second Sex (Simone de Beauvior) shows how gender represented a social construction of attitudes rather than straight up
biology
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“The Other”- women have been treated not as humans, but as a deviant race from males and masculinity in general.
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Modernism
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associated with the Enlightenment, to discover natural laws and the laws of human society to gain objective knowledge.
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This idea defines developments in all areas of life from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries.
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Postmodernism
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It happened as a result of disillusionment and disgust after both World Wars. However, its roots began with Nietzsche and Soren
Kierkegaard, two philosophers who argued the importance of subjective experiences.
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Postmodernists aimed to deconstruct texts to find underlying structures of gender, class, and race.
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They expressed interest in how knowledge was constructed rather than how it relates to “Truth.”
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Existentialism
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It arose out of anger at a world of economic and technological distress, decline of traditional religious values, and the destruction
brought about by both World Wars.
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Man must be able to “create himself”.
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“Existence precedes essence” which means that our choices are what defines us. Thus, humans must face the absurdity and weight
of making our own decisions to direct our lives.
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Humans must act with authenticity, meaning we must act without self-indulgence and with full responsibility of our actions.
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Religion
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For Catholicism, the most important movement was the ecumenical movement, the effort to reach out and and establish common
ground with other religions.
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The Second Vatican Council--signalled the willingness of the Church to keep up with modern developments, calling on wealthy
nations to support social justice and human rights.
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John Paul II-supported the Solidarity movement and made efforts to try to reconcile the church with its past, including apologizing
for the Crusades, apologizing for a lack of effort on the Church’s part in the Holocaust, and apologizing for Galileo’s persecution in
the Roman Inquisition.
Analysis: The post WWII and Cold War eras brought lots of disillusionment to the new generation, the Baby Boomers. This new generation sought to create the postmodern state in response to the modernism that had been a part of the atrocities of warfare in the 20th Century. The Cold War had made a cool climate (pun
intended) to the modernist age, as now warfare and the threat of nuclear annihilation created new ideological ideas, such as existentialism. Also, the new generation
created a new wave of feminism that approached the radicalism that had been shown in the suffragette movement previously. Warfare and destruction had
destroyed the objective modernism and replaced it with the subjective post-modernism.
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