1. The Scientific Revolution

2. Before 1500, few questioned the Bible and Greek philosopher Aristotle What was true and false about the universe came from these sources

3. The Medieval View
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)
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

4. Geocentric Theory

5. Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)
Sun-centered universe – heliocentric theory
Earth is no different than any other planet
On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres (1543)

6. Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) 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

7. Galileo Galilei ( )
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
Brainpop

8. Isaac Newton ( )
Universal law of motion- every object in the universe attracts every other object
Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy (1687) - Explained gravity
Universe is a giant clock- all parts work together but God set clock in motion

9. William Harvey (1578-1657) Harvey
Published On the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals (1628)
Showed that heart acted as a pump to circulate blood throughout body

10. The Enlightenment --- Age of Reason
Movie Clip

11. What was it?
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

12. Key Ideas Distrust of Tradition and Religion
Scientific method could be applied to society as well
Man is naturally good

13. The World of the Old Regime
Built on tradition
World of hierarchy, privilege and inequality
Allied with the Church
Challenged by supporters of the Enlightenment

14. Conflict with the Capitalistic Middle Class
Size and increasing power of the Middle Class
New notion of wealth w/mercantilism
Tension and discord created by the Middle Class

15. The Philosophes (Philosophers)
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

16. The Problem of Censorship
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

17. Famous Enlightenment Thinkers

18. Thomas Hobbes (1588 –1679) Wrote Leviathan (1651)
Convinced that all humans are wicked and evil
Humans exist in a primitive state and give consent to the government for self-protection
Belief: Absolute monarchies

19. John Locke (1632-1704) People learn from experience
Favored self-gov’t, people rule
Natural rights: life, liberty, property
gov’t protects these rights and if not, people overthrow gov’t
Wrote Two Treaties on Government (1690)
Inspired American Revolution

20. Francois Arouet Voltaire (1694-1778)
Wrote Candide
Govt. to protect people’s freedom & tolerance
There should be separation of church and state
“Ecrasez l’infame” – “Crush the evil thing”

21. Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755)
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

22. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
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

23. The Role of the Salon – Spreading Ideas
Wealthy women of Paris hosted social gatherings known as salons
Philosophers, writers, artists, scientists gathered to share ideas
Madame Geoffrin – most influential salon hostess

24. Diderot’s Encyclopedia
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

25. Art and Literature
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

26. Enlightened Despotism
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

27. Impact of Enlightenment
Ideas led to people challenging long held ideas about society
Political philosophies of the Enlightenment inspired American and French revolutions in the 1700s & 1800s