Scientific+Revolution+and+Enlightenment



1550-1800 **Dylan Putnam, Elsa Bollinger, and Katie Savage **

**"A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers,"-Plato **
 * A number of changes in the 15th and 16th centuries caused the natural philosophers to abandon their old views and develop new ones. Renaissance humanists had mastered Greek as well as Latin and had access to newly discovered works by Ptolemy, Archmiedes, and Plato . After studying and sometimes discarding the ideas of ancient mathematicians, these intellectual sdeveloped new theories that became the foundation of the Scientific Revolution . Astronomy was a significant discovery during this time. Ptolemy was the greatest astronomer of antiquity. Using his ideas, philosophers of the Middle Ages had constructed a model of the universe known later as the Ptolemaic system . It is called a geocentric system because it places the earth at the center of the universe. In the Ptolemaic system, the universe is a series of concentric spheres. In 1543, Nicholas Copernicus, published a book called ‘On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres.’ He believed that his heliocentric, or sun-centered, conception of the universe offered a more accurate explanation than the Ptolemaic system. There were many other great names such as Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton, Robert Boyle, and Margaret Cavendish . **


 * The Enlightenment was an 18th century philosophical movement. A favorite word of the intellects was the word ‘reason.’ The Enlightenment was mainly influenced by Isaac Newton and John Locke . The intellectuals were known by the French name philosophe . A great figure during this time was Voltaire . He wrote pamphlets, novels, plays, letters, and essays. Denis Diderot contributed the encyclopedia to the enlightenment. By ****<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">the late 1760s, many new philosophers, like Jean-Jacques Rousseau, came along. Rousseau prsented his concept thourgh something known as the social contract. Through this, an entire society agrees to be governed by its general will. **

**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Wollstonecraft played a major role for the rights of women during the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment. **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">By the 18th century, many women thinkers began to express their ideas about improving the condition of women. The strongest ****<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">statements was by an English writer named Mary Wollstonecraft . Many people see her as the founder of modern European and American women righ ****<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">ts. In one of her writings, she noted that the same people who argued that women must obey men also said that the government based on the arbitrary of power of monarchs over their subjects was wrong. Because women have reason, then they are entitled to the same rights as men. **

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__ **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Ten Key Terms ** __


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">1) __ Heliocentric __-Copernicus believed that the heliocentric system, or sun-centered, conception of the universe offered a more accurate explanation than did the Ptolemaic system. **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">2) __ Geocentric __-This means that Earth is at the center of the universe. Also known as the Ptolemaic system. **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">3) __ Ptolemaic system __-The universe is a series of concentric spheres-spheres one inside the other. **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">4) __ Universal Law of Gravitation __-Crucial to Newton’s argument was this law. This law explains why the planetary bodies do not go off in straight lines but instead continue in elliptical orbits about the sun. **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">5) __ Scientific Method __-A systematic procedure for collecting and analyzing evidence. The method was crucial to the evolution of science in the modern world. **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">6)__ Inductive Reasoning __-Francis Bacon believed that instead of relying on the ideas of ancient authorities, scientists should use this reasoning to learn about nature. **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">7) __ Philosophe __-The intellectuals of the Enlightenment were known by this French name meaning “philosopher” **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">8) __ Deism __-Voltaire championed deism, an 18th century religious philosophy based on reason and natural law. **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">9) __ Laissez-faire __-The state should leave the economy alone. This doctrine became known by this French name meaning “let people do what they want.” **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">10) __Salon__ -Enlightenment ideas were spread though this. Salons were the elegant drawing rooms of the wealthy upper class’s great urban houses. **



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 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">__ Ten Key People __ **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __1) Ptolemy:__ Constructed a model of the univers known later as the Ptolemaic sysytem. This system is called geocentric because it places Earth at the center of the univers. **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __2) Nicholas Copernicus:__ Believed that his heliocentric or sun centered conception of the universe offered a more accurate explanation than did the Ptolemaic system. **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __3) Galileo Galilei:__ Taught Mathematics. He was the first European to make regular observations of the heavens using a telescope. Made discoveries such as mountains on the Moon, four moons revolving around Jupiter and sunspots. **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __4) Isaac Newton:__ In his first book he defined the three laws of motion that govern the planetary bodies as well as objects on Earth. Stated that all bodies attract each other with a force that can be measured. **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __5) Galen:__ Greek physician that relied on animal rather than human dissection to arrive at a picture of human anatomy. He was wrong in many instances. **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __6) Francis Bacon:__ English Philosopher with few scientific credentials that developed the scientific method. He believed that scientists should use inductive reasoning to learn about nature. **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __7) Johannes Kepler:__ German mathematician who used detailed astronomical data to arrive at his laws of planetary motion. His observations confirmed that the Sun was at the center of the universe. **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __8) Robert Boyle:__ One of the first scientists to conduct controlled experiments. His pioneering work on the properties of gases led to Boyle's Law. **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __9) Antoine Lavoisier:__ Invented a system of naming the chemical elements much of which is still used today. Regarded by many as the founder of modern chemistry. **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __10) Andreas Vesalius:__ Discusssed what he had found when disecting human bodies while he was a professor of surgery at the University of Padua. He presented a careful and accurate examination of the individual organs and general structure of the human body. **


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">__Links__ **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">__[|Scientific Revolution]__-Fordham University's extended information on the Scientific Revolution. **