The Age of Reason Slides from Historyteacher net

The Age of Reason Slides from Historyteacher. net & Other internet sources

View in the 1800’s • Primary religious and theological • Political theory based on divine right of kings • Society largely governed by Church views, traditions and practices • Superstition played major role in the lives of the people. • Scientific thought in the early 16 th century was still based on Medieval ideas – Views about the universe were largely influenced by the ideas of Aristotle – The geocentric view held that the earth was the center of a static, motionless universe – Science was essentially a branch of theology

Causes of the Scientific Revolution • Medieval universities provided the framework – By 1300 philosophy had become an accepted discipline – Medieval philosophers developed a degree of independence from theologians and a sense of free inquiry – Leading universities established new professorships of mathematics astronomy and physics within their departments of philosophy – Major scientific figures either studied or taught at universities

The Royal Academy of Sciences, Paris

Zoology & Biology A dissection at the Royal Academy, London.

Chemistry Labs & Botany Gardens

Causes of the Scientific Revolution • The Renaissance stimulated science by rediscovering ancient mathematics – Renaissance patronage was often scientific as well as artistic and humanistic • Navigational problems on sea voyages in the age of overseas expansion created a need for scientific advances – New instruments: telescope, barometer, thermometers pendulum clock, microscope and air pump – Gresham College England – became the main center if scientific activity during the first half of 17 th century • Scientific Method – Bacon formalized empirical, experimental research – Descartes emphasized deductive reasoning

Causes of the Scientific Revolution • The Scientific Revolution became the major cause of the new world view of the 17 th and 18 th century – Secularism emerged and many educated people became openly hostile to religion – The revolution in learning became a major foundation in Western society

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473 – 1543) • On the Revolution of Heavenly Spheres – Did not intend for theories to challenge church doctrine – Heliocentric view – the earth revolves around the sun which is the center of the universe » Universe seems infinite » Directly challenged Ptolemy’s 2 nd century AD view of a geocentric universe » Seemed to challenge the Bible’s Book of Genesis that also put forth a geocentric view

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473 – 1543) • Religious reaction to the Copernican theory – Martin Luther and John Calvin condemned Copernicus’ theory; pointed to biblical passages supporting the medieval view – Catholic Reaction initially less forceful as the church didn’t always interpret the Bible literally – By 1616, the Catholic Church proclaimed the Copernican theory as false and persecuted who advanced his views

Tycho Brahe (1546 -1601) • Europe’s leading astronomer in the late 16 th century • Built the best observatory in Europe and collected massive data on his observations of the universe – This data became the cornerstone of astronomy for centuries • His data later proved Copernicus’ theory – Ironically, Brahe did not accept the Copernican theory; he believed that while the planets revolved around the sun, the sun revolved the earth.

Johannes Kepler (1571 – 1630) • First great Protestant scientist; assistant to Brahe • Mathematically proved the Copernican theory • Developed three laws of planetary motion – Orbits of the planets are elliptical – Planets do not move at uniform speed while in their orbits – The time it takes for a planet to orbit the sun is directly based on its distance from the sun.

Galileo Galilei (1546 -1642) • Developed the laws of motion – Used the experimental method – Acceleration experiment: gravity was a universal force that produced uniform acceleration » All falling objects descend with equal velocity regardless of their weight – Laws of inertia: an object that is in motion remains in motion until it is topped by some external force

Galileo Galilei (1546 -1642) • Validated Copernicus’ heliocentric view with the aid of a telescope – Galileo was the first to use the telescope as a scientific instrument; he built one himself – Demonstrated that the moon and other planets were not perfectly round like a crystal sphere – Discovered the 4 moons of Jupiter thus refuting the notion that Jupiter was embedded in an impenetrable crystal sphere

Galileo Galilei (1546 -1642) • Galileo’s findings became controversial in Catholic countries – His views were largely supported in Protestant northern Europe where reformers had questioned Catholic doctrines had questions Catholic doctrines – The Catholic Church in 1616 declared Copernican theory to be heretical – 1632 Galileo published Dialogue Concerning the Two Chiefs World Systems in which he wrote about the Copernican system as a mathematical proposition – 1633, The inquisition of Pope Urban VII forced Galileo to retract his support of the Copernican theory » He remained under house arrest the rest of his life

Galileo in front of the Catholic church

Francis Bacon (1561 -1626) • Formalized the empirical method that had already been used by Brahe and Galileo • Inductive Method for scientific experimentation – Begin with inductive observation, form a hypothesis, conduct experiments and then organize the data • Bacon’s inductive method, coupled with Descartes deductive reason formed the backbone of the modern scientific method

Rene Descartes (1596 -1650) • Discourse on Method advocated the use of deductive reasoning – Employed deductive reasoning to prove existence: cogito ergo sum (“I think therefore I am”) – Depended on logic alone – Believed that science must: » Start with clear and incontrovertible facts » Subdivide each program into as many parts as necessary, using a step-by step logical sequence • Demonstrated the relationship between algebra and geometry • Developed analytical geometry • Cartesian Dualism – divided all existence into the spiritual and the material – The spiritual can only be examined through deductive reasoning (logic) – The material is subject to the experimental method

The Scientific Method • Inductive method (of Bacon) +the deductive method (of Descartes)

Sir Isaac Newton (1642 -1727) • Incorporated the astronomy of Copernicus and Kepler with the physics of Galileo into an overarching theory explaining order and design to the universe • Principal of universal gravitation – Detailed in Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy (1687) (known as Principia) – Natural laws of motion – gravitation – are evident in the movement of heavenly bodies and earthly objects » Newtown developed a set of mathematical principles to explain motion

Sir Isaac Newton (1642 -1727) • Every body in the universe attracts every other body in the universe in a precise mathematical relationship • Since these natural laws are unchangeable and predictable, God’s active participation in the natural world is not needed to explain the forces of nature – Challenged Medieval beliefs – This came to the be the foundation of the Enlightenment view of God: deism

William Blake’s Newton, 1795

Anatomy and Physiology • Scientists began challenging Greco. Roman medical views (especially those of the Roman physician, Galen in the 2 nd century AD • Vesalius: The Structure of the Human Body(1543): renewed and modernized the study of anatomy • William Harvey (1578 -1657) – On the Movement of the Heart and Blood (1628): Explained how blood was pumped by the heart and circulated throughout the body • Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1632 – 1723) – “Father of Microscopy”: developed powerful microscopes – First to see and write abut bacteria and circulation in capillaries

Royal Scientific Societies • Governments/monarchs encouraged scientific inquiry as a means to further the prestige of the state and remain at the cutting edge of technology • Scientific societies created a means by which scientists could communicate with each other internationally; this helped forge an international scientific community • The Royal Society in England was perhaps the most successful and prestigious founded in 1660 • Other royal societies were created in Naples, France and Prussia and Russia

Impact on Society • Led directly to the Enlightenment • Improvements in exploration • Spirit of experimentation perhaps helped accelerate the Agricultural Revolution • Improvements in medical knowledge helped improve the quality of life later • Science and religion were not in acute conflict until the 19 th and 20 th centuries – No attempt in the 17 th and 18 th centuries to secularize science – After Catholic counterreformation the church became more hostile to science and science declined in Italy – Protestant countries became the leaders of the Scientific Revolution, Especially England

Natural History Collections ► Cocoa plant drawing. ► Sir Hans Sloane (1660 -1753). ► Collected from Jamaica.

Natural History Collections James Petiver’s Beetles (London apothecary)

Private Collections The Origins of Modern Museums.

Women & Science The German astronomer Hevelius & his wife examine the heavens.

The Enlightenment • What is the Enlightenment? • What caused the Enlightenment?

An Overview of the 18 c ► Political History >>> Reform ► Intellectual History Newtonian Physics Reason ► Cultural History Individualism ► Social History Increased Literacy “Age of Aristocracy” ► Economic History > Mercantilism to Capitalism

Characteristics of the Enlightenment • Rationalism • Secularism • Scientific Method • Utilitarianism • Tolerance • Optimism • Freedoms • Education of the Masses • Legal Reforms • Constitutionalism

English Thinkers • Thomas Hobbes: – Wrote Leviathan – People are naturally cruel, greedy, and selfish – If not strictly controlled, they would rob and oppress one another – Life in the “State of Nature” would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short – To escape – people enter into a Social Contract: an agreement by which they give up the state of nature for an organized society – Only a powerful government could ensure an orderly society

English Thinkers • John Locke – People were moral and reasonable – Natural Rights – rights that belong to all humans from birth – life liberty and property – Two Treatises on Government – people formed governments to protect their natural rights – Best government had limited power and was accepted by all citizens – A government has an obligation to those it governs / if a government fails its people have a right to overthrow it – Influenced the Glorious Revolution of 1688 – Education is key to society’s advancement » Each person is born a “Tabula Rasa” or blank slate

The Baron de Montesquieu (1689 -1755) ► Persian Letters, 1721 ► On the Spirit of Laws, 1758

Montesquieu’s Philosophy ► Three types of government: § Monarchy. § Republic. § Despotism. A separation of political powers ensured freedom and liberty. Principle of Checks and balances Supported the parlements in France

French Thinkers • Paris is home to the Enlightenment & French Revolution…. coincidence? • Philosophes – applied scientific methods to better understand improve society – lovers of wisdom

Marquis de Condorcet (1743 -1794) ► Progress of the Human Mind, 1794 § An expectation of universal happiness. § Every individual guided by reason could enjoy true independence. § He advocated a free and equal education, constitutionalism, and equal rights for women. § Identified 9 stages of human progress that had already occurred and predicted that the 10 th stage would bring perfection.

French Thinkers • Francis Marie Arouet – Voltaire – Candide – “My trade is to say what I think” – Exposed abuses of his day » Targeted corrupt officials » Wrote about inequality, injustice, and religious prejustice » Outspoken attacks offended government and Catholic Church – – – Voltaire imprisoned and forced into exile His books were censored and burned But he continued to protect freedom of speech Advocated Enlightened Despotism He was a Deist – religion that saw God as the “clockmaker” he made the world but does not intervene in it.

Voltaire’s “Wisdom” (I) ►“Ecracsez l’infame” – Crush the infamous thing! ►Every man is guilty of all the good he didn’t do. ► God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh. ► If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him. ► It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong. ► Love truth and pardon error.

Voltaire’s “Wisdom” (II) ► Judge of a man by his questions rather than by his answers. ► Men are equal; it is not birth, but virtue that makes the difference. ► Prejudice is opinion without judgment. ► The way to become boring is to say everything. ► I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

French Thinkers • Denis Diderot – Purpose was to change the general way of thinking – 25 years to produce 28 volume encyclopedia – purpose was to change the general way of thinking – by explaining the new thinking on government, philosophy, and religion – Included Montesquieu and Voltaire articles – Denounced slavery – Praised freedom of expression and education for all – French government said the Encyclopedia was an attack on public morals – 20, 000 copies printed – Helped shaped French public opinion in the mid 1700’s – Translated into other languages – helped spread Enlightenment ideas

Pages from Diderot’s Encyclopedie

Pages from Diderot’s Encyclopedie

Pages from Diderot’s Encyclopedie

Subscriptions to Diderot’s Encyclopedie

Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712 -1778) ► A Discourse on the Sciences and Arts, 1750 ► Emile, 1762. ► The Social Contract, 1762.

French Thinkers • Rousseau – People in their rural state were good but corrupted by evils of society, especially unequal distribution of property – Some control was necessary but should be minimal, but by a freely elected government – “general will” best conscience of the people – Individual subordinate the community – “The Social Contract” – “Man born free, everywhere he is in chains. ” The chains of society

Rousseau’s Philosophy (II) Virtue exists in the ”state of nature, ” but lost in “society. ” Government must preserve “virtue” and ”liberty. ” Man is born free, yet everywhere he is in chains. § The concept of the ”Noble Savage. ” Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. § Civil liberty invest ALL rights and liberties into a society.

Rousseau’s Philosophy (III) ► In The Social Contract: § The right kind of political order could make people truly moral and free. § Individual moral freedom could be achieved only by learning to subject one’s individual interests to the “General Will. ” § Individuals did this by entering into a social contract not with their rulers, but with each other. V This social contract was derived from human nature, not from history, tradition, or the Bible.

Rousseau’s Philosophy (IV) ► People would be most free and moral under a republican form of government with direct democracy. ► However, the individual could be “forced to be free” by the terms of the social contract. § He provided no legal protections for individual rights. ► Rousseau’s thinking: § Had a great influence on the French revolutionaries of 1789. § His attacks on private property inspired the communists of the 19 c such as Karl Marx.

French Thinkers • Marquis de Beccaria – “On Crimes and Punishment” – Reason and equality before the law – Punishment should be based on harm done to society – Opposed to torture – Influenced the Despots: » Fredrick the Great abolished torture » Catherine the great restricted the use of torture » Joseph II abolished the use of torture and capital punishment

Immanuel Kant ► Critique of Pure Reason, 1781 ► “What is Enlightenment? ”, 1784 ► Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science, 1786 (1724 -1804)

Kant’s Philosophy ► Separated science and morality into separate branches of ► ► knowledge Science could describe nature, it could not provide a guide for morality. He introduced the concept of transcendentalism some things are known by methods other than empirically. § The belief in the existence of a non-rational way to understand things. The existence of neither time nor space is determined by empirical understanding. § These type of things are a priori. V They transcend sensory experience. V They are pure, not empirical [[concepts like faith, pre-existence, life after death].

Women During the Enlightenment • Women did not have the natural rights of men • Rights limited to the home and family • By mid 1700’s women protesting this view • Mary Wollstonecraft (British Female Critic) – argued that women had been excluded from the social contract – Woman’s first duty is to be a good mother – 1792 – “A Vindication of the Rights of Women” – called for same sex education

Economics • Physiocrats – economic reforms – Looked for natural laws to define a rational economic system – Laissez faire – allowing business to operate with little or no government interference – Real wealth came from making land more productive – Agriculture, mining and logging produced new wealth – Supported free trade and opposed mercantilism • Francis Quesnay – leader of the Physiocrats

Economics • Adam Smith – “The Wealth of Nations” – Argued free market, the natural forces of supply and demand should be allowed to operate and regulate business – Showed how manufacturing, trade, wages and profits were all linked to supply and demand. (The invisible hand) – Market place better without government regulation

The American “Philosophes” John Adams (1745 -1826) Ben Franklin (1706 -1790) Thomas Jefferson (1743 -1826) …. . . …life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…………. . .

Enlightenment Ideas Spread • Achieving a Just Society – People began to challenge the old ways – People saw the need for reform to achieve a just society – During the Middle Ages, people accepted a society based on Divine Right and a heavenly reward for life’s suffering – In the Age of Reason, such ideas seemed unscientific and unnatural – A just society should ensure material, well-being, social justice, and happiness in this world

Centers of the Enlightenment

An Increase in Reading

“Must Read” Books of the Time

Enlightenment Ideas Spread • Censorship – Government and church authorities felt they had a sacred duty to defend the old order. – The old order has been set up by God – They banned books, burned books, and imprisoned some writers – Some publishers had their work published under fake name – Some published their ideas in fiction

Enlightenment Ideas Spread • Salons – The new literature, arts, science and philosophy were regular topics of discussion in the salons – Informal social gatherings at which writers, artists, philosophers, and other exchanged ideas – Originated in the 1600’s when a group of noblewomen in Paris began inviting a few friends to their homes for poetry readings – Only the most witty, intelligent and well read people were invited to the salons – By 1700’s some middle class women began holding salons – “Women Ruled Then”

A Parisian Salon

Madame Geoffrin’s Salon

The Salonnieres Madame Geoffrin (1699 -1777) Mademoiselle Julie de Lespinasse (1732*-1776) Madame Suzanne Necker (1739 -1794)

Other Female Salons ► Wealthy Jewish women created nine of the fourteen salons in Berlin. ► In Warsaw, Princess Zofia Czartoryska gathered around her the reform leaders of Poland-Lithuania. ► Middle-class women in London used their salons to raise money to publish women’s writings.

Female Philosophes ► Emilie du Chatalet, a French noblewoman (1706 -1749). ► Wrote extensively about the mathematics and physics of Gottfried Wilhelm von Lebnitz and Isaac Newton. ► Her lover, Voltaire, learned much of his science from her.

Enlightened Despotism • Enlightened Despots – a ruler who used their power to bring about political and social change – Philosophes tried to convince European rulers to adopt their ideas – If they could enlighten ruling classes. They thought they could bring about reform – Some monarchs did accept enlightenment ideas – They became enlightened despots – Absolute rulers who used their power to bring about political and social change

Enlightened Despotism • Frederick the Great – Exerted tight control over his subjects, BUT saw himself as the first “servant of the state, ” with a duty to work for the common good. – Frederick lured Voltaire to come to Berlin and help develop a Prussian academy of science – Not fighting wars – had swamps drain and forced peasants to grow new crops such as the potato – Had seeds and tools distributed to peasants who had suffered on Prussia’s wars – He tolerated religious differences, welcoming victims of religious persecution – Fredericks’s reforms directed mainly at making the Prussian government more efficient – Recognized the civil service and simplified laws – Rationalized bureaucracy also meant a stronger monarchy

Enlightened Despotism • Catherine the Great – Exchanged letters with Voltaire and Diderot – “Voltaire – someone who fought the united enemies of humankind, superstition, fanaticism, ignorance, trickery. ” – Made limited reforms in law and govt’ – Granted nobles a charter of rights – Spoke out against serfdom – Restricted the use of torture – Education for boys and girls – Limited religious toleration » Jews were given civil equality – Catherine intended to give up NO power – Catherine’s contribution to Russia was not reform, but an expanded empire

Reformer? OR Despot? 1767: Catherine summons the Legislative Commission. 1768 -1774: Russo-Turkish War. 1771 -1775: Pugachev Rebellion is suppressed. 1772: First partition of Poland. 1785: Charter of Nobility. 1793: Second partition of Poland. 1795: Third partition of Poland.

The Partitions of Poland - 1772 - 1793 - 1795

Russian Expansionism in the Late 18 c

Enlightened Despotism • Joseph II – Most radical enlightened despot – Son of Maria Theresa – Joseph traveled in disguise to learn the problems of his subjects – Because of these efforts, nicknamed “peasant emperor” – Joseph continued Maria Theresa’s reforms – Chose talented middle class officials rather than nobles to head depts. – Imposed a range of political and legal reforms – Granted toleration to protestants and Jews in Catholic Empire – Ended censorship and attempted to bring the catholic church under royal control – Sold the property of many monasteries and convents which he saw as unproductive and used the proceeds to build hospitals – Abolished serfdom

Effects of the Enlightenment • Constitutional Government & Enlightened Despotism • New economics • Will cause the American, French and Latin American Revolutions • New Ideas – Relationship between government and society – Women’s rights – Social justice – Violence and torture – Basic liberties

Growth of Constitutional Government • Politics and Society – Peace and Prosperity – Gov’t was an oligarchy – a government in which the ruling power belongs to a few people. Right to vote limited to a few male property owners and votes were bought • George III Reasserts Power – Set out to make the crown powerful again – Started to give seats in parliament to his friends – Passed legislation that American colonists would pay for the Seven Years war – Triggered American Revolution and French Revolution

The American Revolution • What were the causes to the American Revolution? • How did the Enlightenment influence the Revolution? – Thomas Paine • What were the effects of the American Revolution? • What thinkers and their ideas are present in the Declaration of Independence and later, the US Constitution?