Chapter 18
In This Chapter
• The beginnings of the Scientific Revolution
• Bacon and Descartes
• Sir Isaac Newton
• The Enlightenment
• The enlightened monarchs
The Scientific Revolution, sometimes referred to as the Newtonian Revolution, ushered in the modern period of European and world history.It marked a distinct break from the old framework of Europe and the adoption of something quite new. Its influence throughout the world is felt to this day and can be seen in many scientific and technological advances of world civilization. More important, it affected how people saw and interacted with the world around them.
In the Beginning
Advances in the field of stargazing (astronomy, if you want to get scientific) got the Scientific Revolution going during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Polish astronomer Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) started the ball rolling when he theorizedthat Earth, in fact, revolved around the sun, referred to now as heliocentric theory. Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) kept the scientific inquiry moving with his voluminous set of observations of the night sky, which became the foundation for the theories of the solar system.
The Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) kicked the ball into orbit. Galileo pioneered the use of the telescope to observe the night sky. More important, he was a vocal advocate of the Copernican system rather than the Church-accepted Ptolemaic model of the solar system. Galileo’s criticism of Ptolemy’s model landed him in hot water with the Roman Catholic Church, which did not appreciate the questioning of tradition. He was put on trial for heresy and suffered imprisonment for his scientific convictions.
definition
The Ptolemaic model was the belief advanced by the second-centuryGreek mathematician Ptolemy that Earth was a fixed point and the celestial bodies orbited around it.
Finally, German astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571- 1630), who assisted Tycho Brahe in his final years, determined that, although the planets moved around the sun, they did so in an elliptical orbit, not a circular orbit as had been suggested. So these four astronomers developed the basics of scientific observation, which were used throughout the Scientific Revolution.
Philosophers of Science
Following the developments in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century astronomy, two philosophersof science applied the practices of scientific observation to their respective fields to mark the beginning of the Scientific Revolution.
Englishman Francis Bacon (1561-1626) was a philosopher who developed and argued for the use of the inductive or experimental method. According to Bacon, the steps of the inductive method that a “man of science” should follow were as follows:
• One observes a natural occurrence or phenomena.
• One accumulates data from observations.
• One experiments with the observation to gather better data.
• One draws conclusions and creates principles.
• One tests principles again with more experiments and observations.
• One becomes a famous “man of science.”
Of course, I added the last step, but it has some truth to it. Bacon did become a very famous man of science (regrettably, women were generally excluded) and his inductivemethod became even more famous and influential on the next generation of scientists.
The next philosopher of science, who helped begin the Scientific Revolution, was the Frenchman René Descartes (1596-1650). In his famous 1637 work Discourse on Method, he argued that all things should be confirmed by observation. If it can’t be observed, it should be doubted. To Descartes, the only thing that was truly known was his own existence, proven by the proposition, “Cogito ergo sum” or “I think, therefore I am.” He also divided all existence into the material and the spiritual, creating what is termed a Cartesian Dualism. According to Descartes, the material world was subjectto the inductive method developed by Bacon and the spiritual world was subject to the deductive method. Although it wasn’t his goal (he was attempting to reconcile religion and science), Descartes’ dualistic approach to the world created a separation and tension between the humanities and the sciences that has lasted well into modern times.
Notable Quotable
"But I immediately became aware that while I was thus disposed to think that all was false, it was absolutely necessary that I who thus thought should be something; and noting that this truth I think, therefore I am … I concluded that … it as being the first principle of the philosophy I was seeking.”
—Discourse on Method, René Descartes
Newton and the Laws of Gravity
During the Scientific Revolution, one man, Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), stood far above the rest; although if you asked him, he would have responded that he was “standing on the shoulders of giants.” Newton ascertained the pre-eminence of sciencein modern Europe and the world. Using natural law as his guide, his account of the movements of the planets and the stars as well as objects here on Earth is found in his Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy.
Newton’s theory set aside the medieval assumption that God’s active participation explained forces of nature. Natural laws like the law of gravity are predictable and unchanging and demonstrate that there is little need for theological explanations of worldly operations. Newton’s discoveries advanced the theological notion called Deism. In Deism, God is akin to a watchmaker who creates a watch with all its inner workings and parts in place. He then winds the watch and watches it run without intervention of any kind. With Deism, God is not a personal God but a Creator who may only be a disinterested observer of the world. Of course, that kind of talk rocked the foundations of Christianity, Protestant and Catholic alike. Newton also advocated rationalism, the belief that the laws of nature can be understood with human reason and that mankind can be perfected. From Newton onward, man was the center of the universe— not God.
Notable Quotable
"The notion of the world’s being a great machine, going on without the interposition of God, as a clock continues to go without the assistance of a clock-maker;is a notion of materialism and fate.”
—Samuel Clarke, follower of Sir Isaac Newton
The revolution that Sir Isaac Newton started with an apple and the law of gravity was the beginning of the modern age. It also led to the next important break from the medieval past, the Age of Enlightenment.
Anybody Need a Light?
The Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, was the name given to the eighteenth century intellectual movement that focused on humanism, science, rationalism,and philosophy. Originally known as the Aufklarung, in German, the Enlightenment was the application of the new methods of science to the humanities and philosophy. It was also a response to the irrational and chaotic Wars of Religion in sixteenth-century Europe. Human science and reason, not religion, it was thought, would provide order to Europe.
Notable Quotable
"Nature and nature’s laws lay hid in night; God said, ’Let Newton be!’ and all was light.”
—Alexander Pope
John Locke
Who was the first to begin applying the new methods of science and reason to the humanities and philosophy? Arguably, the first was the Englishman John Locke (1632-1704), a contemporary and friend of Newton considered by most to be the founder of Enlightenment empiricism and political liberalism.
definition
Empiricism is the belief that sensory experience through observationsand experiments is the only source of human knowledge.
Locke wrote two works published in 1690. In Two Treatises on Government, he argued against the theory of the divine right of kings and suggested that the authority of rulers had a human origin and as such was limited. Locke stressed the importance of religious liberty in government and society,laying the foundation for the principle of separation of church and state. In An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Locke argued for the empirical perspective but did not rule out the fact that knowledge was limited and must be reinforced by faith. Locke’s argument for empiricism served as the basis for the Enlightenment doctrine that emerged with Locke’s writings:
• Reason is the most significant and positive capacity of a human.
• Reason allows humans to free themselves from primitive, superstitious, and dogmatic beliefs that keep humans ignorant and irrational.
• Reason allows humans to learn and to think correctly.
• Reason can lead humans to perfection and to a heavenly existence on Earth.
• Human belief should not base itself on human traditions or authority.
• Reason, endowed to humans by a creator, makes all equal and deserving of liberty and justice.
• Humans should seek to impart and/or gain knowledge, not feelings or emotions.
The French Philosophes
If Newton was the inspirational origin of the Enlightenment and Locke the foundation,five French philosophes, or philosophers, shaped it. They were Voltaire, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Baron de Montesquieu, Francois Quesnay, and Denis Diderot.
Voltaire (1694-1778) was definitely a poster boy for the Enlightenment. Although he was more of a social critic than philosopher, his criticisms brought up questions that later Enlightenment thinkers tried to answer. He wrote against injustice and inequalityand for the dignity of all humans and the importance of science. His motto was “Ecrasez l’infame” or “Crush the infamous,” which was a warning to dogmatic religion,abusive governments, and old traditions to beware.
Of course, being born in Europe during the seventeenth century, Voltaire was raised a Christian, but Voltaire believed that God or the Creator made the laws that put the universe in order, and the evil of the world resulted from man straying from his understanding of natural law. It was mankind’s job to rediscover those laws using reason and bring order back into the world. Voltaire believed that prayer and miracles violated the natural order of things and, therefore, did not work.
None of this made Voltaire a hit with Churchmen, but it did interest other philosophersand monarchs. Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, invited Voltaire to stay at his court and Voltaire gladly accepted. (Who wouldn’t? A king paying for you to just sit and think!) There Voltaire gained an international reputation and influenced succeedingFrench philosophes.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) was a contemporary of Voltaire who also helped to spread Enlightenment thinking. Rousseau’s concept of the noble savage advanced the notion that civilization corrupts man, and that to return to a more pure and free state of nature would make man more virtuous. But mankind is restrained by the institutionsof society, or, in his words from his work The Social Contract, “Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains.”
Rousseau’s solution was to create a society through a social contract that would allow mankind to be free as possible. This society should be guided by the general will of the people. This, of course, was a cry for a democratic form of government. But his idea of the general will doesn’t recognize minorities in society and the tyranny of the majority.
definition
Tabula rasa means “blank slate” and is the state, John Locke argued in his Essay Concerning Human Understanding, in which humans are born.
All of these ideas that took shape in Rousseau’s writingwere and still are very influential in the area of political philosophy, but he had even more to say in other fields such as education. Building on John Locke’s idea of tabula rasa, Rousseau wrote that childrendevelop according to the environment around them. Additionally, he argued that kids should be understood as individuals and they need caring, not strict and rigid, environments from their parents and teachers.
The Other Three
The other three French philosophes who shaped the Enlightenment did so in a less broad fashion. Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755), in his volume, Spirit of the Laws, argued that the powers of the government should be separated in order to prevent any one person or institution from gaining too much power. Montesquieu believed that there should be three branches of government—the legislative, executive, and judicial. Each branch should have some power over the others, which he termed checks and balances. His ideas generated a lot of interest and served as the foundation of the governmentalstructure of the United States.
As a leading physiocrat, Francois Quesnay (1694-1774) believed in laissez-faire economics, in which government removed all restraints to free trade, including taxes and tariffs. With the restraints removed, the natural laws of economics would be free to operate and society would obtain its highest good.
definition
A physiocrat believes that land is the only source of wealth and revenue. Because of this, the freedom of opportunity to trade and secure property is essential to prosperity.
Denis Diderot (1713-1784) was not so much a thinker as a compiler, collecting the writings and ideas of the philosophes of the Enlightenment. He then published these writings in his Encyclopedia, which was more of a collection of political and social criticisms.The Encyclopedia was a bestseller for the times and helped to popularize and spread the ideas of the Enlightenment.
What in the World
Very few women were able to break into the man’s world of the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment. Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) was an exception. Her well-known writing, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, argued that women should have the same political and educational rights of men. Interestingly enough, she was also the mother of the famous author, Mary Shelley, who wrote Frankenstein.
The Later Enlightenment
The ideas of the Enlightenment were shaped in France and built upon by later English and German Enlightened thinkers. Adam Smith (1727-1790), in The Wealth of Nations, expanded the philosophies of the French physiocrats and the idea of laissez-faire economics. The book was published in 1776 and is considered by most to provide the essential justification for capitalism, governed by these tenets:
• The economy of a nation is governed by natural laws.
• The essential natural law of economy is the law of supply and demand.
• In a free-market economy, competition will bring producers to produce goods more efficiently so they can sell quality, lower cost goods.
• Government laws and regulations interfere with the natural laws of a self-governingeconomy.
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was a German Enlightened philosopher who possibly ranks among the most influential thinkers in history. Kant led a quiet life. While teaching logic and metaphysics at a small university in Germany, he produced several volumes that detail the development of a complicated philosophical system. Needless to say a complete summary of his works would be impossible in this volume; other philosophers such as Friedrich Hegel have spent years puzzling over and trying to organize his philosophies. But there are some general ideas that he argued decisively and have proved to be very influential on later thinkers.
Focusing on morality, Kant argued for the categorical imperative, that everyone should treat all actions as an end, not a means to an end. He also taught that the basis of moral order should be the freedom of will guided by absolute duty. Theologically, Kant believed that knowledge such as the existence of God or a Creator cannot be attained by human reason. Human reason has limits. Of course, so did Kant. His philosophy, sometimes called Kantianism, although thought-provoking and influential, was sometimesvague and contradictory. But others did build successfully on his system.
Notable Quotable
"Enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-incurred immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to use one’s own understanding without the guidance of another. This immaturity is self-incurred if its cause is not lack of understanding, but lack of resolution and courage to use it without the guidance of another.”
—”An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment?”, Immanuel Kant
A Recipe for Revolution
All of this Enlightenment not only had an effect on the intellectual life of Europe but also the political life. Enlightened despotism became the rage among the monarchs of Europe. An Enlightened monarch tried to advance the society of his state by fosteringeducation, economic freedom, and social justice. In general the ruler used his power to promote the good of the people because he/she knew best.
Several European rulers qualified for the distinction of enlightened despot. Frederick the Great (r. 1740-1786) was one of the more famous. Using his military genius, he made Prussia into a major European power. Once established, Frederick became a patron of Voltaire, under whose influencehe turned to domestic reforms and improved education and codified laws in Prussia. Frederick also encouraged industry and immigration, and started a policy of religious tolerance.
What in the World
Frederick the Great built a summer palace named Sans Souci, French for “without cares.” It was Frederick’s favoriteretreat from the politics of the court. The palace was also famous for midnight suppers that were attended by philosophersand artists who discussed the exciting new ideas of the Enlightenment.
Catherine the Great (r. 1762-1796), ruler of Russia, was a German who succeeded to the throne after the death of her husband, Czar Peter III. Catherine was heavily influenced by European continental culture and the ideas of the Enlightenment. She became a patron of French philosophes and instituted enlightened policies in Russia. But her enlightened side came to an end shortly after Pugachev’s Rebellion, a social revolution that aimed to depose the monarch. From then on, Catherine kept a tight grip on the throne and the freedoms of the Russian people.
The final two enlightened monarchs were Maria Theresa (r. 1740-1780) and her son Joseph II (r. 1780-1790), who ruled the empire of Austria. Theresa was able, after some trouble claiming the throne, to centralize the government, promote free trade, and limit the power of the nobility. Her son took Enlightenment reform even further by guaranteeing the freedom of the press and religion and dismantling the remnants of serfdom.
The problem with enlightened despotism is that it was, in general, all wrong. An absolute ruler who controlled people’s freedom wasn’t what many thinkers envisioned the Enlightenment to be about. The Enlightenment was more bottom up, not top down. The people wanted more control over their freedoms and they were not going to take no for an answer; no matter how enlightened the ruler claimed to be. The stage was set for revolutions: the American and the French revolutions, to be exact, and these changed the course of European and world history.
The Least You Need to Know
• The astronomical discoveries of the sixteenth century created the ingredients necessary for the Scientific Revolution.
• Sir Isaac Newton’s discovery of the law of gravity influenced scientists of the Scientific Revolution and philosophers of the Enlightenment.
• The Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment created the foundations for the modern worldview based on science and reason.
• Enlightenment philosophies led some monarchs to work for the equality of their subjects.
• Enlightenment ideas also led to the events of the American and French Revolutions.