Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)

Copernicus + Brahe = three laws

                Combines their theories

                1. Planet orbits are elliptical

                2. Speed of the planet is based on distance from the sun

                3. Magnetic force

                Can’t explain why things stay together

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)

·         Background

o   Telescope (1610)

§  Invents it

§  Points it to the sky, and sees things nobody else has ever seen

o   The Starry Messenger (1610)

§  Lot of hidden messages in it

o   Letters on Sunspots (1613)

§  Full-fledged copernicust

§  The idea of a heliocentric universe

·         Conflict with the church

o   It upsets the church

§  “going against the Bible, you can’t prove this, stop talking about this”

·         Two responses

o   Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina (1615)

§  Argues for science and religion = partners for truth

§  Friends and family tell him to cool it, he goes dark for years

o   A Dialogue between the Two Great World Systems (1632)

§  Religion and Science

ú  Two characters having a conversation, why science and religion are not inclusive

ú  Makes the religious one look stupid, Pope thought he was making fun of them

·         Trial and house arrest

o   1. Recant ideas

o   2. No more writing

o   3. Permanent house arrest

o   The Two New Sciences (1638)

§  He secretly researches again

§  In this work he puts out how science could be defended

§  Universal laws govern all of nature

Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

·         Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

o   “Knowledge is Power”

§  Everything you need to know is in your brain

o   Skepticism

§  Unless you can prove it, don’t believe what everyone tells you

§  “Seeing is believing”

o   Inductive Approach

§  Observation

§  Experiment

ú  Trial and error

ú  Will lead to scientific fact

o   Empiricism

§  “All knowledge comes through sense”

·         Baconians

o   The Royal Society

§  Scientific group

ú  Share knowledge with each other

o   Bacon’s approach to science becomes modern approach to science 

·         Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727)

o   Universal Gravitation

§  One of the universal laws

ú  Descriptive laws

§  “The job of science is to explain how science happens, not why” 

·         Major Tenets:

o   Perfectibility – John Locke (1632-1704)

§  Goodness/perfectibility of humans is possible

§  Ta Bula Rasa – Blank slate

ú  With education and right environment, it is possible to perfect human beings

A Revolution in Astronomy

·         Background

o   Major shift

§  Definition of knowledge

§  Basing it on the Ancients

ú  Shifts to human reason

·         The Ancients

o   Ptolemy

§  An authority to astronomy

§  Universe is geocentric

ú  Everything in the universe revolves around the Earth

·         Does it in perfect circles

o   Aristotle

§  Theory about the cosmos

ú  Universe/heavens are different than Earth

·         “not part of the same realm”

o   Throws the calendar off

§  Catholic church wants to fix the calendar

ú  “Europe’s got talent”

·         Copernican Revolution

o   Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543)

§  Comes up with complex math formulas for how to fix the calendar

§  Heliocentric

ú  The sun is the center of the universe

·         Earth rotates around the sun

·         Earth spins on an axis

o   Troubling implications

§  He’s going against the Ancients

§  Experience

ú  “how are we not flying off in space?”

§  Bible 

o   On the revolutions of the heavenly spheres

§  “Not fact, not reality, only theory”

o   Power of Reason – David Hume (1711-1776)

§  He’s the bridge between scientific revolution and the enlightenment

§  Reason is the authority

ú  It should be applied to all subjects 

o   Independence – Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)

§  Argued for independence

Human mind should not have any restrictions 

o   Voltaire (1694-1778)

§  Holy Trinity

ú  Bacon, Locke, Newton

§  Crush Infamy!

ú  Wants people to open minds

ú  Civil liberty

·         Freedom

§  Religion

ú  Anti-organized religion

·         Doesn’t think church can lead you

ú  Morality

ú  Common sense can lead you there

o   Denis Diderot (1713-1784)

§  Encyclopedia

ú  Founder of encyclopedia

ú  Spread knowledge

§  Wide-Ranging

ú  Sells out everywhere

o   Adam Smith (1723-1790)

§  Studying Economics

§  Mercantilism:

ú  Chokes the economy

ú  Based on agriculture

·         Not the way to go

ú  Government monopoly

§  Capitalism:

ú  Freedom/liberty

ú  Privitation of all things

ú  “Invisible Hand”

·         Economy will direct and take care of itself

o   Charles de Montesquieu (1689-1755)

§  Studying government

§  1. Republicanism:

ú  Representation

·         He loves this

·         Doesn’t care if there is few or many people

ú  Pros:

·         People have a voice

·         Prevents abuse

ú  Cons:

·         Mob rule

·         What is rep?

·         Not informed

§  2. Monarch

ú  1 ruler to rule them all

ú  Pros:

·         Efficient

·         Natural pride

§  3. Deposition

ú  Like absolutism, dictator

ú  The worst form 

·         Humanitarianism and Toleration

o   Europe is becoming more humane

§  Old Punishment:

ú  Revenge

ú  Torture

ú  Public killings

§  “Humans have more dignity than that”

§  Reform and rehabilitate

o   Toleration

§  “Let people be”

o   Attacked Privilege

§  Name, family, property

ú  “People aren’t special because they don’t have the right name, property”

o   Lower Classes

§  Enlightenment figures loathe them, didn’t want to show them enlightenment

o   Slavery

§  In theory, none of them would be okay with it, but slavery is making way too much money

§  So they say, “slaves don’t want freedom.”