(1) “The movement known as the Enlightenment included writers living at different times in carious countries. Its early exponents, the philosophes, popularized the rationalism and scientific ideas of the 17th century. They exposed contemporary social and political abuses and argued that reform was necessary and possible.” (The Heritage of World Civilizations). This led to tremendous rethinking of religious and moral matters as well as scientific theory.
The American identity has evolved over time. During the 1700’s, the Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, occurred. It spread rapidly across Europe, and then to North America. This revolutionary way of thinking was crucial to the development of the American identity. The Enlightenment was the period for cultivation of science and human reason. Scientific discoveries were made and contributed to the growth of the people in Europe and America. The Enlightenment was a growth period in Europe and America, as people were told to rely on their own intellect instead of always looking to God for answers. Unfortunately, because of their existing class structure, religious positions, and authoritative rule, these new ideas in Europe could only be debated.
The scientific revolution made a vast impact on everyday lives, it caused computers, phones, and other items to be invented. This revolution has caused many conflicts, and with these conflicts it had changed the way people lived and made many people question life. The revolution had made many benefits for people and there were also some people that were harmed during this time. The scientific revolution had many different actions that caused wonderful objects to be invented and allowed people to know more about the world. Different actions were done to create the scientific revolution similar to when the societies developed conflicts, such as when Copernicus made the solar system, how the conflicts changed the societies by the church going against people, the people who experience harmed such as Galileo, and the people who benefitted from the change such as other boys.
When the renaissance emerged from the middle ages, it brought new ideas of thought to the surface. Individuals like Leonardo Da Vinci proposed that to achieve a fuller understanding of God and the universe one must understand the natural laws and mathematics that govern it. During the 16th and 17th century in Europe, religion and politics affected the Scientific Revolution because there was no separation of the two in science, this is why the Church restricted scientific progress and politics pushed for scientific improvements for personal gain.
Question #2: In what ways did Enlightenment ideas contribute to the outbreak and course of the French Revolution?
In Steven Shapin’s book, The Scientific Revolution, he described the massive scientific changes that occurred from the late 16th to the early 18th centuries. Shapin utilizes the scientists and their findings to demonstrate the changes that affected Western civilization. He describes his theory of the Scientific Revolution as he proves that the world has always had scientific advances. Steven Shapin states his thesis which influenced the modern world, that the Scientific Revolution did not happen during a single time period through the use of the three essential questions: What was known, How was it known, and What was the Knowledge for.
During the Enlightenment there were lots of important and impacting philosophers. The Enlightenment was an 18th century European movement in which thinkers attempt to apply the principles of reasons and the scientific method to all aspects of society. A very impacting philosopher by the name of John Locke had a great impact on American Revolution and French Revolution. impacting the US Declaration of independence, constitution, & Declaration of the Rights of Man. The philosopher was big impact on the American and French Revolutions. Locke believe all people are born free and equal with three natural rights life, liberty, and property.
Newton deserves lots of credit for his vast contributions to the modern world. Sir Isaac Newton was a great scientist and mathematician, starting in his young school years and throughout his adult life. Through his teaching career he accomplished so much changing the world day after day, invention after invention. Everything he did and accomplished shall have him be remembered as a great scientist and mathematician who advanced our world. Without him, the world would be much different. Sir Isaac Newton’s inventions and discoveries advanced science and math
I agree that the Enlightenment was force for positive change in society. The Enlightenment was one was the most important intellectual movements in History, as it dominated and influenced the way people thought in Europe in the late 17th and 18th centuries. We will look at how it ultimately influenced the American and French Revolution which is still strongly governed by these ideas and principles today.
During the 16th and 17th century areas that were forbidden before began to change. These were areas were humans were only entitled to know what God wanted to reveal, otherwise they were inaccessible or forbidden. The limits on the knowledge humans were able to possess became more accessible during the 16th and 17th centuries. The Reformation shows the decline of the Catholic Church and the rise of questioning authority leading to the Scientific Revolution. The Scientific Revolution showed that observations and conclusions became an acceptable source of knowledge and truth, where it had been less so in earlier times.
In conclusion, the Enlightenment was vital to the American Revolution and the creation of American Government. The Enlightenment beliefs that influenced the American Revolution were natural rights, the social contract, and the right to overthrow the government if the social contract was violated. The Enlightenment beliefs that aided to the creation of the American government were separation of powers, checks and balances, and limited government. As stated before, without the Enlightenment there would not have been a revolution, resulting in no American Government. The Enlightenment’s influence on the creation of America is irrefutable. Although there are more beliefs and ideas that came from the Enlightenment that have influenced America, the
The Scientific Revolution started a domino effect of people beginning to understand the powers they held. People could freely ask questions instead of indiscriminately accepting what they were told. A basic summary of this effect is written in the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, “When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and assume among the powers of the earth…which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them…” (p. 72). The Enlightenment gave people power to make the changes they wanted for independence and politics using intellect and reason, their natural right. The norm of a society that is modelled today became reason over
During the seventeenth century, many of Europe’s diverse and numerous countries were going through countless political, economic, and cultural transformations. The Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment were two of the greatest, most important changes of the early modern era which greatly altered the course of history in most of Europe. People were starting to question and challenge widely accepted beliefs and applying approaches to knowledge rooted in human reason to the physical universe and human affairs. The study of history often focuses on these events and its effects on Europe, excluding or ignoring its effects on places outside of Europe. The Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment both sparked interests in science in China and
Above all, the Enlightenment played crucial role in educating people in the American societies. Although the Enlightenment initially started in Europe, it was prevalent out to America. The definition of Enlightenment means to “reimbursement or clearing up” and it is a very helpful term since it assists to give proper information about what the Enlightenment is and what they tried to fulfill that time. Furthermore, the Enlightenment had hugely impacted on the American Revolution. The most well known Enlightenment theorists in America were Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, I think. Due to the Enlightenment, people began to trust that agreement should be active between leader and people. People could start considering of developing their
The Age of Enlightenment, sometimes called the Age of Reason, refers to the time of the guiding intellectual movement, called The Enlightenment. It covers about a century and a half in Europe, beginning with the publication of Francis Bacon 's Novum Organum (1620) and ending with Immanuel Kant 's Critique of Pure Reason (1781). From the perspective of socio-political phenomena, the period is considered to have begun with the close of the Thirty Years ' War (1648) and ended with the French Revolution (1789).