Scientific Revolution Enlightenment Essay
The Scientific Revolution and The Enlightenment
The scientific revolution and the enlightenment are two major historical events that helped shape modern Western society. Beginning in the 14th century, these events were preceded by the renaissance, which was initiated in Italy and was the rebirth of classical Greco-Roman heritage. The aim of these intellectual movements was mainly to revive rational thought through science and reason, evidently bringing about the opposition of the Christian church. Historically situating the scientific revolution and the enlightenment and explaining their motives may aid in understanding their roles in Western Civilization. Following the renaissance and its humanist principles, the scientific revolution …show more content…
The enlightenment brought with it the notion of rationalism, a secular ideology through which the human condition could be explained by science rather than by religious faith. A prominent figure of the enlightenment was Pierre Bayle (1647-1706), who studied religious past and concluded that there were discrepancies and that many mistakes were made. Out of this emerged skepticism: the idea that nothing can be known without a doubt and everything in the world can be questioned. The enlightened also emphasize the thought that the human mind can progress intellectually. This is shown by John Locke’s (ca. 1680) concept of tabula rasa, claiming that a human is progressively changed by their environment rather than being born with pre-written ideologies. The enlightened used the power of knowledge to bring about some judicial reforms. Cesare Beccaria (ca. 1760s) fought for a fairer and less brutal judicial system and would stress the prison as being the principal means of punishment. Montesquieu (1689-1755) and Voltaire (1694-1778) were philosophers whose views spoke of relativism, which stated that another’s beliefs must be tolerated. The enlightenment was a continuation of the scientific revolution that promoted strong political
The scientific revolution and the enlightenment are two major historical events that helped shape modern Western society. Beginning in the 14th century, these events were preceded by the renaissance, which was initiated in Italy and was the rebirth of classical Greco-Roman heritage. The aim of these intellectual movements was mainly to revive rational thought through science and reason, evidently bringing about the opposition of the Christian church. Historically situating the scientific revolution and the enlightenment and explaining their motives may aid in understanding their roles in Western Civilization. Following the renaissance and its humanist principles, the scientific revolution …show more content…
The enlightenment brought with it the notion of rationalism, a secular ideology through which the human condition could be explained by science rather than by religious faith. A prominent figure of the enlightenment was Pierre Bayle (1647-1706), who studied religious past and concluded that there were discrepancies and that many mistakes were made. Out of this emerged skepticism: the idea that nothing can be known without a doubt and everything in the world can be questioned. The enlightened also emphasize the thought that the human mind can progress intellectually. This is shown by John Locke’s (ca. 1680) concept of tabula rasa, claiming that a human is progressively changed by their environment rather than being born with pre-written ideologies. The enlightened used the power of knowledge to bring about some judicial reforms. Cesare Beccaria (ca. 1760s) fought for a fairer and less brutal judicial system and would stress the prison as being the principal means of punishment. Montesquieu (1689-1755) and Voltaire (1694-1778) were philosophers whose views spoke of relativism, which stated that another’s beliefs must be tolerated. The enlightenment was a continuation of the scientific revolution that promoted strong political