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Chase Renick
History P.2
1/14/03
"The world ofNewton and Loc'!e yiewed men):md the universe in a very different manner
than that ofEinstein anqErJ!..ud/JJlDescribe tHe differences in their outlook, illustrate the
change in vie~ that occurred, and di~E~§§ the consequence~Jor ;;;;;J;rn society.
(Question 1974 #4)
The greatest change in both science and the concept of man occurred over the course
of the eighteenth and late nineteenth centuries. Philosophy, such as man in the state of
nature was challenged, and in many ways destroyed. The ideas of the universe being a
predicable body were abolished, while the idea that science was not absolute was
manifested. The ideas of Locke and Newton were disregarded with new refined
postulates. Philosophers and scientists such as Darwin, Freud, Maxwell, The Curie's,
Rutherford, and Einstein were changing the concepts about man and the universe. The
scientific evolutionary process wc!s replacing the icJea that man was created by God.
Human rationality was challenged in Freud's interpretation of the unconscious mind, and
the existences of particles smaller than the atom were being discovered by Rutherford
and others. Religion was being disregarded with ideas by philosophers Sl2Jren Kierkegaard
and Friedrich Nietzsche. The revolutionary ideas of science and the interpretation of man
were being presented to the public at a relentless pace. Many individuals were confused
and unable to detennine what they wanted to believe. It was through the influence of
these philosophers and scientists that society under went many radical developments.
1. Outlook:
1. The Concept of Man:
A. John-Locke: (1632-1704): Famous work: Essay Concerning Human
Understanding: (51602)
1. Locke believed in the Tabula Rasa, which can be thought of as a blank
sheet of paper, or a clean slate. The clean slated was filled by the mind
gathering infonnation from experiences~ later, experiences would create
complex ideas.
11. Locke had three qualities of the world around him:
a) Our perception of state of rest was, "inseparable from the objects
themselves."
b) Objects provoked submicroscopic particles within us to produce the
sensations of sound, taste, smell, and touch.
c) A substance had the ability to change from a solid to a liquid, liquid to
a gas, and return to a solid again.
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iii. Locke believed in systematic doubt. He questioned whether our
perceptions of an object held truth.
IV. He believed happiness is the key to man's desire. Whatever was
considered to be good was man's idea of pleasure; and, whatever was
considered to be evil promoted pain.
v. Locke thought that man in the state of nature had equal rights.
vi. Ideas are signs that represent physical and mental things.
B. Charles Darwin: (1809-1882): Famous work: The Origin.ofSpecies: (52509)
i. Darwin believed that species changed by chance.
.ii. Organisms would inherit characteristics from their parents some l.seftl1
some not. The practical characteristics, depending on the animal fins, a
tail, long distance sight, allowed the strongest organism to survive. Hence
the tenn, "survival of the fittest."
iii. He theorized that every organism that existed on the earth had, through
small changes, developed from a previous species.
C.
Sigmund Freud: (1856-1939): Famous work: The Interpretation of
Dreams: (52533)
1. He developed the idea of free association. It was a method of isolating the
patient's trawna allowing the doctor to understand the repressed emotion.
ii. He Believed dreams were a disguised ftllfillment of a repressed wish.
iii. Freud believes the mind is broken down into two principles:
a) pleasure and survival
iv. The model of self is described as:
a) Id: represents drive
b) Ego: represents reason
c) Superego: represents conscious-restraints or self-judgment
v. Freud described drive in tWo categories:
a) (Eros): life
b) (Thanatos): death
These are expressions of the id; and the successful repression of
the id impulses is called "sublimation."
a) Freud believes that sublimation, or repressed emotions, was a
perquisite for a civilization. If man were to act off instinct
and exert no self control, society would be in a state of chaos.
vi. Motivations generate from unconscious wishes; the conflict between these
wishes can be seen in both nonnal and pathological behavior.
vii. Human behavior is the result of both heredity and environment.
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2. Science and the Universe:
A. Isaac Newton: (1642-1727): Famous work: The Principia: (51552)
i. Newton designed new methods for dealing with the problems of
quadrature and tangents of curves: later to be calculus.
11. Newton's laws of inertia and motion are as follows:
a) Any massive object persists in its state of rest unless and external force
acts upon it.
b) An external force produces acceleration.
c) For every force acting on a body there is an equal and opposite
reaction from the body upon its neighbors.
iii. Newton discovery on gravity is described as the force that attracts all
particles with a force proportional to the two masses and inversely
proportional to the square of the distance that separates them.
iv. He held a deistic philosophy and described God as a "clock worker."
B. James Maxwell: (1831-1879)
i. He theorized that one object creates an electrical field around particles;
which, in turn exerts forces on electrically charged objects.
C. Wilhelm Konrad Rontgen: (1845-1923): (52515)
i. In experiments with cathode rays Rontgen noticed that certain rays held
great penetrating power traveling through heavy paper. He gave the
temporary rays the name of X-rays.
11. Later he was awarded the Nobel Prize for physics, and was also honored
in the field of medicine.
D. Max Planck: (1858-1947)
i. First man to demonstrate'that energy was given off or absorbed in distinct
bundles~ each called quantum.
11. Energy was not distinguishable from matter
E. Pierre and Marie Curie: (1859-1906): (52513)
i. Were the first to isolate a radioactive element: radium
F. Ernest Rutherford: (1871-1937): (52516)
i. By use of the Curie's discovery he established the idea of alpha and beta
rays. These rays were emitted in radioactive atoms, thereby developing the
theory of radioactivity.
11. Through this he hypothesized that an atom consisted of a nucleus with
protons inside of it; and, that electrons traveled in an orbit around it.
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G. Albert Einstein:(l879-1955): (52517)
i. Einstein developed two different types of theories on relativity:
The General theory was dealt with Euclidean space and time.
a) SR Theory: Coordinate space and time are not absolute, and the
understood events are dependent upon the observer.
b) Gravitational fields are manifestations of an amount of curving in
space-time.
c) He predicted the bending of star light when near the sun.
ii. Mass is a form of energy, interchangeable with other forms
according to the relation Energy = mass multiplied by the square
of light.
II. Change in concept of man that occurred:
1. Philosophically:
a. Between Locke and Freud:
1. Locke believed that men through natural law and reason could be similar
or equal to God. Contrary to Locke, Freud theorized the rationality of man
existed in his motivation, especially sexual desires. Therefore, men could
not be God like for they expressed no rationality.
1.
Locke theorizing that if there were no laws govern man would innately
"be good." Freud believed in sublimation; therefore, man was good, if he
chose to be.
11. Locke's idea, Tabula Rasa, theorized that man would generate ideas from
his predecessors. Freud believed man would generate ideas from his
current state of environment and hereditary.
iii. Locke believed that man had no ideas when born, innate. However, Freud
believed man was born with two instincts: survival and pleasure.
IV. Locke believed that men were good and were aware of their behaviors.
Freud theorized, through various patients, that human behaviors were
many times outside conscious control. Freud's examples were patients
with hysteria and patients with sexual repressed wishes.
\lAt.
Between Locke and Darwin:
1. Locke believed man could achieve a perfect state of being by following
"natural laws." However, Darwin's theory suggested an unending change
in humans. Humans strive to become perfect, yet never achieve it.
Adaptation replaced virtue.
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Mathematically:
A. Between Locke and Rutherford:
1.
Locke believed in empirical evidence (sense evidence) but could never
actually prove it existed. Rutherford proved the atom contained a nucleus,
protons, and electrons.
B. Between Newton and Planck:
i. Newton believed that the foundation for motion or attraction lied in
gravitation. Planck proved that radiant energy, from the sun, was given
without attraction.
n. In Newton's time, through calculus and coordinate geometry, scientists
believed the majority ofthe universe could was explained and predictable.
However, Planck's theory illustrated to the scientific community that
science was not absolute.
B. Between Newton and Rutherford:
i. During the age of Newton the atom was the smallest particle; however,
Rutherford discovered radioactive elements that gave off minute particles
in alpha and beta rays.
C. Between Newton and Einstein:
i. Einstein theorized that instead of gravity acting from a distance: or a form
pressure from the outside coming in, he realized that gravity created a
field that attracted other objects, or pressure coming from the inside out. ?
11. He also believed gravity did not act upon objects interaction, but rather
with space.
D. Between Newton and Darwin:
i. Newton did not deny the existence of God; he merely described him as a
"clock maker." Darwin, however, revolutionized the world by stating man
was the fittest species; and, he had originated from a previous organism.
III. Consequences on Modern Society:
1. Philosophically:
A. -Realism:
i. The rejection of the romantic ideas of society: i.e., the poor, kind, polite
society.
ii. Realism displayed the gloomy, tiresome, corrupt, and harsh life of many
middle class people.
iii. Realism was highly controversial because it implemented thoughts and
actions concentrated on the difficulty of live.
IV. Realist thinkers wanted society to be free from illusions by rationally
understanding themselves and their world.
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B. Pessimism:
i. The belief that life and reality are evil. Anything not pertaining to the self
carries the roots of pain, suffering, and endless struggle.
11. The philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer elaborated on pessimism and
stated:
a) The tragedy of life arises from the nature of will. The will urges the
individual to consecutive goals, none of which will be able to provide
permanent satisfaction. Thus, pain and suffering are inevitable.
C. Existentialism:
i. After World War 1, the ideas of existentialism were widely accepted as a
social revolt against the scientific community.
11. There were two types of existentialist: Christian and Atheist:
a) S"ren Kierkegaard's philosophy stated the only thing that could save
someone from despair was Christianity.
b) Nietzsche, Satre, and Albert Camus, held the atheistic point of view,
leaning toward pessimism and that life was a "futile passion."
iii. The existentialist philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche:
a) Nietzsche stated, "There are no moral phenomena at all, but only a
moral interpretation of phenomena." Nietzsche was not questioning
morality itself, but stating rather that man had created morals for the
use of practicality.
iv. Nothing outside the mind can be found evident in moral decisions
v. The most important questions of life are not accessible to reason or
science.
vi. The "freedom to choose" creates man's own state of nature; even if one
decides not to choose, one has made a choice.
vii. Existentialists believed that humans, through opportunity and necessity,
would rid themselves of values for selfish needs.
D. Naturalism:
i. The belief that nature and life could be understood through the use of
science. The ultimate nature of reality.
11. Naturalism denied the ideas of the supernatural and focused less on the
ideas of the underlying meaning of nature.
iii. The ideas that God or the supernatural did not exist caused many
individuals be indifferent to religion because:
a) Though the centuries religion had been the basic understanding of life.
However, new concepts presented by Darwin presented man as the
"perfect being.
b) Although naturalism was not commonly practiced it was one of the
main reasons for confusion in a society. Science held strong empirical
evidence, where as faith held only one's will.
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In conclusion, science and philosophy dramatically transfonned society's perception
of life during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The largest change, because of
science and philosophy, occurred in religion. With the bible once interpreted literally, it
was now viewed as a volume of allegorical "myths." Science had arrived; and it awaited
no ones welcoming. Organizations of mea criticized the bible, but more importantly
religion as a whole. The public unable to decide whether to follow traditional or radical
beliefs seemed to flee from religion; and as a result, accepted philosophies that were
practical. In the Middle Ages and during the Enlightenment era, SCIence brought about
"progression," and a new found respect of human rights through government. However,
through Freud's theory on the "irrationality of man," and Einstein's theory of relativity
leading to the creation of the atomic bomb, it was detennined that science could
extinguish society completely. But, after World War 2 much of society seemed to lean
toward religion over science, for its philosophical answers.
Bibliography:
• Palmer, R.R. and Colthern Joel. A History of the Modem World. McGraw-Hill Inc.,
1992.
•
Merriman, John. A History of the Modem Europe from the Renaissance to the
Present. W.W. Norton & Company, 1996.
• A packet of22 pages by Ian P. McGreal, Editor. Great Thinkers of the Western
World.
• Folder concerning ideas philosophical ideas and physics. Science: Revolution in
Physics. The Birth of Contemporary European Thought.
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