Chapter 14: New Directions in Thought and Culture in the 16th and 17th Centuries
Reading and Study Guide
(Divide and Conquer)
Taking the time to do a study guide well reduces the time required to study well for an exam. As you invest, so shall
you prosper….
From your ever-lovin’ teacher: I do not expect you to understand Aristotelian physics and or the mathematics that
tie in to all this science stuff. Save that for your senior physics class. The purpose of this study of science is to
understand how it fits into the big picture of European history.
BIG QUESTIONS: (as you work through the chapter, keep these questions in mind)
1. What were the astronomical theories of Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton? What is meant by
“scientific worldview?”
2. What was the impact of the new science on philosophy?
3. How did early modern science affect the social setting?
4. What role did women take in the scientific revolution?
5. What was the connection of science and religion?
6. Was witchcraft real?
Introduction
Natural philosophers = scientists (the word “science” wasn’t really invented until sometime in the 1830s)
The understanding that the sun was only one of a gazillion stars transformed
humankind’s perception of its place in the larger scheme of things led to a profound
rethinking of moral and religious matters, as well as of scientific theory. Hey! Wait a
minute! I thought I was the center of the universe!!! Does this mean I’m not as
important as I think I am? What a concept…..
MiniDictionary--☺
Introduction through Isaac Newton Discovers the Laws of Gravity
pages 448-455
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1. What two large-scale factors occurred parallel to the Scientific Revolution in the 16
and 17th Centuries?
2. Explain the paradoxical existence of superstition which coincided with the expansion
of scientific rationalism.
3. Explain how the SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION was both revolutionary and no-sorevolutionary.
4. Cite two reasons why the Scientific Revolution is so important in the context of the
history of the West.
5. What was the leading branch of science in the 16th/17th centuries? (hint: starry, starry
night…)
6. Identify Nicolaus Copernicus and his key works. Why could he be considered more
“revolution-making” than “revolutionary?”
7. Briefly describe the Ptolemaic system and the problems associated with it.
8. How did the Copernican theory modify the Ptolemaic theory? What is an “epicycle?”
What “single most important factor in the developing new science” did Copernicus
introduce? What did the Copernican system fail to do?
9. Identify the contributions of Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler and their key works.
10. What did Galileo Galilei do to solidify the reality of the Copernican system? How
did the Dutch figure into this? What momentous intellectual shift in Western through did
he help to hasten? List his key works.
11. In what sense did the work of those earlier figures of the Scientific Revolution
coalesce in Sir Isaac Newton? What was his principle contribution and key work?
Paradox-- a statement,
proposition, or situation
that seems to be absurd or
contradictory, but in fact is
or may be true
Scientific rationalism:
relating to, using, or
conforming to science or
its principles
Revolutionary: so new and
different as to cause a
major change in something
Context: the
circumstances or events
that form the environment
within which something
exists or takes place
Key: vital in achieving
understanding or success;
crucial
Coalesce: to merge or into
a single body or group
Philosophy Responds to Changing Science through John Locke: Defender of
Moderate Liberty and Toleration
pages 455-464
MiniDictionary--☺
1. What was the idea of MECHANISM? What did Kepler say about this, and why was
the new mode of thinking so “earth-shaking” (or “earth-shattering”)?
2. How did the methods of scientific research become apparent in the approaches taken
by the philosophers of the age?
3. Identify three aspects of Francis Bacon’s philosophy, and list his key works. What,
perhaps, has been Bacon’s most important contribution to present (today) scientific
inquiry?
4. How did Bacon feel about antiquity and the goals of science?
5. How did René Descartes differ from Bacon? List his key works. What did he believe
could be used to understand human reason?
6. How did Thomas Hobbes view the human condition? How did Hobbes believe
humans could best advance their own good? How might the English Civil War
(Cromwell and all that) have supported Hobbes conclusions? List his key works.
7. Why is John Locke such a significant political thinker? How did Locke believe that
humans learn knowledge? List his key works.
8. In what ways did the views and philosophy of Locke differ from Hobbes? In what
ways were the English Civil War and The Glorious Revolution influential in the
formation of the ideas of these two men? (This is a GREAT question, if I do say so
myself ☺)
The New Institutions of Expanding Natural Knowledge through
Women in the World of the Scientific Revolution pages 464-468
Antiquity: ancient
history, especially the
period of time during
which the ancient Greek
and Roman civilizations
flourished
Implication: something
that is implied or
involved as a natural
consequence of
something else (imply-to make something
understood without
expressing it directly
Realm: a defined area of
interest or study
Agnostic: somebody
who believes that it is
impossible to know
whether or not God
exists
1. What were the social implications of the expansion of new scientific knowledge?
2. Explain the role of universities and scientific societies in the Scientific Revolution (the
Atheist: somebody who
Royal Society, etc).
does not believe in God
3. Explain how Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels ws a product of the era of the
or deities
Scientific Revolution.
4. Why were women excluded from the otherwise forward-thinking and enlightened
thought of the Scientific Revolution? What classes (economic) of women made inroads into the scientific
community? Name three important women in this realm.
The New Science and Religious Faith through The English Approach to Science and
Religion pages 468-474 (skip 470-471 for now)
But it
does
1. What three main issues were at stake in the apparent conflict between science and
move…
religion that emerged in the 16th and 17th centuries?
2. Were the great minds of the Scientific Revolution agnostic or atheist? Explain.
3. What was the backdrop (setting or context) for the case of Galileo? What did he do to
get in trouble? What was the result?
4. In what significant way(s) might Blaise Pascal been considered different from the
“run-of-the-mill” thinkers of his age? List his key works.
5. What is “Pascal’s wager”? To what did Pascal compare human beings and why do
YOU think he drew such an analogy?
6. For Sir Isaac Newton, how did the new scientific understandings of the universe make
more certain the existence of a divine Creator?
7. What is Physico-Theology, and why is it important in this context?
8. How did the progress of science and economic developments complement one another by the 17th century?
Continuing Superstition through In Perspective
Pages 474-478
MiniDictionary--☺
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1. Cite two essential reasons for the witch-hunts of the 16 and 17 centuries (besides
the fact than men were doo-doo heads at that time!)
Contemporaneous:
2. Who were the “cunning folk” and identify their role in witch hunts.
existing, occurring,
3. What other societal theories are advanced by the authors of your text to explain the
or beginning at the
spike in superstition and its practices?
same time or during
4. How did Christian teachings and the role of the clergy contribute to the witch panics?
the same period of
5. From a point of view contemporaneous with the age under study, why were more
time as something
women than men witches? From our point of view, why was this the case? You may
else (contemporary)
need to listen to your ever-lovin’ teacher’s best-ever lecture on this topic.
6. Identify three theories offered explaining the end of the era of superstition and witch
hunts. (Something to think about�have “witch hunts” ended? …just a rhetorical question…)
7. Who was Matthew Hopkins and what happened to him? (from lecture)
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Contrary to popular belief—this is NOT your
ever-lovin’ teacher after school hours!