Enlightenment and Revolution
Chapter 22
Isaac Newton
Hobbes’ Leviathan
Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment
Homework Schedule
Study Notes and Vocabulary Words for Unit Test
UNIT TEST TODAY!!
ALL homework is to be written on loose leaf paper with the proper heading and
in complete sentences to be handed in. Work in the packet WILL NOT be
accepted for a grade.
Assignment (p.xxx, Ques. x-x)
Date
Name
Period
Enlightenment and Revolution – Chapter 22
* indicates that the word will be found in the reading, not the glossary
Scientific Revolution - a major change in European thought, starting in the mid-1500s,
in which the study of the natural world began to be
characterized by careful observation and the questioning of
accepted beliefs
*Nicolaus Copernicus - polish astronomer who proposed the heliocentric theory
heliocentric theory - the idea that the earth and the other planets revolve around the
sun
*Galileo Galilei - Italian scientist who refuted several of Aristotle’s truths. He
invented a telescope and proved Copernicus’s heliocentric theory
*Francis Bacon - Englishman who believed conclusions should be drawn from
observations and information gathered using experiments.
Scientific method - a logical procedure for gathering information about the natural
world, in which experimentation and observation are used to
test hypotheses
*Isaac Newton - English scientist who discovered the law of universal gravitation. He
said one law governed motions on the earth and in space.
Enlightenment – an 18th century European movement in which thinkers attempted to
apply the principles of reason and the scientific method to all aspects of
society
Social contract - the agreement by which people define and limit their individual
rights, thus creating an organized society or government
John Locke - believed people were born with natural rights (life, liberty, property) and
that the purpose of government is to protect those rights. If the gov’t
fails to do so, the citizens can overthrow it.
Natural rights - the rights that all people are born with - according to John Locke, the
rights of life, liberty, and property
*Voltaire - used satire to mock the customs and laws of France, the clergy, aristocracy
and government. He believed in tolerance, reason, freedom of speech and
religion.
*Montesquieu - believed in the separation of powers and checks and balances. He
believed England was the best-governed country of his day.
Separation of powers - the assignment of executive, legislative and judicial powers to
different groups of officials in a government
*Rousseau - argued that civilization corrupted people natural goodness, and people
were best in a “state of nature” as free and equal individuals. His social
contract was an agreement among free individuals to create a society and
government.
Enlightened despot - one of the 18th century European monarchs who were inspired by
Enlightenment ideas to rule justly and respect the rights of
their subjects.
Chapter 22 – Section 1
The Scientific Revolution
Before 1500, scholars generally decided what was true or false by referring
to an ancient Greek or Roman author or to the Bible. Few European scholars
challenged the scientific ideas of the ancient thinkers or the church by carefully
observing nature for themselves.
The Medieval View
During the Middle Ages, most scholars believed that the earth was an
immovable object located at the center of the universe. According to that belief,
the moon, the sun, and the planets all moved in perfectly circular paths around the
earth. Common sense seemed to support this view. After all, the sun appeared to
be moving around the earth as it rose in the morning and set in the evening.
This earth-centered view of the universe was called the geocentric theory.
The idea came from Aristotle, the Greek philosopher of the fourth century B.C.
The Greek astronomer Ptolemy (TOL•a•mee) expanded the theory in the second
century A.D. In addition, Christianity taught that God had deliberately placed the
earth at the center of the universe. Earth was thus a special place on which the
great drama of life unfolded.
A New Way of Thinking
Beginning in the mid-1500s, a few scholars published works that challenged
the ideas of the ancient thinkers and the church. As
these scholars replaced old assumptions with new
theories, they launched a change in
European thought that historians call the Scientific
Revolution. The Scientific Revolution was a new way
of thinking about the natural world. That way was
based upon careful observation and a willingness to
question accepted beliefs.
A combination of discoveries and circumstances led
to the Scientific Revolution and helped spread its
impact. During the Renaissance, European explorers
traveled to Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Such lands were inhabited by peoples
and animals previously unknown in Europe. These discoveries opened Europeans
to the possibility that there were new truths to be found. The invention of the
printing press during this period helped spread challenging ideas—both old and
new— more widely among Europe’s thinkers.
The age of European exploration also fueled a great deal of scientific research,
especially in astronomy and mathematics. Navigators needed better instruments
and geographic measurements, for example, to determine their location in the
open sea. As scientists began to look more closely at the world around them, they
made observations that did not match the ancient beliefs. They found they had
reached the limit of the classical world’s knowledge. Yet, they still needed to
know more.
1. What was the Medieval view? Explain geocentric theory.
2. What was the Scientific Revolution? Why is it important?
3. What were 3 causes of the Scientific Revolution?
People of the Scientific Revolution
Use the stations to fill out the following chart
Key People
Isaac Newton
Copernicus
Their Ideas or Inventions
He came up with the Law of _________________, which says…
He studiedHe came up withWhich means-
Galileo
He builtHe observedHe disproved-
Francis Bacon
Renee
Descartes
Andreas
Vesalius
William
Harvey
What were three of Harvey’s discoveries?
Reviewing Main Ideas: Scientific Revolution
Geocentric Theory:
Heliocentric Theory:
The Scientific
Revolution
Scientific Method:
Gravity:
Empiricism:
Chapter 22 – Section 2
The Enlightenment in Europe
A revolution in intellectual activity changes Europeans’ views on government
Freedoms and some forms of government are a result of Enlightenment thought
Two Views on Government
 Hobbes’ Social Contract
 The horrors of the English Civil War convinced Hobbes that
people were ________________________.
 Believed life without gov’t would be poor, nasty, brutish and
short because people act in their own self interest
 He argues that people give up their rights to a strong ruler in
exchange for law and order – a _______________________
 Favors absolute monarchy – can demand obedience, order
 Wrote Leviathan
 Locke’s Natural Rights
 Believed people could improve themselves and were
reasonable – favored self-government
 Believed people had ____________________________
o Life, liberty, property
 The purpose of government is to protect those rights
 If government fails to do this, people can overthrow it
 Wrote Two Treatises on Government
 Voltaire Combats Intolerance
 Used _____________ against his opponents
 Targeted the clergy, aristocracy and the government
o Sent to jail twice and exiled
 Fought for tolerance, reason, freedom of _________ and
freedom of religion
 Fought against intolerance, prejudice, superstition
 Montesquieu and the Separation of Powers
 Believed in _____________________________
 Division of power among different branches of gov’t
 Proposed that separation of powers would keep an individual
or group from gaining total control of gov’t
 Each branch would “check” the other
o System of _______________________________
 Rousseau – Champion of Freedom
 Committed to individual freedom
 Believed civilization corrupted people
o In his “state of nature”, people were born free and
equal
o In society, the strong force the weak to obey unjust
laws
 Believed gov’t must be freely formed
o Guided by the __________________ of the people
o People give up freedoms for the common good
Impact of the Enlightenment
 Belief in Progress
 Human reason was successful in the Scientific Revolution,
and people believed it could solve social problems as well
 A better society was possible through reason
 More Secular Outlook
 People began to openly question the teachings of the church
 Mysteries of God could be explained by math and science
 Importance of the Individual
 People looked to themselves for guidance, rather than the
church
 Use reason to judge right from wrong
 Gov’t is formed by individuals for their own welfare
Chapter 22 – Section 3
The Spread of Enlightenment Ideas
Enlightenment ideas spread despite the danger new ideas posed.
The Paris Salons
 Social gatherings attended by philosophers, writers, artists, scientists
 Discussed ideas
 Performed and recited works
 Took place in the upper middle class homes of Paris
Enlightenment ideas took hold and radiated from these gatherings
New Ideas Circulate
 Salons helped spread ideas to the intellectual community
 Ideas were spread through:
 Personal letters
 Personal social visits
 Magazine articles
 Ideas to middle class through:
 Newspapers
 Magazine articles
 The purchasing power of this large middle class thus
influenced this Enlightenment culture
Enlightened Despots
 Embraced new ideas and reforms, but without giving up any power
 Frederick the Great – King of Prussia
 Reduced censorship, improved education
 Joseph II - Austria
 Freedom of worship, legal reforms, ends serfdom
 Catherine the Great – Russia
 Expanded Russian territory – few social reforms
Major Ideas of The Enlightenment
Idea
Thinker
Impact
Natural rights—
life, liberty,
property
Fundamental to U.S. Declaration of
Independence
Separation of
Powers
France, United States, and Latin
American nations use
separation of powers in new constitutions
Freedom of
thought and
expression
Guaranteed in U.S. Bill of Rights and
French Declaration of the Rights of Man
and Citizen; European monarchs reduce
or eliminate censorship
Guaranteed in U.S. Bill of Rights and
French Declaration of the Rights of Man
and Citizen; European monarchs reduce
persecution
Religious freedom
Women’s equality
Women’s rights groups form in Europe
and North America
Changing Idea: The Right to Govern
The Old Idea
The New Idea
A monarch’s rule is justified by divine
right.
Changing Idea: Relationship Between Ruler and State
The Old Idea
The state and its citizens exist to
serve the monarch. As Louis XIV
reportedly said, “I am the state.”
The New Idea
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Name ______________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 22 Section 1 (pages 623–628)
Date ______________________
TERMS AND NAMES
The Scientific
Revolution
BEFORE YOU READ
In the last chapter, you learned about wars and political
changes in Europe.
In this section, you will read how the Enlightenment transformed Europe and helped lead to the American
Revolution.
AS YOU READ
Use the web diagram below to record important events
that occurred during the Scientific Revolution.
Scientific Revolution New way of
thinking about the natural world
based on careful observation and a
willingness to question
heliocentric theory Theory that the
sun is at the center of the universe
geocentric theory View which held
that the earth was the center of the
universe
Galileo Galilei Scientist who was
forced by the Catholic Church to take
back scientific ideas that disagreed
with the church’s view
scientific method Logical procedure
for gathering and testing ideas
Isaac Newton Scientist who
discovered laws of motion and
gravity
Copernicus —
heliocentric theory
© McDougal Littell Inc. All rights reserved.
Discoveries and
Developments
The Roots of Modern Science
(pages 623–624)
How did modern science begin?
During the Middle Ages, few scholars questioned
beliefs that had been long held. Europeans based
their ideas on what ancient Greeks and Romans
believed or on the Bible. People still thought that
the earth was the center of the universe. They
believed that the sun, moon, other planets, and
stars moved around it.
In the mid-1500s, attitudes began to change.
Scholars started what is called the Scientific
Revolution. It was a new way of thinking about
the natural world. It was based on careful observation and the willingness to question old beliefs.
European voyages of exploration helped to bring
about the Scientific Revolution. When Europeans
explored new lands, they saw plants and animals
that ancient writers had never seen. These discoveries led to new courses of study in the universities
of Europe.
1. What was the Scientific Revolution?
CHAPTER 22 ENLIGHTENMENT AND REVOLUTION 205
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How did new ideas change
accepted thinking in astronomy?
The first challenge to accepted thinking in science
came in astronomy. In the early 1500s, Nicolaus
Copernicus, a Polish astronomer, studied the stars
and planets. He developed a heliocentric theory.
Heliocentric meant sun-centered. It said that earth,
like all the other planets, revolved around the sun.
Copernicus did not publish his findings until just
before his death. He had been afraid that his ideas
would be attacked. They went against the longaccepted geocentric theory. This theory held that
the earth was at the center of the universe. In the
early 1600s, Johannes Kepler used mathematics to
prove that Copernicus’s basic idea was correct.
An Italian scientist—Galileo Galilei—made
several discoveries that also undercut ancient ideas.
He made one of the first telescopes and used it to
study the planets. He found that Jupiter had moons,
the sun had spots, and Earth’s moon was rough.
Some of his ideas about the earth, the sun, and the
planets went against the teaching of the Catholic
Church. Church authorities forced Galileo to take
back his statements. Still, his ideas spread.
2. What old belief about the universe
did the new discoveries destroy?
The Scientific Method (pages 625–626)
Why was the scientific method
an important development?
Interest in science led to a new approach, the scientific method. With this method, scientists ask a
question based on something they have seen in the
physical world. They form a hypothesis, or an
attempt to answer the question. Then they test the
hypothesis by making experiments or checking
other facts. Finally, they change the hypothesis if
needed.
206 CHAPTER 22 SECTION 1
The English writer Francis Bacon helped create this new approach to knowledge. He said scientists should base their thinking on what they can
observe and test. The French mathematician René
Descartes also influenced the use of the scientific
method. His thinking was based on logic and mathematics.
3. What thinkers helped advance the use
of the scientific method?
Newton Explains the Law
of Gravity; The Scientific
Revolution Spreads (pages 626–628)
What scientific discoveries
were made?
In the mid-1600s, the English scientist Isaac
Newton described the law of gravity. Using mathematics, Newton showed that the same force ruled
both the motion of planets and the action of bodies
on the earth.
Other scientists made new tools to study the
world around them. One invented a microscope.
Others invented tools for understanding weather.
Doctors also made advances. One made drawings that showed the different parts of the human
body. Another learned how the heart pumped
blood through the body. In the late 1700s, Edward
Jenner first used the process called vaccination to
prevent disease. By giving a person the germs from
a cattle disease called cowpox, he helped that person avoid getting the more serious human disease
of smallpox.
Scientists made progress in chemistry as well.
One questioned the old idea that things were made
of only four elements—earth, air, fire, and water.
He and other scientists were able to separate oxygen from air.
4. How did the science of medicine change?
© McDougal Littell Inc. All rights reserved.
A Revolutionary Model
of the Universe (pages 624–625)
wh10a-RSG-0522_P3 11/13/2003 4:54 PM Page 207
Name ______________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 22 Section 2 (pages 629–635)
The Enlightenment
in Europe
BEFORE YOU READ
In the last section, you read how the Scientific Revolution
began in Europe.
In this section, you will learn how the Enlightenment
began in Europe.
AS YOU READ
© McDougal Littell Inc. All rights reserved.
Use the chart below to take notes on important
Enlightenment ideas.
THINKER
IDEA
Hobbes
social contract between people
and government
Two Views on Government
(pages 629–630)
What were the views of
Hobbes and Locke?
The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement. Enlightenment thinkers tried to apply reason and the scientific method to laws that shaped
human actions. They hoped to build a society
founded on ideas of the Scientific Revolution. Two
Date ______________________
TERMS AND NAMES
Enlightenment Age of Reason
social contract According to Thomas
Hobbes, an agreement people make
with government
John Locke Philosopher who wrote
about government
philosophes Social critics in France
Voltaire Writer who fought for
tolerance, reason, freedom of
religious belief, and freedom of
speech
Montesquieu French writer
concerned with government and
political liberty
Rousseau Enlightenment thinker who
championed freedom
Mary Wollstonecraft Author who
wrote about women’s rights
English writers—Thomas Hobbes and John
Locke—were important to this movement. They
came to very different conclusions about government and human nature.
Hobbes wrote that there would be a war of
“every man against every man” if there were no
government. To avoid this war, Hobbes said, people formed a social contract. It was an agreement
between people and their government. People
gave up their rights to the government so they
CHAPTER 22 ENLIGHTENMENT AND REVOLUTION 207
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could live in a safe and orderly way. The best government, he said, is that of a strong king who can
force all people to obey.
John Locke believed that people have three
natural rights. They are life, liberty, and property.
The purpose of government is to protect these
rights. When it fails to do so, he said, people have
a right to overthrow the government.
1. How were Hobbes’s and Locke’s views different?
which all people were equal. Cesare Beccaria was
an Italian philosphe. He spoke out against abuses
of justice.
2. Name the types of freedoms that Enlightenment
thinkers championed.
Women and the Enlightenment;
Legacy of the Enlightenment
(pages 633–634)
Who were the philosophes?
French thinkers called philosophes had five main
beliefs: (1) thinkers can find the truth by using reason; (2) what is natural is good and reasonable, and
human actions are shaped by natural laws; (3) acting according to nature can bring happiness; (4) by
taking a scientific view, people and society can
make progress and advance to a better life; and (5)
by using reason, people can gain freedom.
The most brilliant of the philosophes was the
writer Voltaire. He fought for tolerance, reason,
freedom of religious belief, and freedom of speech.
Baron de Montesquieu wrote about separation of
powers—dividing power among the separate
branches of government. The third great
philosophe was Jean Jacques Rousseau. He wrote
in favor of human freedom. He wanted a society in
What were Enlightenment views
about individuals?
Many Enlightenment thinkers held traditional
views about women’s place in society. They wanted
equal rights for all men but paid no attention to the
fact that women did not have such rights. Some
women protested this unfair situation. “If all men
are born free,” stated British writer Mary
Wollstonecraft, “how is it that all women are born
slaves?”
Enlightenment ideas strongly influenced the
American and French Revolutions. Enlightenment
thinkers also helped spread the idea of progress. By
using reason, they said, it is possible to make society better. Enlightenment thinkers helped make
the world less religious and more worldly. They
also stressed the importance of the individual.
3. Explain the influence of Enlightenment ideas.
Major Ideas of the Enlightenment
Idea
Thinker
Impact
Natural rights—life,
liberty, property
Locke
Fundamental to U.S. Declaration of Independence
Separation of powers
Montesquieu
France, United States, Latin American nations use
separation of powers in new constitutions
Freedom of thought
and expression
Voltaire
Guaranteed in U.S. Bill of Rights and French
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen; European
monarchs reduce or eliminate censorship
Abolishment of torture
Beccaria
Guaranteed in U.S. Bill of Rights; torture outlawed or
reduced in nations of Europe and the Americas
Religious freedom
Voltaire
Guaranteed in U.S. Bill of Rights and French Declaration
of the Rights of Man and Citizen; European monarchs
reduce persecution
Women’s equality
Wollstonecraft
Women’s rights groups form in Europe and North
America
208 CHAPTER 22 SECTION 2
Skillbuilder
Use the chart to answer these questions.
1. Which Enlightenment
thinkers influenced the
United States government?
2. Which Enlightenment ideas
are in the United States Bill
of Rights?
© McDougal Littell Inc. All rights reserved.
The Philosophes Advocate
Reason (pages 630–632)
Aristotle’s Universe
Ptolemy’s Universe
Compare each model of the
universe and answer the
questions below.
1) What ancient culture did Ptolemy
and Aristotle belong to?
2) According to their models, what is at
the center of the universe?
Copernicus’ Universe
3) How is Copernicus’ model different?
4) Why would it be hard to believe Copernicus’ theory?
Scientific Revolution – Primary Source Documents
For all documents: Pre-read the questions. While reading, highlight or underline text that seem to answer
those questions. Circle words you don’t know and write them in the box, then LOOK THEM UP in a dictionary
and write the definition in the box.
Galileo Galilei: Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina of Tuscany, 1615
To the Most Serene Grand Duchess Mother:
Some years ago, as Your Serene Highness well knows, I discovered in the heavens many things that
had not been seen before our own age. The novelty of these things, as well as some consequences
which followed from them in contradiction to the physical notions commonly held among academic
philosophers, stirred up against me no small number of professors-as if I had placed these things in
the sky with my own hands in order to upset nature and overturn the sciences. They seemed to
forget that the increase of known truths stimulates the investigation, establishment, and growth of
the arts; not their diminution or destruction.
Showing a greater fondness for their own opinions than for truth they sought to deny and disprove
the new things which, if they had cared to look for themselves, their own senses would have
demonstrated to them. To this end they hurled various charges and published numerous writings
filled with vain arguments, and they made the grave mistake of sprinkling these with passages taken
from places in the Bible which they had failed to understand properly, and which were ill-suited to
their purposes.
1)
What was it about Galileo’s discoveries that upset other academic philosophers?
2)
What actions did they take against his theory?
3) What does Galileo think they should be doing (or what should be their reaction)?
a)
b)
Galileo's letter of 1614 to the Grand Duchess Christina Duchess of Tuscany was not widely
known, and was ignored by Church authorities. When a year later the Carmelite provincial Paolo
Foscarini supported Galileo publicly by attempting to prove that the new theory was not opposed
to Scripture, Cardinal Robert Bellarmine, as "Master of Controversial Questions," responded.
On April 12, 1615 the saint wrote to Foscarini:
"I have gladly read the letter in Italian and the treatise which Your Reverence sent me, and I thank
you for both. And I confess that both are filled with ingenuity and learning, and since you ask for my
opinion, I will give it to you very briefly, as you have little time for reading and I for writing:
"First. I say that it seems to me that Your Reverence and Galileo did prudently to content yourself
with speaking hypothetically, and not absolutely, as I have always believed that Copernicus spoke.
For to say that, assuming the earth moves and the sun stands still, all the appearances are saved
better than with eccentrics and epicycles, is to speak well; there is no danger in this, and it is
sufficient for mathematicians. But to want to affirm that the sun really is fixed in the center of the
heavens and only revolves around itself (i. e., turns upon its axis) without traveling from east to
west, and that the earth is situated in the third sphere and revolves with great speed around the sun,
is a very dangerous thing, not only by irritating all the philosophers and scholastic theologians, but
also by injuring our holy faith and rendering the Holy Scriptures false. For Your Reverence has
demonstrated many ways of explaining Holy Scripture, but you have not applied them in particular,
and without a doubt you would have found it most difficult if you had attempted to explain all the
passages which you yourself have cited.
1) What was the Church’s official position about how the solar system worked? (not in the reading)
2) What did Cardinal Bellarmine find dangerous and most worrisome about Galileo’s discoveries?
3) Is the Church is really worried about the how the solar System works? _______
4) What are they really afraid of if Galileo’s theories are true?
a)
b)
The Crime of Galileo: Indictment and Abjuration of 1633
Whereas you, Galileo, son of the late Vincenzio Galilei, of Florence, aged seventy years, were
denounced in 1615, to this Holy Office, for holding as true a false doctrine taught by many, namely,
that the sun is immovable in the center of the world, and that the earth moves, and also with a
diurnal motion; also, for having pupils whom you instructed in the same opinions;… also, for
answering the objections which were continually produced from the Holy Scriptures, by glozing the
said Scriptures according to your own meaning; and whereas thereupon was produced the copy of a
writing, in form of a letter professedly written by you to a person formerly your pupil, in which,
following the hypothesis of Copernicus, you include several propositions contrary to the true sense
and authority of the Holy Scriptures; …
Therefore . . . , invoking the most holy name of our Lord Jesus Christ and of His Most Glorious
Mother Mary, We pronounce this Our final sentence: We pronounce, judge, and declare, that you,
the said Galileo . . . have rendered yourself vehemently suspected by this Holy Office of heresy, that
is, of having believed and held the doctrine (which is false and contrary to the Holy and Divine
Scriptures) that the sun is the center of the world, and that it does not move from east to west, and
that the earth does move, and is not the center of the world; also, that an opinion can be held and
supported as probable, after it has been declared and finally decreed contrary to the Holy Scripture,…
From which it is Our pleasure that you be absolved, provided that with a sincere heart and unfeigned
faith, in Our presence, you abjure, curse, and detest, the said error and heresies, and every other
error and heresy contrary to the Catholic and Apostolic Church of Rome.
1) What crime was Galileo charged with?
2) What did Galileo have to do?
3) Why do you think the Church did this to Galileo?
a)
b)
Mary Wollstonecraft Debates Jean-Jacque Rousseau, 1791
Reading Source: Susan Groag Bell & Karen Offen, Women, the Family, and Freedom: The Debate in Documents,
Volume One, 1750-1880. Stanford University Press, 1983.
The Enlightenment was a time when writers and thinkers sharply debated questions about
women’s rights. Issues of women’s options were framed in terms of “patriotic
motherhood,” “liberty,” “natural rights,” and “emancipation” from familial control.
Both male and female Enlightenment thinkers and writers appeared on both sides of the
issues. Mary Wollstonecraft, writer of the influential “A Vindication of the Rights of
Woman,” responded to a French proposal to educate girls only up the age of eight, when
they then should be trained in domestic duties at home. She feared the ideas of the
famous writer Jean-Jacque Rousseau, who in his novels, such as Emile (1762), drove
home the point that women’s education must prepare them to serve men. While glorifying
women as wife and mother, he thought that nature had made her “to submit to man and
to endure even injustice at his hands.”
For your assigned Document, please do the following:
1) Pre-read the questions.
2) While reading the entire document, highlight or underline text that seems to
answer those questions.
3) Circle two (2) words you don’t know and write them in the box at the bottom
of the page. Then LOOK THEM UP in a dictionary and write the definition in
the box.
Topics for Later Discussion:
Do any of these arguments about essential difference in male/female attributes influence
ideas about women’s intellectual abilities today?
Are there areas today where you think inequality in the education of girls and boys still
exists? Where?
Are there events, places, or classes which you feel either gender mostly is excluded from?
What are they? Is this okay, or do you have ideas on how this could be changed?
Rousseau 1:
“.....This habitual restraint produces a docility which woman requires all her life
long, for she will always be in subjection to a man, or a man’s judgment, and she
will never be free to set her own opinion above his. What is most wanted in a
woman is gentleness…A man, unless he is a perfect monster, will sooner or later
yield to his wife’s gentleness, and the victory will be hers.
Once it is demonstrated that men and women neither are nor, and should not be,
constituted the same, either in character or in temperament, it follows that they
should not have the same education…Boys want movement and noise, drums, tops,
toy-carts; girls prefer things which appeal to the eye, and can be used for dressingup-mirrors, jewelry, finery, and specially dolls. The doll is the girl’s special
plaything; this shows her instinctive bent towards her life’s work. Little girls always
dislike learning to read and write, but they are always ready to learn to sew…The
search for abstract and speculative truths for principles and axioms in science, for
all that tends to wide generalizations, is beyond a woman’s grasp.”
1) Does Rousseau say about the education of men and women ?
2) How does he describe girls?
3) How does he characterize a girl’s capacity for learning?
a)
b)
Wollstonecraft 1:
“What opinion are we to form of a system of education, when the author (Rousseau in Emile)
says...‘Educate women like men, and the more they resemble our sex the less power will they
have over us.’ This is the very point I am at. I do not wish them to have power over men, but
over themselves. The most perfect education, in my opinion, is …to enable the individual to
attain such habits of virtue as will render it independent. In fact, it is a farce to call any being
virtuous whose virtues do not result from the exercise of its own reason.
This was Rousseau’s opinion respecting men: I extend it to women…To reason on Rousseau’s
ground, if man did attain a degree of perfection of mind when his body arrived at maturity, it
might be proper, in order to make a man and his wife one, that she should rely entirely on his
understanding; and the graceful ivy, clasping the oak that supported it, would form a whole in
which strength and beauty would be equally conspicuous. But, alas! husbands, as well as their
helpmates, are often only overgrown children; nay, thanks to early debauchery, scarcely men in
their outward form - and if the blind lead the blind, one need not come from heaven to tell us
the consequence…
To be a good mother a woman must have sense, and that independence of mind which few
women possess who are taught to depend entirely on their husbands. Meek wives are, in
general, foolish mothers…
If children are to be educated to understand the true principle of patriotism, their mother must
be a patriot…make women rational creatures, and free citizens, and they will quickly become
good wives, and mothers; that is-if men do not neglect the duties of husbands and fathers.”
1) What does Wollstonecraft think is the ultimate goal of education for women ?
2) In paragraph 2, Wollstonecraft describes Rousseau’s opinion that men should be the
educated ones and do all the thinking. How does she describe the husbands here?
3) What does she believe would be the result of such a system?
4) What does Wollstonecraft suggest makes a good mother?
a)
b)
Rousseau 2:
In the union of the sexes, each alike contributes to the common end, though in different ways. From
this diversity springs the first difference that may be observed between man and woman in their
moral relations. One should be strong and active, the other weak and passive; one must necessarily
have both the power and the will, it is sufficient for the other to offer little resistance.
This principle being established, it follows that woman was specifically made to please man. If man
ought to please her in turn, the necessity is less direct. His merit lies in his power; he pleases simply
because he is strong. I grant you this is not the law of love; but it is the law of nature, which is older
than love itself.
If woman is made to please and to be subjugated to man, she ought to make herself pleasing to him
rather than to provoke him; her particular strength lies in her charms; by their means she should
compel him to discover his own strength and put it to use. The surest art of arousing this strength is
to render it necessary by resistance. Thus pride reinforces desire and each triumphs in the other's
victory. From this originates attack and defense, the boldness of one sex and the timidity of the
other and finally the modesty and shame with which nature has armed the weak for the conquest of
the strong…
A woman's education must therefore be planned in relation to man. To be pleasing in his sight, to
win his respect and love, to train him in childhood, to tend him in manhood, to counsel and console,
to make his life pleasant and happy, these are the duties of woman for all time, and this is what she
should be taught while she is young. The further we depart from this principle, the further we shall
be from our goal, and all our precepts will fail to secure her happiness or our own.
1) In Paragraph 1, what are the roles of men according to Rousseau? The role of women ?
2) In Paragraph 3, what does Rousseau say a woman ought to do?
3) According to Rousseau, what should a woman be taught to do?
a)
b)
Wollstonecraft 2:
My own sex, I hope, will excuse me, if I treat them like rational creatures, instead
of flattering their fascinating graces, and viewing them as if they were in a state of
perpetual childhood, unable to stand alone. I earnestly wish to point out in what true
dignity and human happiness consists. I wish to persuade women to endeavour to
acquire strength, both of mind and body, and to convince them that the soft phrases,
susceptibility of heart, delicacy of sentiment, and refinement of taste, are almost
synonimous with epithets of weakness, and that those beings who are only the
objects of pity and that kind of love, which has been termed its sister, will soon
become objects of contempt.
Dismissing then those pretty feminine phrases, which the men condescendingly use
to soften our slavish dependence, and despising that weak elegancy of mind,
exquisite sensibility, and sweet docility of manners, supposed to be the sexual
characteristics of the weaker vessel, I wish to show that elegance is inferior to
virtue, that the first object of laudable ambition is to obtain a character as a human
being, regardless of the distinction of sex; and that secondary views should be
brought to this simple touchstone.
1) What does Wollstonecraft say are signs of weakness for women?
2) What does Wollstonecraft want for women?
3) What is Wollstonecraft’s idea of ambition?
a)
b)
Three Scientists You Really Need to Know…
Nicolaus
Copernicus
10 Important Facts:
Image to Remember Him
By:
Galileo Galilei
10 Important Facts:
Image to Remember Him
By:
Johannes
Kepler
10 Important Facts:
Image to Remember Him
By:
Thomas Hobbes
• Expressed views in The Leviathan (1651)
• Horrors of English Civil War convinced him
humans were naturally selfish and wicked
• People thus had to hand over rights to a strong
ruler; in exchange, they would gain law and
order – called this agreement the social
contract
• Best government has a lot of power to impose
order and demand obedience
John Locke
• Believed that humans had ability to govern
their own affairs and look after the welfare of
society
• Favored self-government over absolutism
• All people born free and equal with natural
rights of life, liberty, and property
• Government’s purpose is to protect these
rights; if it fails to do so, people can overthrow
it
• Government’s power comes from consent of
the people
With a partner, use the readings to fill in the chart about the
philosophers listed below. You are to include at least 3
biographical facts, at least 5 facts about their views on
government/power, and explain (put in your own words) the
quote by each philosopher.
Philosophers You Will be Learning More About:
•John Locke
•Thomas Hobbes
•Mary Wollstonecraft
•Jean-Jacques Rousseau
•Baron de Montesquieu
•Adam Smith
Enlightenment Philosophers
About John Locke:
His Views on Government/Power:
“All mankind... being all equal and
independent, no one ought to harm
another in his life, health, liberty or
possessions.”
About Thomas
Hobbes:
His Views on Government/Power:
Without governments, there would
be “war….of every man against
every man.”
About Mary
Wollstonecraft:
Her Views on Government/Power:
“Society will not be whole until the last
king is strangled with the guts of the
last priest.”
Enlightenment Philosophers
About Jean-Jacques
Rousseau:
His Views on Government/Power:
“Man was born free, and everywhere
he is in chains.”
About Baron de
Montesquieu:
His Views on Government/Power:
“When the lawmaking and law
enforcing powers are united in the
same person… there can be no liberty.”
About Adam Smith:
His Views on Government/Power
“No society can surely be flourishing
and happy, of which the far greater part
of the members are poor and
miserable. “
Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes was born in England in 1588. This was a time of much social unrest in England,
and Hobbes later wrote that “fear and I were born twins.” Hobbes’ father was a clergyman, and
Hobbes was educated in the classics at Oxford University. He traveled many times to meet writers,
philosophers, and scientists of other European countries and to study different forms of
government. The English Civil War prompted Hobbes to free to Paris and to become a political
philosopher. In 1651 Hobbes wrote his most famous work, Leviathan. In it, he argued that people
are naturally wicked and cannot be trusted to govern. Therefore, Hobbes believed that an absolute
monarchy—a government that gives all power to a king or queen—is best.
Hobbes’ political philosophy is based on his idea that humans are essentially selfish creatures. He
believed that all people are equal, and that this equality leads to competition and violence. In
Leviathan Hobbes wrote that humans are driven by a “perpetual and restless desire [for]
power…that ceases only in death,” and that the natural condition of humankind is a situation of “a
war of every man against every man.” Because he thought that people act in their own selfish
interests if they are left alone, Hobbes did not believe that people should be trusted to make their
own decisions. He also felt that nations, like people, are selfishly motivated and in a constant battle
for power and wealth. To further prove his point, Hobbes wrote, “If men are not naturally in a state
of war, why do they always carry arms and why do they have keys to lock their doors?”
Governments were created, according to Hobbes, to protect people from their own selfishness and
evil. He believed that it is not possible for people have both freedom and peace, since the state of
freedom is a state of unlimited greed and war. Joining together to form societies is thus
humankind’s only possibility for peace. The best government is one that has the great power of a
leviathan, or sea monster. Hobbes believed in the rule of a king or queen because he felt a country
needs an authority figure to provide direction and leadership. Because the people are only
interested in promoting their own interests, Hobbes believes that democracy—allowing citizens to
vote for government leaders—would never work. Hobbes believed that without a strong
government, people experience “continual fear and danger of violent death” and lives that are
“solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”
Hobbes reasoned that all people should voluntarily choose to relinquish (give up) their rights to the
leviathan, who then would protect people from one another and ensure peace. This idea was not
the same as divine right—the belief that monarchs are chosen by God and thus people do not have
the right to question their rule. Instead, Hobbes believed that a ruler’s absolute power comes not
from God, but from people rationally deciding that this is in their best interests. Hobbes considered
that the ruler could abuse his or her absolute power and become cruel and unfair. However, this
problem could be lessened, Hobbes believed, by appointing a diverse group of representatives to
present the problems of the common people to the leviathan. These representatives would only
have the power to present opinions, since all final decisions would be made by the leviathan.
John Locke
John Locke was born into a Puritan family in Bristol, England in 1632. Locke’s father, an attorney,
was part of the Parliamentary army fighting against the monarchy during the English Civil War. He
wanted his son to become a minister, but Locke decided against this and instead studied medicine.
As a student at Oxford University, Locke was influenced by John Owen, Dean of Christ Church
College. It was Owen who first introduced Locke to the idea of religious freedom and the idea that
people should not be punished for having different views on religion. However, Locke, a Protestant,
continued to oppose Catholic and atheist (the belief that there is no God) influence in England. He
remained entirely tolerant only of different forms of Protestantism. He was deeply influenced by
the writing of the French philosopher and mathematician Rene Descartes, who proclaimed that all
men possess the ability to reason. Locke also believed that people develop reason and can
therefore rationally settle their differences by seeking a middle ground and compromising.
After college, Locke continued to study and read with a passion. He expressed his views about
freedom of religion and the rights of citizens. When in 1682 his ideas were seen by the English
government as a challenge to the king’s authority, he fled to Holland. Locke returned to England in
1689 after the Glorious Revolution had forced the new British monarch to respect the authority of
Parliament and accept a Bill of Rights limiting the king’s power. Locke defended this revolution and
the limitation of the monarch’s power. Throughout his writings, Locke argued that people have the
gift of reason, or the ability to think. Locke thought people have the natural ability to govern
themselves and to look after the well-being of society. He wrote, “The state of nature has a law of
nature to govern it, which [treats] everyone [equally]. Reason, which is that law, teaches all
mankind…that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, or
possessions.”
Locke did not believe that God had chosen a group or family of people to rule countries. He rejected
this idea of “Divine Right,” which many kings and queens used to justify their right to rule. In his
own society, Locke supported a monarchy (rule by king or queen) whose power is limited to ensure
that the rights of the people are respected. He argued that governments—including the limited
monarchy under which he lived—should only operate with the consent, or approval, of the people
being governed. Locke wrote, “[We have learned from] history we have reason to conclude that all
peaceful beginnings of government have been laid in the consent of the people.” Governments are
formed, according to Locke, to protect the right to life, the right to freedom, and the right to
property. These rights are absolute, belonging to all people. Locke believed that ideally
government power should be divided equally into three branches of government so that politicians
do not face the “temptation…to grasp at [absolute] power.” If any government abuses the rights of
the people instead of protecting them, the people have the right to rebel and form a new
government. He wrote, “Whenever [the preservation of life, liberty, and property for which power
is given to rulers by a commonwealth] is manifestly neglected or opposed, the trust must
necessarily be forfeited and then [returned] into the hands of those that gave it, who may place it
anew where they think best for their safety and security.” Locke’s idea that only the consent of the
governed gives validity to a government inspired the founders of new democracy, such as the
writers of the United States Constitution.
John Locke believed that the control of any person against his or her will was unacceptable,
whether in the form of an unfair government or in slavery. Locke wrote, “The natural liberty of
man is to be free from any superior power on earth, and not to be under the will or legislative
authority of man, but only have the law of nature for his rule.” He extended his ideas about freedom
to a belief in civil liberties. Locke felt that women had the ability to reason, which entitled them to
an equal voice, at least in the home—an unpopular idea during this time in history. Despite fearing
that he might be censored, he wrote, “It may not be [wrong] to offer new…[ideas] when the old
[traditions] are apt to lead men into mistakes, as this [idea] of [fatherly] power probably had done,
which seems so [eager] to place the power of parents over their children wholly in the father, as if
the mother had no share in it; whereas if we consult reason or [the Bible], we shall find she has an
equal title.”
Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft, born in London in 1759, was one of the first women during the late eighteenth
century to actively call for the rights of women. Wollstonecraft, the daughter of a silk weaver, left
home at the age of 19, angry that all her family’s small resources went to the oldest son (she was
the oldest daughter). At that time, laws supported men’s control of the family’s money. For
instance, even if a woman entered a marriage with money inherited from her family, it was
immediately turned over to her husband. If she worked, all her wages were given to her husband.
Wollstonecraft did not want to get married and be controlled by her husband like many other
women she knew. Instead, she established her own small school. Later, she left to work as a
servant to a wealth widow, then as a seamstress, schoolteacher, and finally governess to the
Viscount and Lady Kingsborough in Ireland. During the French Revolution in 1789, she lived in
France, where she worked and wrote about the rights of women and the French Revolution. She
was not married when her first daughter, Fanny, was born in 1794. The next year, Wollstonecraft
tried to commit suicide. Eventually she married the famous writer William Godwin after she
became pregnant with his child. Godwin, like Wollstonecraft, did not believe in the institution of
marriage. He wrote that only his love for her and nothing else “could have induced me to submit to
an institution which I wish to see abolished.” Wollstonecraft died soon after giving birth to their
daughter, Mary Shelley. Even after her marriage, society still condemned her for her
unconventional behavior, and after her death she was renounced (spoken badly of) as a prostitute
and a monster.
Women led a restricted life during Wollstonecraft’s time. Men generally thought that women had
an inferior intellect and considered them weak by nature. Wollstonecraft attributed human nature
and behavior to environment, as opposed to heredity. She believed that all people are equal and
that every person possesses the natural right to determine his or her own destiny. Human nature
can be perfected if education is improved and oppression ended. Oppressive systems—which
include the rule of masters over slaves as well as the rule of husbands over wives—corrupt both the
oppressed and the oppressor. Thus, all of society would benefit from equality and the end of male
domination over women.
“I am about the display ‘the mind of a woman, who has thinking powers,’” Wollstonecraft wrote in
the introduction of her book, A Vindication of the Rights of Women. During this period in England,
women had virtually no rights of political participation. They could not receive an education, vote,
or run for public office. In addition, women were not allowed access to the court system—they
could not file a complaint, appear in court, or hire a lawyer. Women were not allowed to hold jobs
in government, medicine, or a number of other occupations. Inequality between men and women is
not the result of natural differences, Wollstonecraft believed, but rather the result of the powerful
tyranny (cruel and unjust rule) of men. Women do not have the opportunity to prove their equality
because men have kept them in inferior positions. “Let men prove [that women are weaker],” she
wrote. If men truly want to confirm women’s inferiority, they must first treat women as equals, she
believed.
While most of her writing centered on issues of equality between women and men in the home as a
way to improve society, Wollstonecraft was also concerned with women’s role in civic life. She
believed that humanity’s progress is held back by the fact that women are not allowed to fully
contribute to society. She demanded that women, whether married or single, must participate in
civic and political life, and that they must be able to study professions such as medicine, politics,
and business. Wollstonecraft compared the unjust rule of kings over their subjects to the unjust
rule of husbands over their wives. She was opposed to monarchy (rule by a king or queen), as well
as to all patriarchal (dominated by men) systems. Power corrupts, Wollstonecraft believed, and
therefore is the enemy of society. She referred to the reign of monarchs and the color symbolizing
royalty as the “pestiferous [harmful] purple,” and wanted to return to a state where every person
was his or her own master. “Society will not be whole,” Wollstonecraft wrote in Vindication of the
Rights of Women, “until the last king of strangled with the guts of the last priest.”
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born in Geneva in 1712. By the time he was 13 his mother had died and
his father, a failed watchmaker, had been forced to leave Geneva to avoid being imprisoned for
fighting a duel. Virtually abandoned, Rousseau was forced to serve as an apprentice to an engraver
who brutally mistreated him. Partly to free himself from bitter servitude and partly to embark on
an adventure, Rousseau fled the Swiss capital at the age of 16, and wandered about Europe. In his
travels, Rousseau befriended several wealthy people who took him into their homes and provided
the time and money for him to receive an excellent education in music and philosophy. At the age
of 30, he moved to Paris and quickly established himself as one of the most outstanding
philosophers of the eighteenth century. He died in 1778.
Unlike most other philosophers of his time, Rousseau believed that people are born good,
independent, and compassionate. If left to their own devices in a state of nature (a society with no
government or laws, like on a deserted island) people would naturally live happily and peacefully.
In fact, such a society would be free and ideal, much more satisfying than the inequalities brought
by modern society. Influenced by the peace and stability he law in simple, traditional Swiss villages,
Rousseau believed the luxury, corruption, and greed of modern nations harm the individual, giving
too few people too much power over many others. In modern countries, for example, political
control ends up in huge capital cities far away from most of the people. Further, he believed that
society’s institutions, like government, schools, the arts, and the media, corrupt naturally good
individuals. Rousseau thought that modern civilization, for all its progress, has made humans
neither happier nor more virtuous (morally good).
Rousseau’s Swiss background had an enormous influence on the type of government he advocated
(support). Unlike its surrounding autocratic (government with unlimited power by one person
over others) neighbors, Switzerland for centuries had been divided into small districts. Decisions
were made locally, not far away in a royal palace in the capital city. The manner in which people in
these traditional villages gathered regularly to make decisions was an example of democracy
(government by the people), whereby a simple majority vote by the adult male citizens enacted a
law. Each adult male voted on laws himself, without anybody representing him. This form of direct
democracy also flourished briefly in ancient Athens and Rome. Although direct democracy was
extremely rare outside of Switzerland at that time, Rousseau believed it was the ideal way for
people to make decisions. He referred to how nondemocratic governments in Europe had
corrupted modern people when he wrote in his book The Social Contract, “Man was born free, and
everywhere he is in chains.” He believed that even representative democracy (where people vote
for other people to represent them)—as in England and the United States—is corrupt. “Any law
which the people have not ratified in person is void; it is not law at all. The English people believes
itself to be free; it is gravely mistaken; it is free only during the election of Members of Parliament;
as soon as the Members are elected, the people are enslaved.”
Many philosophers during Rousseau’s time believed that people must choose to enter into a
“contract” (agreement) with society and be ruled by a monarch, or stay outside of society and be
free. They believed that only the rule of a monarch would ensure that society is stable and secure.
Freedom, for many philosophers, meant chaos or anarchy (no government). In contrast, Rousseau
believed that people can be both ruled and free if they rule themselves. He thought that
governments should exist on the basis of a democratic “social contract,” where people have direct
say in the way their society is governed. Only through direct democracy, Rousseau felt, can people’s
freedom be preserved. While Rousseau believed that all adult males should help make the laws in
assemblies, those who administer or carry out the laws (like presidents and prime ministers) can
be elected as representatives of the people.
Baron de Montesquieu
Charles Louis de Secondat was born in Bordeaux, France, in 1689. Despite his family’s wealth, de
Secondat was placed in the care of a poor family during his childhood. He hater went to college and
studied science and history, eventually becoming a lawyer in the local government. De Secondat’s
father died in 1713, and de Secondat was placed under the care of his uncle, Baron de Montesquieu.
The baron died in 1716 and left de Secondat his fortune, his office as president of the Bordeaux
Parliament, and his title of Baron de Montesquieu. Later, the new Baron de Montesquieu became a
member of the Bordeaux and French Academies of Science and studied the customs and
governments of the countries of Europe. He gained fame in 1721 with his Persian Letters, which
criticized the life-style and liberties of the wealthy French, as well as the church. However,
Montesquieu’s On the Spirit of the Laws, published in 1748, was his most famous book. It outlined
his ideas on how government would best work.
Montesquieu was very concerned about the relationship between religion and violence. He writes
in the Persian Letters, “I can assure you that no kingdom has ever had as many evil wars as the
kingdom of Christ.” A character in the Persian Letters states strongly, “in order to love and conform
to one’s religion it is not necessary to hate and persecute those who do not conform to it.”
Montesquieu argued not for atheism (belief that there is no God), but rather a secular (worldly)
morality that is tolerant of many different religions. Despite Montesquieu’s belief in religious
tolerance, he did not feel that all people were equal. Montesquieu approved of slavery. He also
thought that women were weaker than men and that they had to obey the commands of their
husbands. At the same time, he felt that the gentler nature of women could make them valuable
decision makers in participants in government. “It is against reason and against nature for women
to be mistresses in the house… but not for them to govern an empire. In the first case, their weak
state does not permit them to be preeminent (above others); in the second, their very weakness
gives them more gentleness and moderation, which, rather than the harsh and ferocious virtues,
can make for good government.”
According to Montesquieu, there are three forms of government: monarchy (rule by a king or
queen), aristocracy (rule by the noble or wealthy class), and republicanism (rule by elected
leaders). Montesquieu was opposed to absolute monarchy (where no other persons or institutions
have any control over the monarch) and believed that a monarchy with limited powers makes
countries the most stable and secure. People’s role in government, Montesquieu believed, should
be based on political virtue (moral goodness) and equality. Political virtue means that citizens
voluntarily put their public interests above their individual interests. States should be kept small to
make it easier for people to play a role in government. Montesquieu believed that the success of a
government depends upon maintaining the right balance of power between different branches.
Montesquieu argued that the best government is one in which power is balanced among three
separate branches of government with equal but different powers. He thought that England in the
eighteenth century provided the best model of government because it divided power among three
parts: the king, who enforced laws; the Parliament, which created laws; and a court system, which
interpreted laws. Montesquieu called this idea of divided government rule the “separation of
powers.” He believed in the separation of powers because he felt that if all political power is
handed over to one branch, greed and corruption inevitably result. He wrote, “When the
[lawmaking] and law-enforcing powers are united in the same person… there can be no liberty.”
According to Montesquieu, each branch of government checks (limits) the power of the other two.
This way, no branch of government can threaten the freedom of the people, and tyranny can be
avoided. His ideas about the separation of powers became the basis for the United States
Constitution.
Nicolaus Copernicus
Cleric and Astronomer, 1473 - 1543
Nicolaus Copernicus was born February 19, 1473 in Torun, Poland. Copernicus was a
proponent of the theory that the Sun, and not the Earth, is at rest in the center of the
Universe.
Copernicus received his education, first at the University of Krakow, and then at various
universities in Italy. While attending Padua University in Italy, Copernicus studied medicine,
the Greek language, and mathematical sciences. He eventually received a degree in Canon
Law at the University of Ferrara. When Copernicus returned to Poland he practiced medicine,
though his official employment was as a canon in the cathedral chapter run by his uncle, the
Bishop of Olsztyn.
Copernicus was never a professional Astronomer. The great work that made him famous was
written in his spare time. It was for friends he met in Rome while pursuing his education that,
in about 1513, Copernicus first wrote a short account his heliocentric (sun centered)
cosmology. His heliocentric system states that the Sun (not the Earth) is at rest in the center
of the Universe, with the other heavenly bodies (planets and stars) revolving around it in
circular orbits. A full account of the theory titled, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly
Spheres (De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium) was published in 1543, very near the end
of Copernicus’s life. He is said to have received a copy of the printed book on his deathbed.
Copernicus’s heliocentric system was considered unlikely by the vast majority of his
colleagues, and by most astronomers and natural philosophers until the middle of the
seventeenth century. Its notable defenders included Johannes Kepler (1571 -1630) and
Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642). Strong theoretical support for the Copernican theory was
finally provided by Sir Isaac Newton's theory of universal gravitation (1687).
Copernicus died on May 24, 1543 in Frombork, Poland.
Galileo Galilei
Galileo was born in Pisa, Italy on February 15, 1564. His father, Vincenzo Galilei, was a musician.
Galileo's mother was Giulia degli Ammannati. Galileo was the first of six (though some people
believe seven) children. His family belonged to the nobility but was not rich. In the early 1570's,
he and his family moved to Florence.
In 1581, Galileo began studying at the University of Pisa, where his father hoped he would study
medicine. While at the University of Pisa, Galileo began his study of the pendulum while,
according to legend, he watched a suspended lamp swing back and forth in the cathedral of Pisa.
However, it was not until 1602 that Galileo made his most notable discovery about the pendulum
- the period (the time in which a pendulum swings back and forth) does not depend on the arc of
the swing (the isochronism). Eventually, this discovery would lead to Galileo's further study of
time intervals and the development of his idea for a pendulum clock.
At the University of Pisa, Galileo learned the physics of the Ancient Greek scientist, Aristotle.
However, Galileo questioned the Aristotelian approach to physics. Aristotelians believed that
heavier objects fall faster through a medium than lighter ones. Galileo eventually disproved this
idea by asserting that all objects, regardless of their density, fall at the same rate in a vacuum. To
determine this, Galileo performed various experiments in which he dropped objects from a
certain height. In one of his early experiments, he rolled balls down gently sloping inclined plane
and then determined their positions after equal time intervals. He wrote down his discoveries
about motion in his book, De Motu, which means "On Motion."
In 1592, Galileo was appointed professor of mathematics at the University of Padua. While
teaching there, he frequently visited a place called the Arsenal, where Venetian ships were
docked and loaded. Galileo had always been interested in mechanical devices. Naturally, during
his visits to the Arsenal, he became fascinated by nautical technologies, such as the sector and
shipbuilding. In 1593, he was presented with the problem involving the placement of oars in
galleys. He treated the oar as a lever and correctly made the water the fulcrum. A year later, he
patented a model for a pump. His pump was a device that raised water by using only one horse.
Galileo invented many mechanical devices other than the pump, such as the hydrostatic balance.
But perhaps his most famous invention was the telescope. Galileo made his first telescope in
1609, modeled after telescopes produced in other parts of Europe that could magnify objects
three times. He created a telescope later that same year that could magnify objects twenty times.
With this telescope, he was able to look at the moon, discover the four satellites of Jupiter,
observe a supernova, verify the phases of Venus, and discover sunspots. His discoveries proved
the Copernican system which states that the earth and other planets revolve around the sun.
Prior to the Copernican system, it was held that the universe was geocentric, meaning the sun
revolved around the earth.
Galileo's belief in the Copernican System eventually got him into trouble with the Catholic
Church. The Inquisition was a permanent institution in the Catholic Church charged with the
eradication of heresies. A committee of consultants declared to the Inquisition that the
Copernican proposition that the Sun is the center of the universe was a heresy. Because Galileo
supported the Copernican system, he was warned by Cardinal Bellarmine, under order of Pope
Paul V, that he should not discuss or defend Copernican theories. In 1624, Galileo was assured by
Pope Urban VIII that he could write about Copernican theory as long as he treated it as a
mathematical proposition. However, with the printing of Galileo's book, Dialogue Concerning the
Two Chief World Systems, Galileo was called to Rome in 1633 to face the Inquisition again. Galileo
was found guilty of heresy for his Dialogue, and was sent to his home near Florence where he was
to be under house arrest for the remainder of his life. In 1638, the Inquisition allowed Galileo to
move to his home in Florence, so that he could be closer to his doctors. By that time he was
totally blind. In 1642, Galileo died at his home outside Florence.
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
Johannes Kepler was born in Weil der Stadt in Swabia, in southwest Germany. His paternal grandfather,
Sebald Kepler, was a respected craftsman who served as mayor of the city; his maternal grandfather,
Melchior Guldenmann, was an innkeeper and mayor of the nearby village of Eltingen. His father, Heinrich
Kepler, was "an immoral, rough and quarrelsome soldier," according to Kepler, and he described his
mother in similar unflattering terms. From 1574 to 1576 Johannes lived with his grandparents; in 1576
his parents moved to nearby Leonberg, where Johannes entered the Latin school. In 1584 he entered the
Protestant seminary at Adelberg, and in 1589 he began his university education at the Protestant
university of Tübingen. Here he studied theology and read widely. He passed the M.A. examination in
1591 and continued his studies as a graduate student.
Kepler's teacher in the mathematical subjects was Michael Maestlin (1550-1635). Maestlin was one of the
earliest astronomers to subscribe to Copernicus's heliocentric theory, although in his university lectures
he taught only the Ptolemaic system. Only in what we might call graduate seminars did he acquaint his
students, among whom was Kepler, with the technical details of the Copernican system. Kepler stated
later that at this time he became a Copernican for "physical or, if you prefer, metaphysical reasons."
In 1594 Kepler accepted an appointment as professor of mathematics at the Protestant seminary in Graz
(in the Austrian province of Styria). He was also appointed district mathematician and calendar maker.
Kepler remained in Graz until 1600, when all Protestants were forced to convert to Catholicism or leave
the province, as part of Counter Reformation measures. For six years, Kepler taught arithmetic, geometry
(when there were interested students), Virgil, and rhetoric. In his spare time he pursued his private
studies in astronomy and astrology. In 1597 Kepler married Barbara Müller. In that same year he
published his first important work, The Cosmographic Mystery, in which he argued that the distances of
the planets from the Sun in the Copernican system were determined by the five regular solids, if one
supposed that a planet's orbit was circumscribed about one solid and inscribed in another.
Except for Mercury, Kepler's construction produced remarkably accurate results. Because of his talent as
a mathematician, displayed in this volume, Kepler was invited by Tycho Brahe to Prague to become his
assistant and calculate new orbits for the planets from Tycho's observations. Kepler moved to Prague in
1600.
Kepler served as Tycho Brahe's assistant until the latter's death in 1601 and was then appointed Tycho's
successor as Imperial Mathematician, the most prestigious appointment in mathematics in Europe. He
occupied this post until, in 1612, Emperor Rudolph II was deposed. In Prague Kepler published a number
of important books. In 1604 Astronomia pars Optica ("The Optical Part of Astronomy") appeared, in
which he treated atmospheric refraction but also treated lenses and gave the modern explanation of the
workings of the eye; in 1606 he published De Stella Nova ("Concerning the New Star") on the new star
that had appeared in 1604; and in 1609 his Astronomia Nova ("New Astronomy") appeared, which
contained his first two laws (planets move in elliptical orbits with the sun as one of the foci, and a planet
sweeps out equal areas in equal times). Whereas other astronomers still followed the ancient precept
that the study of the planets is a problem only in kinematics, Kepler took an openly dynamic approach,
introducing physics into the heavens.
In 1610 Kepler heard and read about Galileo's discoveries with the spyglass. He quickly composed a long
letter of support which he published as Dissertatio cum Nuncio Sidereo ("Conversation with the Sidereal
Messenger"), and when, later that year, he obtained the use of a suitable telescope, he published his
observations of Jupiter's satellites under the title Narratio de Observatis Quatuor Jovis Satellitibus
("Narration about Four Satellites of Jupiter observed"). These tracts were an enormous support to
Galileo, whose discoveries were doubted or denied by many. Both of Kepler's tracts were quickly
reprinted in Florence. Kepler went on to provide the beginning of a theory of the telescope in his
Dioptrice, published in 1611.
During this period the Keplers had three children (two had been born in Graz but died within months),
Susanna (1602), who married Kepler's assistant Jakob Bartsch in 1630, Friedrich (1604-1611), and
Ludwig (1607-1663). Kepler's wife, Barbara, died in 1612. In that year Kepler accepted the position of
district mathematician in the city of Linz, a position he occupied until 1626. In Linz Kepler married
Susanna Reuttinger. The couple had six children, of whom three died very early.
In Linz Kepler published first a work on chronology and the year of Jesus's birth, In German in 1613 and
more amply in Latin in 1614: De Vero Anno quo Aeternus Dei Filius Humanam Naturam in Utero
Benedictae Virginis Mariae Assumpsit (Concerning the True Year in which the Son of God assumed a
Human Nature in the Uterus of the Blessed Virgin Mary"). In this work Kepler demonstrated that the
Christian calendar was in error by five years, and that Jesus had been born in 4 BC, a conclusion that is
now universally accepted. Between 1617 and 1621 Kepler published Epitome Astronomiae Copernicanae
("Epitome of Copernican Astronomy"), which became the most influential introduction to heliocentric
astronomy; in 1619 he published Harmonice Mundi ("Harmony of the World"), in which he derived the
heliocentric distances of the planets and their periods from considerations of musical harmony. In this
work we find his third law, relating the periods of the planets to their mean orbital radii.
In 1615-16 there was a witch hunt in Kepler's native region, and his own mother was accused of being a
witch. It was not until late in 1620 that the proceedings against her ended with her being set free. At her
trial, her defense was conducted by her son Johannes.
1618 marked the beginning of the Thirty Years War, a war that devastated the German and Austrian
region. Kepler's position in Linz now became progressively worse, as Counter Reformation measures put
pressure on Protestants in the Upper Austria province of which Linz was the capital. Because he was a
court official, Kepler was exempted from a decree that banished all Protestants from the province, but he
nevertheless suffered persecution. During this time Kepler was having his Tabulae Rudolphinae
("Rudolphine Tables") printed, the new tables, based on Tycho Brahe's accurate observations, calculated
according to Kepler's elliptical astronomy. When a peasant rebellion broke out and Linz was besieged, a
fire destroyed the printer's house and shop, and with it much of the printed edition. Soldiers were
garrisoned in Kepler's house. He and his family left Linz in 1626. The Tabulae Rudolphinae were
published in Ulm in 1627.
Kepler now had no position and no salary. He tried to obtain appointments from various courts and
returned to Prague in an effort to pry salary that was owed him from his years as Imperial Mathematician
from the imperial treasury. He died in Regensburg in 1630. Besides the works mentioned here, Kepler
published numerous smaller works on a variety of subjects.