How is the scientific revolution related to the enlightenment?
To quote Wikipedia:The principal goals of Enlightenment thinkers were liberty, progress, reason, tolerance, fraternity, and ending the abuses of the church and state.while The Scientific Revolution:... refers to historical changes in thought & belief, to changes in social & institutional organization, that unfolded in Europe between roughly 1550-1700; beginning with Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543), who asserted a heliocentric (sun-centered) cosmos, it ended with Isaac Newton (1642-1727), who proposed universal laws and a Mechanical Universe.Essentially the Scientific Revolution contributed to the progress, reason, and fraternal aspects of the Enlightenment. Through providing the philosophical tools necessary to debunk long held superstitious / religious beliefs, producing a secular body of reasoned work, and by creating a network of fraternal Scientific Societies, who not only collaborated in theoretical fields, but in the application of the new discoveries to practical and commercial purposes eg. the later Lunar Society of Birmingham.
How did the Enlightenment influence the French Revolution?
The Enlightenment influenced the French Revolution in some major areas. First, it transformed the monarchy. It ushered in the new concept of the Republic. ... TheEnlightenment philosophers began to contest the dogma of the Catholic Church, which considered earthly life to be a simple passage towards eternal life.In the Enlightenment, people had new ideas about government. This gave the French the perfect way to have their country work well.John Locke, an Enlightenment thinker, said that no king should have absolute power. He believed in a constitutional monarchy, which basically meant he thought that any ruler should have rules to follow too. He also believed in a social contract: people give a little of their freedom to their ruler, but he/she cannot take away their natural rights, the rights that they are born with, and they have the right to get rid of him/her if he/she is a bad ruler. The French liked these ideas.Baron de Montesquieu believed in a separation of powers into three branches (executive, legislative, and judicial). He said they should hold equal power so it did not become a despotism (tyranny). His ideas were influential in many countries, including America.Voltaire, an Enlightenment writer, thought that people should have the right to free speech and religious freedom, which they did not really have. This idea became an important part of all Enlightenment thinking and many governments.Cesare Beccaria thought people should be allowed a fair and speedy trial with no torture and no "cruel and unusual punishments," an idea prized in many countries that had poor legal systems. He also disagreed with capital punishment (execution).Mary Wollstonecraft and Olympe de Gouges believed in equal rights for everyone, including women. De Gouges, a French woman, was executed for her beliefs.The French believed in the ideas of these thinkers, as well as other popular Enlightenment ideas, so they tried to overthrow their government. The revolution was, unfortunately, very poorly planned and resulted in chaos, the opposite of what they aimed for. It turned into a bloodbath, many people were guillotined. A very harsh tyrant, Napolean Bonaparte was put in charge of the country.klscakds · 9 years ago
How did the Enlightenment influence the American Revolution?
The period of enlightenment was a period when people started to reason and question the order of things. everything was questioned even down right to religion. one of the most important Philosophes whose writing influenced the American revolution was John Locke. one of the ideas of John Locke- the idea of Natural rights (life, liberty and property) was fundamental to the American declaration of independence, which stated that “…all men… are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;…”. Hence when king George III started imposing taxes on them and punishing those who went against the various Acts , they saw it as an attack on their human rights.Also Locke and Rousseau’s ideas on social contract helped shape the minds of the leaders of the American revolution thereby affecting the revolution itself. in Rousseau’s social contract he argued that the only good government was the one freely formed by the people and guided by the “general will” of the society. John Locke in the Two treatises of government also argued that government should rule based on the consent of the governed. These ideas of John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau formed the basis for the American revolutionary movement of popular sovereignty.Locke furthermore said in the two treatises of government that the citizens had a right to revolt against whatever government failed to protect their rights. It could be said that Thomas Paine an American who wrote the pamphlet titled “Common Sense” in 1776 drew his idea from Locke. He attacked the monarchy in his pamphlet and insisted that common Americans had the ability to be their own kings and were far more deserving of leadership posts than those who had worn English crowns. this idea was also reflected in the declaration of independence document wrote by Thomas Jefferson “…that whenever any form of government becomes destructive … it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it…” Hence the Americans felt the need for a revolution to “abolish” the government that had become “destructive”.