T
he proponents of the
new science sought to
explain the world in
terms of mechanical
metaphors, or the
language of machinery.
MECHANISM
“My aim in this is to show
that the machine of the
universe is not similar to a
divine animated being,
but similar to the clock.”
- Johannes Kepler
E
mpirical Method• The approach of using a
collection of data to base a theory or derive a conclusion in science.
U
rged contemporaries to
strike out on their own in
search of a new
understanding in nature.
FRANCIS BACON: THE EMPIRICAL METHOD
L
ooked to a future of material
improvement through the
empirical examination of
nature.
B
elieved science had a practical
purpose and its goal was
future improvement.
M
ethod of rational deduction:• He began by saying that
he would doubt everything except those propositions about which he could have clear and distinct ideas.
• Rejected all forms of intellectual authority except the convictions of his own reason
RENE DESCARTES:THE METHOD OF RATIONAL DEDUCTION
D
ivided existing things into two
basic categories:• Thinking things (mind)• Things occupying space
(body)
S
eparated mind from body to
banish such things from the
realm of scientific speculation
W
as an atheist, but thoughts echoed
Calvinism
W
as a political philosopher
D
eeply concerned with the problem
of how a strong central political
authority might receive rigorous
philosophical justification
THOMAS HOBBES:APOLOGIST FOR ABSOLUTISM
H
e traced all psychological
processes to bare sensation and
regarded all human motivation as
egoistical, intended to increase
pleasure and minimize pain
H
uman reasoning penetrated to no
deeper reality or wisdom than
those physical sensations
U
nlike both previous Christian
philosophers human beings existed
for no higher spiritual ends or larger
moral purposes other than those of
meeting the needs of daily life
H
obbes didn’t believe humans were
naturally rather self-centered
creatures lacking a master
THOMAS HOBBES:APOLOGIST FOR ABSOLUTISM
A
ccording to his account human
beings in their natural state are
inclined to a “perpetual and restless
desire” for power
H
obbes analysis would grow over the
next three centuries as political and
religious authority in the west
became increasingly separated.“
A war of every man against every man”-
Thomas Hobbes
H
is philosophical works dealing
with human knowledge
became the most important
work of psychology for the
18th century
H
ad puritan sympathies
JOHN LOCKE:DEFENDER OF MODERATE LIBERTY AND TOLERATION
B
ecame deeply involved with
the politics of the English
restoration period
W
rote two treaties on
government published in
1960
In the first he rejected
arguments for absolute
government that based
political authority on
the patriarchal model
of father ruling over a
family
P
resented an extended
argument for a government
that must necessarily be
responsible for and responsive
to the concerns of the
governed and portrayed the
natural rights of life, liberty,
and property.
LOCKE’S TWO TREATIES
First Treaty Second Treaty
L
ocke, contrary to Hobbes,
regarded human beings in
their natural state as creatures
of reason and basic good will
I
f the rulers abuse the people’s
trust they have the right to
replace them
JOHN LOCKE:DEFENDER OF MODERATE LIBERTY AND TOLERATION
L
ocke’s Letter Concerning
Toleration, established a
powerful foundation for
the future extension of
toleration religious liberty
and the separation of
church and state
H
e hoped to elucidate the basic
structures of human thought
F
or Locke, reason and
revelation were compatible
and together could sustain a
moderate religious faith that
would avoid religious conflict
JOHN LOCKE:DEFENDER OF MODERATE LIBERTY AND TOLERATION
I
n the Essay Concerning Human
Understanding stated that
human knowledge is grounded
in the experiences of the senses
and in the reflection of the
mind on those experiences
R
ejected any belief in innate
ideas
MAJOR WORKS OF THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
1
543 – On Revolutions of the Heavenly Sphere (Copernicus)
1
605 – The Advancement of Learning (Bacon)
1
609 – The New Astronomy (Kepler)
1
620 – Novum Organum (Bacon)
1
632 – Dialogues on the Two Chief World Systems (Galileo)
1
637 – Discourse on Method (Descartes)
1
651 – Leviathan (Hobbes)
1
687 - Principia Mathematica (Newton)
1
689 – Letter Concerning Toleration (Locke)