Changes in Science and Society

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Changes in Science and Society
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The Scientific Revolution

• A scientific revolution isnt like a political
  revolution
• Goes along with changes in philosophy, economic
  theory, politics
• From mid-16th century to end of 18th century

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Aristotles Cosmology (geocentric)
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Nicolaus Copernicus, 1473-1543

• Posited a heliocentric (sun-centered) cosmos
• Planets went around sun in circular orbits
• Didnt publish his thesis till year of his death,
  1543
• His book banned by Church authority

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Galileo Galilei, 1564-1642

• From Florence, Italy
• Used telescope to show that the moon was not
  perfect and that Jupiter had moons
• Tried as a heretic in 1633 and forced to recant
  his theories

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Whats important to note

• Each new thinker expands on the ideas of the
  previous ones
• Mathematics and experimentation become
  increasingly important
• Separation of science from the religious and
  social values of the 16th-17th centuries
• BUT science will begin to intersect with society
  in unexpected ways

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Isaac Newton, 1642-1727

• English
• Using math, ties together ideas of Galileo,
  Kepler and Copernicus
• Established idea that natural laws all work
  together
• clockwork universe

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Science and Society

• The impact of new scientific ideas onto society,
  religion and politics is called the
  Enlightenment
• The 18th century is Age of Enlightenment
• Characteristic movements
• Popularization (and simplification) of science
• Fashionable to be intellectual

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The Culture of the Salon
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The Salonnières

• Salon the living room
• From 17th to 19th century wealthy people,
  especially women, entertain on intellectual
  topics
• General mixing of classes and discussion of
  radical ideas
• A place to see and be seen

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The Social Enlightenment

• Sometimes involves strong understanding of
  science and philosophy, sometimes just a surface
  for show
• Does encourage mixing of classes and some
  prominence for women
• Encourages a reassessment of traditional views of
  the nature of human beings

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The State of Man John Locke (1632-1704)

• All men have the ability to reason, even in
  state of nature
• Every man at his birth is a blank slate (tabula
  rasa) upon which his society writes
• Man is basically morally neutral

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The State of Man Jean-Jacques Rousseau
(1712-1778)

• Origin of Inequality Among Men, 1753
• The Social Contract, 1762
• defines the General Will

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What will shape the new society?

• If it is not God, is it the General Will? What
  exactly is that?
• If current governments are not serving the needs
  of the populace, what kind of government will
  serve them?
• How do you replace one government with another?