New Knowledge of Human Beings and Society

1
Section 7.34

• New Knowledge of Human Beings and Society

2
Introduction

• Reciprocal diffusion and acculturation between
  Europe and the world that was being explored
• Indian societies of America
• African native societies
• Ancient Asian societies
• New Medicines, diseases, foods, manufactures, and
  wealth were redefining Europe
• Europe was undermining old cultures
• Caused Europeans to look at themselves

3
The Current of Skepticism the Birth of
Relativism

• Exposure to divers cultures causes Europe to
  question traditions and values
• Made it harder to believe in the absolute
  rightness of one culture
• Cultural relativism
• Montaigne wrote about cannibal cultures and asked
  who are we to judge?
• In 1684 a delegation of aristocratic Siamese came
  to Paris
• said that if God wanted everyone to become
  Christian he would have willed it

4
The Current of Skepticism the Birth of
Relativism

• Relativism
• all beliefs are relative to time and place
• Pierre Bayle (1647-1706) used skepticism to
  challenge traditional beliefs
• Thought on the Comet
• passing of Halleys Comet in 1682
• Said that there is no basis for superstitious
  belief that comet predicted supernatural omens of
  future events
• Historical and Critical Dictionary
• questioned folklore and what is called truth is
  often mere opinion
• people are gullible
• No opinion was worth burning your neighbor for

5
The New Sense of Evidence

• Europeans didnt just want to know what was
  false, wanted understanding
• Evidence
• That which allows the believe of a thing to be
  true or truer
• Came to idea that believing without evidence is
  the sign of primitive or irrational thinking
• Requiring evidence is a way to be scientific

6
The New Sense of Evidence

• Changes in the application of the law
• Previously people held that the worst the crime
  the less evidence required to protect society
• Late 17th English judges made to use same rule of
  evidence in all form of accusation
• Hearsay is ruled out in court proceedings
• Helps end witchcraft frenzy
• Confessions achieved by torture are inadmissible
• Even confessions of willing persons often came
  from demented old women

7
History and Historical Scholarship

• Modern critical scholarship also developed with
  an emphasis on evidence
• History disengaged itself from legend and wishful
  thinking
• Jean Mabillon
• French Benedictine monk
• On Diplomatics (1681)
• established the science of paleography
• dating and authentication of manuscripts
• Influenced by Lorenzo Valla (Donation of
  Constantine)
• archives and collections in Abbeys and manor
  houses

8
History and Historical Scholarship

• Chronology
• Archbishop James Usher, Anglican prelate studied
  the Bible and said creation of world occurred
  4004 BC
• Questioned by scholars who noted age of China
• Dating civilization
• Common dating system aids thinking of human
  history as an interconnected whole
• Facilitated globalization
• Need a uniform way of specifying days and years
  to transact international affairs

9
The Questioning of Traditional Beliefs

• Movement of historical thought threw doubt on
  much of the Christian religion
• Richard Simon
• A French priest
• Critical History of the Old Testament
• in 1678 published book and said Catholicism
  rested on medieval manuscripts, not too much on
  Bible
• some of unknown or doubtful origin
• manuscripts thought to be written by Moses
  disproved
• monkish copyists had brought in errors and
  corruptions

10
John Lockes Psychology and Human Perfectibility

• most believed that human conduct could be
  perfected
• John Locke (1632-1704)
• Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
• he rejected that ideas are innate and said
  knowledge comes from the senses
• Mind is a blank slate (tabula rasa) until infant
  experiences things
• Environment determines everything
• With the right education all humans could be
  equal and evil may be eradicated
• True knowledge is derived from experience
• false or bad ideas are the result of a bad
  environment
• improvement of the environment would lead to
  improvement of humans
• gives confidence to the concept of social
  progress
• gives support to the idea that government can be
  the agent of social progress