In many respects, Sir Isaac Newton, 1642-1727, was the bridge between the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment. His successful attempt to discover and formulate laws of nature, such as the laws of motion and the law of gravity, inspired many of the philosophes and laid the logical basis for the Enlightenment. If nature was governed by natural laws, then it could also be reasoned that man and society were governed by natural laws too. If those laws could be discovered, then nature, man and society could be controlled and manipulated to allow society and mankind to prosper and flourish. Thus, the general aim of the Enlightenment was progress and the consequent improvement of the human condition. Enlightenment thinkers and philosophers were relatively optimistic about the attempt to improve the condition of man.
Just as much as the Renaissance had entered on a rebirth of interest in ancient Greek and Roman art and literature, the Enlightenment also turned back to the classics for inspiration, focusing on the Greek (and Roman) use of rational thought (logic) and science to understand the natural world. The philosophes, the key French Enlightenment figures, were critics of the imperfections of the existing status quo, and they launched a wide-ranging assault on church, state and society, determined to identify the illogicalities of the human world and its socio-political institutions. Thus, the philosophes believed that they could improve human society and make the world a better place in which to live by figuring out what was wrong with the world. What these intellectual critics accomplished was the laying of the intellectual foundations for the American and French revolutions of the eighteenth century.
We have some great suggested readings and videos in this unit of HIS 112!
Some recommended online lectures and websites
- See my course notes on Voltaire and his ideas about religion.
- The Scientific Revolution, History Guide
- At Boundless World History, see the section on the Age of Enlightenment (well done).
- The Scientific Revolution, Robert Hatch
- Scientific Revolution (history.com)
- A Short History of the Scientific Revolution
- Newton's Dark Secrets: Centuries-Old Manuscripts Reveal the Hidden Pursuits of a Scientific Genius
- Kiet Nguyen, former student in HIS 112, created a great website on the History of Electricity. Clearly electricity has become the key component of modern, post-industrial society.
- Enlightenment (history.com)
- The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on the Enlightenment!
- The Declaration of Independence and Natural Rights is an article that provides excellent background information on Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration of Independence and a discussion on Natural Rights
- For extra credit please suggest to your instructor a relevant website for this unit of the course. Send the title of the site, the URL and a brief explanation why you find the information interesting and applicable to the material being studied in this unit.