Natural rights
The enlightenment
Enlightenment thinkers applied new methods of reasoning to politics, and human institutions
Galen
Ancient Greek doctor who advanced the humoral theory of the body
Galileo Galilei
Built a telescope and observed that other planets and moons, existed, and weren’t just balls of light
John Locke
Argued that natural rights were given by god, not a government, so a government couldn’t take them away. Therefore power originates with the people
Social Contract
A voluntary agreement among individuals to secure their rights and welfare by creating a government and abiding by its rules.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
A French man who believed that Human beings are naturally good & free & can rely on their instincts. Government should exist to protect common good, and be a democracy. Similar ideas to John Locke. Idea of the social contract
Voltaire argued that there was a god, but god didn’t intervene in human affairs.
Coffee Houses
Rejected the humoral theory and claimed that chemical imbalances caused disease, meaning chemical remedies could be used to cure people.
Using general principles to determine specific consitions
Humoral theory of the body
Geocentric model of the universe
Every body in the galaxy circled around the earth, including the sun. This was the Catholic Churches view and presumed model of the universe in midevil europe
Francis Bacon
Developed inductive reasoning
Popes response to galieleo
Denis Diderot
Collaborated with other enlightened thinkers to edit and publish an encyclopedia that contained a rational explanation for everything.
A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792)
Population increases in the 1700s
Rising birth rates, improving medical technology, vaccines, and bubonic plague went away
Mary Wollstonecraft
English writer and early feminist who denied male supremacy and advocated equal education for women
Further overturned Galen’s theory by proving how the circulatory system works
Neoclassicism
The transition in Europe from a society where literacy consisted of patriarchal and communal reading of religious texts to a society where literacy was commonplace and reading material was broad and diverse. Books also became less religious. So religious censorship increased
Inductive reasoning
During the scientific Revolution, the scientific method was invented, which emphasizes observations and experimentation
Enlightenment views of religion
Overall, religion was increasingly viewed as a matter of private, rather than public concern. Structures of society grew increasingly secular.
Most famous French philosopher. Produced many works that criticized social and religious institutions of France. Supported religious tolerance, natural rights, but didn’t believe in democracy, only enlightened absolutism
Copernicus and keplers books ended up on the index of prohibited books
Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations
Attacked mercantilist economics. Promoted laissez-faire, free-market economy, and supply-and-demand economics.
Urbanization
This allowed police officers to arrest any woman they suspected to be a prostitute. They were then permitted to give that woman an examination to prevent the spread of STDs. This is state-sponsered sexual assault.
