Colonial America and the Enlightenment I. a. i.copernicus (1543), Galileo (1632) 1. Pushed the theory, challenged long held belief 2. Challenged the church ii.isaac Newton (1687) 1. Used Francis Bacon s to help conclude the Laws of Physics 2. Got people to consider the heliocentric theory as a real possibility (through his writings about and ) a. Suggested that i. A God had created the universe and that it operated according to law. b. Logical Questions i. Wouldn t God have formulated laws governing as well? ii. If humans can use their to discover the mathematical laws governing the physical universe, why not the laws governing their own affairs? II. Old World Philosophers and Ideas a. i. Free people, remember this maxim: we may acquire liberty, but it is never recovered if it is once lost. ii.social contract--the agreement between and that says that people need to give up their absolute right to do. When you break this contract, the government can take away some. When the government breaks it, the leader can be impeached, or, in extreme cases, revolutions can be started. 1
III. 1. No laws are binding unless agreed upon by the people 2. No laws can restrain the people unless they agree to it b. i. The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created beings capable of law, where there is no law, there is no freedom. ii. All mankind... being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions. 1. Men are born into the natural rights of,, and. 2. The Monarchy, or other government, got its power from the of the people. 3. The people give up certain of their rights in return for, and the ruler should hold his power only so long as he uses it. b. i. Any community that gets its laughs by pretending to be idiots will eventually be flooded by actual idiots who mistakenly believed that they re in good company. ii. One work suggested that God had made the earth and man much like a. It had all the things it needed in order to run perfectly on its own. He did not think it likely that God was checking in with humanity (Typology) c. i. The world embarrasses me, and I cannot dream that this watch exists and has no watchmaker. ii. What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly - that is the first law of nature. iii. Voltaire advocated for and thought that rationality was best. Key Concepts of the Colonial Era a. 2
i.often new scientists and philosophers were called 1. God created the universe but in its workings 2. The world operates according to God s, and through the use of reason we can those rules 3. Thought that it was that God would reveal himself only at particular times to. So less stock was placed in revealed religion 4. Thought that it was much more to believe that God had made it possible for all people at all times to discover natural laws through their Godgiven power of 5. Thought that every individual could be through b. Enlightenment i.a shift away from and religion as an for everything and a for actions. ii. Time should be spent seeking knowledge and learning about the and in it. iii.during the Age of Reason it was more acceptable to and long held beliefs of the past iv.this is where the idea of people pursue and is born. v., and became the new gods. For the previous seventeen hundred years the perfection of man was only to be obtained through grace vi.people arrive at truth by using reason rather than by relying on the of the past,, or on non-rational mental processes like 3
vii., rather than supernatural grace viewed as basis for the viii.this reliance on as a catalyst for encouraged the belief that each individual had the power to control ix.in order to reach perfection- - through and the use of logic. x.in order for people to they need to be from the constraints of rules like the ones that the government or religion would place on them. c. i.instead of human beings being considered bad -- The Enlightenment advocated ii.believed that the best form of worship was to do for others iii.since God wants people to be they worship God by helping other people. iv.if people used logic and reason in making choices, they v.humanitarianism took two faces 1. -which was not advocating equal rights for women, but did want to help stop the suffering of children, the poor and slaves (in Europe). 2. sought to educate and promoted independent thought 4
Colonial America and the Enlightenment Big Questions: 1. Which Old World Scholar was most influential to the American Revolution? 2. What is the most important key concept of the Enlightenment? IV. Old World Changes a. Scientific Revolution i.copernicus (1543), Galileo (1632) 1. Pushed the heliocentric theory, challenged long held geocentric belief 2. Challenged the church ii.isaac Newton (1687) 3. Used Francis Bacon s Scientific Method to help conclude the Laws of Physics 4. Got people to consider the heliocentric theory as a real possibility (through his writings about gravity and inertia) a. Suggested that i. A rational God had created the universe and that operated according to mathematical law. b. Logical Questions i. Wouldn t God have formulated laws governing human affairs as well? ii. If humans can use their reason to discover the mathematical laws governing the physical universe, why not the laws governing their own affairs? V. Old World Philosophers and Ideas d. Jean-Jacques Rousseau vi. Free people, remember this maxim: we may acquire liberty, but it is never recovered if it is once lost. vii.write a book called The Social Contract 5
ii.social contract--the agreement between people and government that says that people need to give up their absolute right to do whatever they want. When you break this contract, the government can take away some natural rights. When the government breaks it, the leader can be impeached, or, in extreme cases, revolutions can be started. 1. No laws are binding unless agreed upon by the people 2. No laws can restrain the people unless they agree to it e. John Locke viii. The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created beings capable of law, where there is no law, there is no freedom. ix. All mankind... being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions. 3. Men are born into the rights of liberty, life, and property. 4. The Monarchy, or other government, got its power from the permission of the people. 5. This permission is a contract between the people and the government. 6. The people give up certain of their rights in return for just rule, and the ruler should hold his power only so long as he uses it justly. f. Voltaire x.the world embarrasses me, and I cannot dream that this watch exists and has no watchmaker. xi. What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly - that is the first law of nature. 6
VI. xii.voltaire advocated for human rights and was against organized religions. He thought that rationality using your mind was best. g. Rene Descartes-- Any community that gets its laughs by pretending to be idiots will eventually be flooded by actual idiots who mistakenly believed that they re in good company. xiii.developed the Scientific Method of Inquiry xiv.one work suggested that God had made the earth and man much like a clock. It had all the things it needed in order to run perfectly on its own. He did not think it likely that God was constantly checking in with humanity (Typology) Key Concepts of the Colonial Era h. Deism xv.often new scientists and philosophers were called Deists 7. God created the universe but does not interfere in its workings 8. The world operates according to God s rule, and through the use of reason we can discover those rules xvi.thought that it was unlikely that God would reveal himself only at particular times to particular people xvii.thought that it was much more reasonable to believe that God had made it possible for all people at all times to discover natural laws through their Godgiven power of reason xviii.thought that every individual could be perfected through reason xix.people arrive at truth by using reason rather than by relying on the authority of the past, on religion, or on non-rational mental processes like intuition xx.human sympathy, rather than supernatural grace viewed as basis for the moral life 7
xxi.this reliance on human sympathy as a catalyst for moral choice encouraged the belief that each individual had the power to control his or her spiritual destiny i. Enlightenment xxii.a shift away from superstition and religion as an explanation for everything and a motivator for actions. xxiii.the time period advocated seeking knowledge and learning about the universe and man s place in it. xxiv.during the Age of Reason it was more acceptable to challenge the traditions and long held beliefs of the past no one would come and try to kill you for standing against God. xxv.this is where the idea of people pursue individual happiness and liberty is born. xxvi. Reason, rationality and enlightenment became the new gods. For the previous seventeen hundred years the perfection of man was only to be obtained through grace after death xxvii.in order to reach perfection-utopia- through education and the use of logic. xxviii.in order for people to do good and be happy, they need to be free from the constraints of needless rules like the ones that the government or religion would place on them. xxix.because of this desire for logical freedom, the Enlightenment in Europe stood against organized religion as well as the monarchy. xxx.many people put less stock in revealed religion j. Humanitarianism xxxi.instead of human beings being considered bad Total Depravity--The Enlightenment advocated Humanitarianism xxxii.believed that the best form of worship was to do good for others xxxiii.since God wants people to be happy they worship God best by helping other people. xxxiv.if people used logic and reason in making choices, they were naturally good. xxxv.the average human being would actively work to make others happy. People were more interested in the progress of ordinary individuals and relating to their fellow beings through emotions and experiences they shared as colonists xxxvi.humanitarianism took two faces 9. Religious humanitarianism-which was not advocating equal rights for women, but did want to help stop the suffering of children, the poor and slaves (in Europe). 8
10. Secular humanitarianism sought to educate and promoted independent thought 9