CHAPTER
12
‹^99
The Rise of Natural Philosophy,
Scientific Revolution, and
the Enlightenment
IN THIS CHAPTER
Summary: By the mid-sixteenth century, the spirit of Renaissance human-
ism fused with other traditions to create a Platonic-Pythagorean point of view
that sought to identify the fundamental mathematical laws of nature. This
culminated in Newton’s discovery of the laws of physics. Inspired by Newton’s
achievements, many of the educated elite in France and England tried to apply
reason and logic to discover the “natural laws” for social and political order.
These scientific and philosophic developments had serious political and reli-
gious ramifications. This chapter examines some of the significant contributions
in astronomy, medicine, and mathematics and then looks at the beliefs of the
most influential thinkers of the Enlightenment. It then discusses how the more
egalitarian and democratic thought of this period contributed to an atmos-
phere of political and social revolution that flourished in Europe at the end of
the century.Key Terms:
✪^ Celestial realm The realm, in the Aristotelian view of the cosmos, above the
orbit of the moon.
✪^ Elements The basic components of matter in Aristotelian physics; there were
five: earth, water, air, fire, and ether.
✪^ Qualities A term, in Aristotelian physics, for the tendencies of matter; that is,
Earth sinks, air floats, etc.
✪^ Geocentric Earth-centered; the Aristotelian model of the cosmos.KEY IDEA15
CHAPTER
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