The EnlightenmentWait...how did we get here???

The Renaissance & Democratic Thinking

❖ Renaissance (1350-1600)= rebirth of culture, thought, and art $

➡ Individualism - Importance of the individual$- Civic duty$- Politics as a science $

➡ Humanism - The importance of man$- Education would lead to a better life$

➡ Secularism - Concern for worldly goods not just focusing on the

afterlife

Renaissance Art

Enthroned Madonna and Child$Cimabue$

1285

Portrait of a Man in a Turban$Jan Van Eyke$

1433

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The Reformation & Democratic Thinking

❖ Reformation (16th century)= An emergence of new thought amongst Christians that led to new Protestant Religions $

➡ Backlash against a corrupt Catholic Church - Practice of indulgences (forgiveness of sins

through pilgrimages, prayers, or donations)$- Clerical abuses $

➡ Martin Luther & John Calvin were central figures - Luther’s 3 Key Ideas$

‣ Faith alone brings salvation$‣ Faith comes through knowledge of scripture$‣ All believers are equal$

➡ Importance of the individual in religion

Reformation Architecture

St. Peter’s Basilica !Vatican City

Kandersteg Calvanist Church!Switzerland

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Discuss!

1. What was the Renaissance? What three “-isms” changed the way people thought about their own life? $

2. What were leaders and followers of the Reformation upset about? Why is education considered important to Luther and other Protestants?

The Scientific Revolution & Democratic Thinking

❖ Scientific Revolution (1500-1727)= major shifts in thinking about science and mathematics $

❖ Before the SR people mainly looked to the Bible and Aristotle’s teachings to explain the laws of nature$

➡ Scientists begin to question the natural laws and show that there were inherent truths about nature - Not just God, angered the Church$

➡ Use of reason and logic instead of faith alone - Reasoning= gaining knowledge through facts and

argumentation$- Question the laws of nature and the laws of man

Figures of the Scientific Rev.

Built a telescope to prove Copernican universe

Formulated mathematical physical laws

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Discuss!

1. How did the Scientific Revolution change the way people think? What do people use instead of relying solely on the Bible?$

2. How do the ideas of the Scientific Revolution compare to the ideas of the Athenian philosophers (Aristotle and/or Plato)?

What is the Enlightenment?❖ Social critics, called philosophes, began to

question the way that society was run as well as the nature of man$

❖ Period lasted from 1680-1800 CE$

❖ Scientific Revolution showed that all things could be figured out through reason$

- Progress to better societies through reason$

❖ Enlightenment led to a shift in political thinking in Western Europe and America...

Absolutism to Constitutionalism

❖ Absolutism$

- King or Queen has absolute and total power over a land and all of its people

❖ Constitutionalism$

- Government whose power is constrained by a constitution and the monarch shares power

Magna Carta, 1215!Set limits on the King’s Power

Discuss!

1. What is the Enlightenment?$

2. What were philosophes arguing about? $

3. What is the difference between Absolutism and Constitutionalism? What Greek philosopher would like the idea of Constitutionalism? $

4. Name four core values that you think are important to Enlightenment thinkers.

Enlightenment Values

Reason$Progress$

Individualism$Secularism$Humanism$Freedom$Equality