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The Age of Enlightenment 654–655 Buddy Mays/CORBIS The Age of Enlightenment A statue of Louis XIV on horseback outside of the palace of Versailles in France 1650 1700 1750 1800 1687 1690 1748 1776 Isaac Newton John Locke Montesquieu Declaration of states laws about writes about describes sepa- Independence motion and gravity people’s rights ration of powers is signed Chapter Overview Visit ca.hss.glencoe.com for a preview of Chapter 11. The Scientific Revolution Studying the past helps to understand the present. Scientific ideas and discoveries gave Europeans a new way to understand the universe. The Ideas of the Enlightenment Systems of order, such as law and government, contribute to stable societies. During the 1700s, many Europeans believed that reason could be used to make government and society better. Politics and the Enlightenment Studying the past helps to understand the present. The ideas of the Enlightenment played a role in both the American Revolution and the French Revolution, and brought about many other changes that still affect our world today. View the Chapter 11 video in the Glencoe Video Program. Organizing Information Make this foldable to help you compare and contrast the ideas of the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment. Reading and Writing Step 1 Fold a sheet of paper Step 2 Turn the paper and As you read the chapter, in half from side to side. fold it into thirds. write notes under each appropriate tab of your Fold it so the left foldable. Be sure to use edge is about main ideas and key terms 1 2 inch from the to help you organize right edge. your notes. Step 4 Label as shown. The Age of Enlightenment Step 3 Unfold and cut Science New Politics the top layer only along Ideas both folds. This will make three tabs. 511 Taking Notes The best way for you to remember information is to write it down, or take notes. Good note-taking is useful for studying and research. When you are taking notes, it is helpful to: • phrase the information in your own words • restate ideas in short, memorable phrases • stay focused on main ideas and only the most important supporting details See the example of note-taking using the paragraph below. The Enlightenment raised questions about the role of A women in society. Previously, many male thinkers claimed that women were less important than men and had to be controlled and protected. By the 1700s, however, women thinkers began calling for women’s rights. The most powerful supporter of women’s rights was the English writer Mary Wollstonecraft. B Many people today credit her as the founder of the modern movement for women’s rights. C — from page 529 A. The Enlightenment brought attention to women’s rights. B. Women were previously treated as less impor- tant and not as strong as men. Finish reading before C. English writer Mary Wollstonecraft is seen as you begin taking notes. the founder of the women’s rights movement. Make note-taking easier by using a chart to help you organize information clearly. Write the main ideas in the left column. Then Read to Write write at least two supporting details for each main idea in the right Choose an important column. Read the text from Section 1 of this chapter under the head- scientist, philosopher, or thinker from the ing The Scientific Revolution, pages 515–517. Then take notes chapter. Do further using a chart, such as the one below. research, using at least three sources and taking notes as you read. Use your notes to Main Idea Supporting Details write a brief report. 1. 2. 3. 4. The Greek scientist 5. Ptolemy 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. As you read this chapter, make a chart with important dates, names, places, and events as main ideas. Under each main idea, list at least two supporting details from your reading. 513 The Scientific Revolution Looking Back, Looking Ahead Meeting People One result of the Renaissance Ptolemy (TAH•luh•mee) History was a new interest in science. During Copernicus (koh•PUHR•nih•kuhs) Social Science the 1600s, people began to observe, Kepler (KEH•pluhr) Standards experiment, and reason to find new Galileo (GA•luh•LEE•oh) WH7.10 Students knowledge. analyze the historical Newton (NOO•tuhn) developments of the Descartes (day•KAHRT) Scientific Revolution Focusing on the and its lasting effect on • The thinkers of the ancient world religious, political, and Content Vocabulary cultural institutions. developed early forms of science theory (THEE•uh•ree) and passed this knowledge to rationalism (RASH•nuh•LIH•zuhm) later civilizations. (page 515) scientific method • European interest in astronomy led hypothesis (hy•PAH •thuh•suhs) to new discoveries and ideas about the universe and Earth’s place in it. Academic Vocabulary (page 517) investigate (ihn•VEHS•tuh•GAYT) • The Scientific Revolution led to new approach (uh•PROHCH) discoveries in physics, medicine, and chemistry. (page 519) Reading Strategy Compare and Contrast Use a • Using the scientific method, diagram like the one below to show Europeans of the 1600s and 1700s the similarities and differences in the developed new ideas about society views of Ptolemy and Copernicus. based on reason. (page 522) Ptolemy Copernicus 1500 1600 1700 1700 London 1543 1632 1687 Paris Copernicus supports Galileo publishes Isaac Newton sun-centered work supporting states laws about Florence solar system Copernicus’s ideas motion and gravity Rome 514 CHAPTER 11 • The Age of Enlightenment WH7.10.1 Discuss the roots of the Scientific Revolution (e.g., Greek rationalism; Jewish, Christian, and Muslim science; Renaissance humanism; new knowledge from global exploration). The Scientific Revolution or arranged them into groups, based on their similarities and differences. The thinkers of the ancient world The Greeks made many important developed early forms of science and passed this scientific advances, but their approach to knowledge to later civilizations. science had some problems. For example, Reading Connection Have you ever taught a skill or they did not experiment, or test, new ideas passed on an idea to a younger brother or sister? Read to see if they were true. Many of their con- in this chapter how the scientific ideas of early thinkers clusions were false because they were based were passed on to later generations. on “common sense” instead of experiments. For example, in the A.D. 100s, the From earliest times, people have been Egyptian-born astronomer Ptolemy (TAH • curious about the world around them. luh•mee) stated that the sun and the planets Thousands of years ago, people began to moved around the earth in circular paths. use numbers, study the stars and planets, After all, it did seem like the earth was the and watch the growth of plants and ani- center of the universe. Astronomers in mals. These activities were the beginnings Europe accepted Ptolemy’s geocentric, or of science. Science is any organized study of Earth-centered, theory for more than 1,400 the natural world and how it works. years. Early Scientists Early civilizations devel- Science During the Middle Ages In oped different kinds of science to solve prac- Roman times, Europeans continued to tical problems. Among the first sciences accept the scientific knowledge of the were mathematics, astronomy, and medi- Greeks. During the Middle Ages, most cine. Mathematics was used for record keep- Europeans were more interested in theol- ing and building projects. Astronomy ogy, or the study of God, than in the study helped people keep time and figure out of nature. For scientific knowledge, they when to plant and harvest crops. Early civ- relied on Greek and Roman writings and ilizations also developed medical practices, saw no need to investigate the facts or to such as surgery, acupuncture, and the use make their own observations. Many of of herbs, for treating illnesses. these ancient works, however, were either The ancient Greeks left behind a large lost or poorly preserved. amount of scientific knowledge. They Meanwhile, Arabs and Jews in the believed that reason was the only way to Islamic Empire preserved much of the sci- understand nature. As they studied the ence of the Greeks and Romans. They care- world, they developed theories. A theory fully copied many Greek and Roman works (THEE•uh•ree) is an explanation of how or into the Arabic language. They also came why something happens. A theory is based into contact with the science of the Persians on what you can observe about something. It and the Indian system of mathematics. may not be correct, but it seems to fit the facts. Arabic and Jewish scientists made In ancient Greece, the Greek philoso- advances of their own in areas such as pher Aristotle observed nature and com- mathematics, astronomy, and medicine. piled vast amounts of information about However, in spite of these achievements, plants, animals, and the environment. He scientists in the Islamic world did not then took the facts he gathered and classified, experiment or develop the instruments CHAPTER 11 • The Age of Enlightenment 515 Scala/Art Resource, NY necessary to advance their scientific into a new way of understanding the world. knowledge. Humanists borrowed ideas from the During the 1100s, European thinkers ancient Greeks and Romans and combined became involved in science again as a result them with ideas based on reason and ideas of their contacts with the Islamic world. based on faith. Major Islamic scientific works were brought Humanist ideas then spread across Art Library Louvre, Paris/Bridgeman to Europe and translated into Latin. The Europe, aided by the invention of the print- Hindu-Arabic system of numbers also ing press. This invention continued to play spread to Europe, where it eventually an important role in spreading ideas during replaced Roman numerals.
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