After studying this chapter, students should understand and be able to discuss the following:
The foundations of Western science prior to the seventeenth century, in particular the contributions of Aristotle and Ptolemy in formulating the geocentric system
The general nature of the Scientific Revolution
The magical and practical elements at work in the Scientific Revolution
The discoveries of Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton and their contributions to the rise of modern astronomy and physics
The discoveries of Vesalius, Harvey, Malpighi, and Boyle and their contributions to the rise of modern medicine and chemistry
The impact of seventeenth-century science on philosophy
The ideas and contributions of Francis Bacon
The ideas and contributions of René Descartes and his impact on Western philosophy
Pascal's basic beliefs and their influence on Western thought
The ironic aspects of the Scientific Revolution
The impact of seventeenth-century political events on political thought
The definition, origins, and basic concept of natural law, and Hugo Grotius's interpretation of the term
The definition, origins, and basic concepts of divine right, and Bishop Bossuet's interpretation of the term
The meaning of political absolutism and Thomas Hobbes's explanation of the theory
The origins and definition of political liberalism and John Locke's interpretation of the theory
What is meant by the social contract and the ways it may be used to justify a civil society
John Locke's theory of the origin of ideas and its influence on modern psychology
The early explorations of Europeans, the expansion of European peoples and culture abroad, and the effect of these developments on western Europe
The methods of spreading the ideas of the Scientific Revolution and the implications of those ideas for politics and culture
The impact of the Scientific Revolution on the arts
Historic "firsts" of the seventeenth-century revolutions in scientific and political thought that became part of the Western tradition: the heliocentric system; Newtonian physics and astronomy; Harvey's explanation for the circulation of blood; new habits of scientific thought, including empiricism and the inductive method; social contract theory; the beginnings of both modern authoritarian and liberal thought; and the opening phase of European expansion and influence around the world
The role of this period in transmitting the heritage of earlier civilizations: reshaping medieval science to conform to the new scientific discoveries and ways of thinking; reviving, for the first time since the fall of Rome, skepticism and intellectual restlessness; and reinterpreting medieval Christian political thought along secular lines
