Newton's Influences Of Isaac Newton And John Locke And The Scientific Revolution

Without using reason in our everyday lives, society will collapse and turn into nothing but chaos. During the Enlightenment, a time when reason was beginning to be applied to the people’s thoughts, there were many great thinkers, but there were three in particular that attempted to change society’s unreasonable thinking. Voltaire, John Locke, and Mary Wollstonecraft all believed in freedom of choice; however, they believed in different branches of freedom of choice such as religion, government, and women’s education.

Adam Smith born 1723-1790 a Scottish philosopher and Economist. Defending the morals of acceptability of pursuing one's self- interest quoted in Document C “Every man is left perfectly free to pursue his own interest in his own way.” Smith gains into the general utility of society knowns as the the invisible hand argument. In the Wealth of Nations smith reveals the interests of merchants and manufacturers were opposed to those of society and had a tendency of pursuing their own interest. Smith wasn’t one to let religious attitude stop his thinking. He believed that more wealth to common people would benefit a nation's economy and society as a whole, stated in the The Wealth of Nation. Smith’s main

In their writings, Paine and Locke start with simple, yet powerful principles that target the individual’s way of life as well as their mind. Thomas Paine wrote The Age of Reason, a work in which he expressed his personal religious beliefs in addition to the idea that all are entitled to their own beliefs and opinions. He encouraged people not only to think for themselves and what

The empiricist following throughout Western philosophy was started by John Locke. In spreading this new idea of learning, he saw his mission as clearing away the metaphysical rubbish left by rationalists which was hindering the path to knowledge. Locke rejected many of the ideas which Descartes fought for. Rationalists claimed there to be two fundamental innate ideas, the logical principles of identity and non-contradiction. Locke argued that for any innate ideas to exist they must be approved by everyone. He decided that a test should be created, thus determining if these ideas reside in the minds of everyone regardless of age or education. In his study he found that these principles, as he suspected, failed to be universally assented.

The Enlightenment was a period in the eighteenth century where change in philosophy and cultural life took place in Europe. The movement started in France, and spread to Great Britain, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Germany at more or less around the same time, the ideas starting with the most renowned thinkers and philosophers of the time and eventually being shared with the common people. The Enlightenment was a way of thinking that focused on the betterment of humanity by using logic and reason rather than irrationality and superstition. It was a way of thinking that showed skepticism in the face of religion, challenged the inequality between the kings and their people, and tried to establish a sound system of ethics. The ideas behind the

The Enlightenment era was a new intellectual movement that stressed reason and thought and the power of individuals to solve problems. Even though different philosophers approached their goal differently, they achieved it none the less. They all approached their goal differently due to their different upbringings, their different backgrounds, and most importantly their different environments. A few among the many enlightened thinkers were Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Baron Do Montesquieu, and Jean Jacques Rousseau. While some of their idea’s are not used in modern society, they were all instrumental to the modern society we live in today.

The Enlightenment was largely a rational response to the 16th and 17th century Scientific Revolution, as well as major developments in philosophical thinking, such as ideas proposed by Rene Descartes. During the Enlightenment, thinkers emphasize rational and critical ways of thinking, rather than the complete reliance on religion that had been previously accepted. In many ways, Benjamin Franklin was the human embodiment of the Age of Enlightenment. Similarly to the Enlightenment as a time period, Benjamin Franklin is influenced by, but strays from his upbringing in a strict Puritan context in order to establish beliefs based on reason and the scientific method. Franklin used highly thought out and methodological techniques for deciding things from a daily schedule all the way to his views on morality and virtue. He was a life long learner, and like the Age of Enlightenment itself, he put reason as the ultimate factor for knowledge and decision-making.

The Enlightenment Era was an era of brilliance skepticism and innovation for the world we humans live on. Ranging from Thomas Hobbes to Rousseau, the Enlightenment Era has revealed many brilliant minds, including the best philosopher of the said time, John Locke. A philosopher and a physician, John Locke was introducing ideas that to others, seemed ridiculous; however, these ideas and beliefs are the ideas that have led our society to the current state we live in. The influence and principles of John Locke had maintained a solid foundation throughout his years he was present and after his death. Which is why, many scholars of the past and present have crowned John Locke to be “The most influential philosopher” of the Enlightenment period, and why many have also crowned him as the father of liberalism. In brief, John Locke and his ethics had proven to stay solid, influencing future minds within the fields of philosophy and political theory.

John Locke was the most influential philosopher for the 17th Century whose ideas in the scope of political philosophy are still relevant today. Locke is an important figure of the early European Enlightenment, and certainly many of his ideas had a considerable influence on later major Enlightenment thinkers such as Immanuel Kant, David Hume and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Since he was a brilliant thinker he had a broad range of interests to include epistemology, political philosophy and religious tolerance. Epistemology is a study of the knowledge of nature and the grounds of knowledge. Locke, who followed the teachings of Francis Bacon, was an empiricist. In “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding” Locke defends empiricism which concerns itself

The Enlightenment was a time in the Western world’s history in which positive strides were taken to change the laws and government. Many people, such as philosophers, scientists, and political leader, had major influences in what was believed. People like Locke, Hobbes, Machiavelli, and Rousseau were well-known philosophers who had contrasting ideas as to how the government should be run, as well as natural rights of the people of a country. People like Copernicus and Newton were well-known scientists who changed the world’s perspective of science. Each historic figure had his or her own philosophy of life.

The Enlightenment brought new thinking, making people closely examine the world around them, which sparked change. Also known, as the Age of Reason there was a questioning of authority as people became enlightened and this caused new thoughts such as liberalism, conservatism, skepticism, and Francis Bacon’s empiricism brought over from the scientific revolution. The Enlightenment was a maturity of mankind to higher level thinking, not just following the status quo. It was a raise in education against established traditions and beliefs, which caused a huge shift from the social norms of society to using reason and logic to disclaim previous ideas. There is a growth of optimism that the human race will become educated about the social and physical environment, finding new information through reason and logic to become enlightened. Although there was a focus on logic and reason, there was also a look towards economics with British enlightened thinker Adam Smith in the Wealth of Nations. Fighting for public, as well as private interest, maximizing private incomes and the nations wealth. There was many ways that the scientific revolution impacted the Enlightenment, but the most important was it caused a social change towards established principles with logic and reason. This caused the abolition of slavery, changed thought from religious to scientific and paved the way for the start of women’s equality.

The Scientific Revolution was a period when new scientific ideas where introduced into society. The Scientific Revolution laid down a foundation in which modern science is heavily based on. An influential figure of the Scientific Revolution is Sir Isaac Newton. He made many advancements in the field of science and mathematics, he discovered Gravity, developed the three basic laws of motion, and co-development of Calculus. Isaac Newton did several thing that positively affected the scientific community during the Scientific Revolution and still affect society today, he recognized the three laws of motion, discovered gravity, and co-developed calculus.

From around 1650 to the late 1700’s, the Age of Enlightenment dominated philosophical thought in Europe and led to revolutionary changes in the structure of government and way of thinking. The intellectual and cultural movement provided a new way of thought that was based on reason, progress, and the scientific method. Certain thinkers and writers believed they were more enlightened than others and strived to create a more successful idea of how society should be run. They believed that human reason could be used to fight ignorance, tired rituals, corrupt traditions, and tyranny. They valued reason, progress, and liberty. In two of his most famous works, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Second Treatise of Civil Government, the

Adam Smith is considered as one of the most influential economists in the 18th century. Although his theories have been criticized by several socialist economists, however, his idea of capitalism still has great impact to the rest of the economists during classical, neo classical periods and the structure of today’s economy. Even the former Prime Minister of Britain, Margaret Thatcher had praised on Smith’s contribution on today’s capitalism market. She commented “Adam Smith, in fact, heralded the end of the strait-jacket of feudalism and released all the innate energy of private initiative and enterprise which enable wealth to be created on a scale never before contemplated” (Copley and Sutherland 1995, 2). Smith is also being recognized

Adam smith is considered as the Father of Economics. He was a british moral philosopher. His most important contribution to Economics is the Invisible hand. Smith defined the invisible hand through the following statements; “Every individual … generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. … he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention … Nor is it always the worse for the society that it was no part of it. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good. It is an affectation, indeed, not very common among merchants, and very few words need be employed in dissuading them from it” (Lim).