How Did The Scientific Revolution Influence The Enlightenment

The Scientific Revolution played a critical role in the development of the Enlightenment. This revolution influenced the establishment of a new group of philosophical scholars who were focused on human improvement. The Scientific Revolution is the period between sixteenth and seventeenth century that was accompanied by the emergence of modern day science. It was a period where the development in the fields of mathematics, chemistry, biology, physics and astronomy changed the views of the society (Nardo). On the other hand, the Enlightenment was the age of reason that was a philosophical movement that occurred in Europe followed by North America in the eighteenth century. During this period, scholars started questioning ancient theories, religion,

During the renaissance, two great philosophers, Renee Descartes and Francis Bacon played an important role. Bacon was an English empiricist who highly valued and believed in skepticism. According to skepticism, one should question everything that pertains the surrounding environment. In addition, people should settle on a common ideology of the nature of things according to Bacon (Burns 56). On the other hand, Descartes strongly endowed deductive thinking. According to Descartes, deductive thinking was a way to generalize the nature of things but find evidence to support or prove the ideas later. Morover, deductive reasoning as Descartes had it was very important in explaining things. With this regard, early scholars played an important role in the Enlightenment period. The ideas of both Descartes and Bacon were combined to form the scientific method of modern-day science. Most importantly, their emphasis of rational and critical thinking facilitated the Enlightenment because they asserted the fundamental values and a free society. Organically, the philosophical era thinkers used empiricism, skepticism, and deductive reasoning to build the need for a representative of government, religious tolerance, social reforms and freedom of speech. In summation, the Scientific Revolution influenced philosophers in the enlightenment because they used observation and

For example, in 1660, the London’s Royal Society was created by the English government in order to steer England towards the path of scientific development in industry and agriculture; at the time, it was crucial for England to have a competitive edge in the world (Nardo). London’s Royal Society comprised of a scholars and extremely talented scientists that were motivated by new innovations in science. Similarly, six years later, the French under the leadership of King Louis XIV created the French Academy of Science in 1666 to carry out the same mandate as that of England. These two schools of science are the earliest academies that helped their countries in political and economic advancement through the use of scientific discoveries. Therefore, the Scientific Revolution was the genesis of philosophical ideas that help to drive the ancient European society in the era of Enlightenment. Similarly, the age of reasoning led to the establishment of new philosophers and intellectuals who believed that reason and liberty were ways that could lead to the improvement of humanity through a widely accepted rationale of thinking. The Enlightenment philosophers taught that the human endeavors should focus on reason and knowledge increment as opposed to elicit emotional responses