Scientific Revolution Vs Enlightenment

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From the beginning of time, humans have learned new things that have tremendously helped us improve as a whole. Two of the most influential periods in history are the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment. Although some may consider them two completely different slices in our world’s history, the Scientific Revolution was actually a significant reason for the move to the Enlightenment. “A major cause for the Enlightenment was the Scientific Revolution which, because of its many achievements in science, gave rise to the expectation that similar breakthroughs might be achieved in the social and political arena if only the same methods were applied” (The Enlightenment). Each era had things that set them apart as well as things that made …show more content…

(The Scientific Revolution) (Tab) The periodization of the Scientific Revolution has twisted like vines throughout world history. With new information, research, and opinions, different things have been added or altered within the time period even going as far as adding in sub-periodizations (The Scientific Revolution). The time stamp for the Enlightenment is from roughly 1685 to 1815. The scientific discoveries made during the Enlightenment is one of the most amazing things in human …show more content…

Each scientist and philosopher provoked thought among the people, both then and now, and discovered things that we still use today. Philosopher Descartes states that to understand the Enlightenment, to think of it as forging philosophy and science and society within the common factor of nature (Enlightenment and Nuclear Order). Not only that, but Descartes was also very influential in the early stages of science, specifically physics, and built a strong foundation for it. Even Isaac Newton, one of the forefathers of physics, would not have existed without Descartes’ early work. Later, Leibniz, a foundational rational metaphysicist of the Enlightenment and influential thinker, stated that “everything that exists has a sufficient reason for its existence” (Enlightenment). This statement is known as the Kalam Cosmological Argument, which explains the existence of God and the universe. Many scientists of this time, including Isaac Newton and Leibniz, used science to defend their claims of a deity. At this time, this was somewhat unheard of since science and religion were typically kept in separate lanes. But this brought on controversy as Leibniz and Newton did not agree. In a debate with Newton’s advocate, Leibniz said that “by charging that Newton’s God was an inept watchmaker who had to reset the cosmic mechanism at intervals, while his God had already arranged for such