Early Modernity: From Renaissance to Enlightenment (1341-1789) Foundations of Modern Thought Science as the standard of truth (Galileo, Descartes,

Newton) The study of politics without theology (Machiavelli) Rise of democratic politics (Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau) Scientific study of society (Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau) Role of revolution and the age of democratic revolutions The concept of the Renaissance - tied to the metaphor of rebirth, or revival - used by some Renaissance writers to describe the intellectual climate in which they were living Classical Roman political culture : a quick view - Roman history divided into two halves by a revolution - From approx. 6th century until end of 1st century B.C.E it was ruled by as a representative, elective republic - From 31 B.C.E (Augustus Caesar comes to power), until its decline and fall (finally collapses 7th century C.E), Roman empire is a monarchy - Monarchical ruler in Rome is called imperator - the emperor (literally, commander) - and - princeps the first, principal or foremost person - hence the prince - Res publica: means public thing and comes to mean public affairs. NOTE: Roman monarchy also claim to be ruling over the res publica it keeps the Senate and the assemblies in existence, although they are effectively now purely advisory bodies Major monarchies in Italian Renaissance Kingdom of Naples and Sicily Papacy and the papal states Lordship (later Duchy) of Milan Some minor principalities, including Padua, Mantua, Ferrara, Urbino And two major republicsthe Republic of Florence and the Republic of Venice Influential people - Francesco Petrarca, or Petrarch 1304-1374 - Leonardo Bruni 1370-1444, Chancellor of Florence Science and the Making of Modern Thought - The Medieval World View - Aristotle and Ptolemy - The Church and Scholasticism - The Static Universe - Body/Soul Matter/Spirit - The Divine Plan and the Doctrine of Forms

Aristotles Universe - Perfect, circular orbits - Epicycles of Ptolemy (150 CE) De Revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolution of the Heavenly Orbs) 1543 by Copernicus -argued that the sun is in the center of the universe; universe is still perfectly circular The reorientation of Human Perception - The Italian Renaissance - Why Italy; why circa 1500 - Humanism - Chiaroscuro turn toward realism - Rediscovery of Plato; Italian universities - Machiavelli in Florence - Copernicus in Bologna Galileo - Galileo, d. 1642 taught at the university of Pisa then in Florence, a friend to its court and to popes. - In 1609, 1610 he viewed the moon and argued that it was a real body established laws of local motion inertia and velocity. Galileo measured that all bodies accelerate at the same rate regardless of their size or mass. - argued openly for Copernicuss system not as an hypothesis but as reality - 1633 silenced by the Inquisition and placed under house arrest - Galileos telescope, magnification 15-20 times. Arc of 15 i.e. he could see about of the moon at any one time. - Galileos contemporary, the Englishman, Thomas Harriot, used the telescope to see sunspots. - Chiaroscuro use of deep variations and subtle gradations of light and shade to create illusion of depthonly material bodies reflect light in this manner. - Galileo used chiaroscuro in his drawings of the heavenly bodies. What does the mean? 1. The heavens and the earth made from the same substance 2. Experiment, observation and mathematics hold the key to knowledge about nature; realism in art and nature 3. The moon has craters, the sun has spots, the universe is not some perfect ethereal place where angels dwell, rather it is made of matter like that of the earth 4. Copernicus may be right after all -- but there is more

The Prophets of Modern Science: Bruno and Descartes Giordano Bruno, d. 1600 burned to death by the Inquisition in Rome Why? For arguing that Copernicus was right and that humans might now worship Nature; life on other planets