Unit 4: "The Social Contract"

Author Bio: Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) was part of the Enlightenment. Rousseau was known for his ideas on man was disorder, anarchy, and selfish but they could put that all aside if they wanted government to work. He did not believe in the divine right of kings and thought government was to enforce the will of the people and ensure natural rights. Most of his works criticized the education system and social conventions of the time.

Date/Context: Rousseau was tired of the constraints of society in the education systems and social conventions. He wanted men to have the only bondage be the bondage of natural necessity and this freedom would lead to their happiness. He found the the people controlling the government seemed to put them in a state far worse than the good one they were at in the state of nature. He outlined a system that would be for the common good and that would solve what he called the concerns of the time.

Summary: Rousseau outlined that unless the human race was to perish, they must change their manner of life.this change is an assemblage of forces that produces the liberty of men but how can you do that without the men remaining as free as before, this is the question the Social Contract answers. All tricked of the Social Contract have a single point, the total alienation of each associate, and all his rights, to the whole community and every individual gives himself to all but not to any individual. The public and individuals must work together for this to work. By violating the contract, a sovereign would be annihilated and the whole United body is one, what you do to one is done to all.

Key Quotations:

• “Where shall we find a form of association which will defend and protect with the whole aggregate force the person and the property of each individual; and by which every person, while united with all, shall obey himself, and remain as free as before the union?” 
• “The man who had till then regarded none but himself, perceives that he must act on other principles, and learns to consult his reason before he listens to his propensities.”

Unit 4 - "On the Movement of the Earth"

Author Bio: Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) was a Renaissance mathematician and astronomer, who created a model that made the Sun the center of the universe instead of the Earth. He had a famous book called On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres and it was published right before his death in 1543. This book triggered the Copernican Revolution. Copernicus also made other discoveries that contributed to the Scientific Revolution.

Date/Context: Copernicus wrote "On the Movement of the Earth" in 1543, right before his death, and also during the Renaissance era. During the Renaissance era, it was time of questioning of everything, and in this text Copernicus was then questioning the then current views of the universe. The Renaissance era was time of new and flourishing ideas being distributed to the public. Copernicus wrote this in order to give the public a new idea about the universe and question what earlier scientists put forth about the universe.

Summary: Copernicus fears that his views in this book might see the disapproval of the public because the public was already used to the ideas they have bee taught. He wanted to think of a method of how these "spheres" moved by mathematics because he saw the inconsistency of the views of the previous mathematicians. Mathematicians were then unsure about the movement of the sun and the moon that they had no real constant of motion and revolution by the two and the other planets. Copernicus then read through the ideas of the other philosophers about the universe and realized that the earth does in fact move. He then realized that the other planets have to move with relation to the earth or it would produce mass chaos.

Key Quotations:

• "For the first time mathematicians are so unsure of the movements of the Sun and Moon that they cannot even explain or observe the constant length of the seasonal year."
• "I pondered long upon this uncertainty of mathematical tradition in establishing the motions of the system of the spheres."

Unit 4 - "The Mortal God"

    "Unit 4 - "The Mortal God"


Author Bio: Author- Thomas Hobbes (ca. 1588-1679)- English philosopher who was born in Westport, England; aside from political philosophy Hobbes contributed to the fields of history, jurisprudence, geometry,  the physics of gases, theology, ethics, and general philosophy.  Hobbes is often considered to be one of the founders of political philosophy, an overall well versed individual who helped to change the foundations of philosophy and individuality in Europe.


Date/ Context: Thomas Hobbes magnum opus, called Leviathan, published in the year 1651 and echoing the insecurity and fears of the English Revolution that escalated into the English Civil War between the royalists and parliamentary roundheads (1642-1446) and having recently seen the beheading of the sovereign monarch Charles I, even Hobbes himself had to leave England due to his aristocratic ties.


Summary: Thomas Hobbes express themes of power and the justification for absolute monarchs as a necessary evil in order to suppress man's violent nature and to encourage a peaceful existence.  Without the existence of absolute monarchs, man fights with his fellow man over the desire to obtain the same things, becoming enemies who will stop at nothing to destroy each other.  Foreign invaders having no one to fear, will easily deprive their fellow man of the hard earned fruits of their labors and take away their personal liberties.  It is part of man's nature to be violent, acting violently for three reasons: first for competition, secondarily due to insecurity, and thirdly due to glory.  Without an all powerful figure to keep man in check, man is inevitably bound to engage in war, leavening a trail of destruction and suffering in its wake.  In conclusion, man needs absolute monarchs to unify them as one country, with one identity, encouraging peace and prosperity, not war.      



Key Quotations:

"And therefore if any two men desire the same thing, which nevertheless they cannot both enjoy, they become enemies; and in the way to their end, which is principally their own conservation . . . endeavor to destroy, or subdue one another."

"And from hence it comes to pass, that . . . an invader has no more to fear than another man's single power; if one plant, sow, build and possess a convenient seat, others may probably be expected to come prepared with forces united, to dispossess, and deprive him, not only of the fruit of his labor, but also of his life, or liberty. "

"So that in the nature of man, we find three principal causes of quarrel. First, competition; secondly, insecurity; thirdly, glory."

"(Therefore it is clear) that during the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called war."

Unit 4 - Principles of Analysis – Induction and God: Optics (1704)

Author Bio: Author - Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) - Born in Woolsthorpe, England; Mathematician, and Physicist; He attended University of Cambridge's Trinity College, and graduated with a Master of Arts degree in 1669; Newton went on to be a professor who delivered an annual course of lectures. His most renowned pieces of work included the invention of the reflecting telescope in 1668; In 1687, after many months of nonstop work, Newton published Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. It is known as the most influential book on physics and better known as Principia.

speaker - Sir Isaac Newton

Date/Context: Written in 1704, this was the time period of the Scientific Revolution. During the Scientific Revolution, beliefs and thoughts were changing. As a result, this led to advancements in science, and using science and reason rather than religious beliefs .

Summary: Sir Isaac Newton began by explaining matter and the concept that God produced matter, impenetrable moveable particles. Newton explains the first creation where all of these particles were made and formed. Continuing on, Newton discusses the idea that no matter how these objects were created, any amount of chaos would not have resulted the the tranquil solar system. Furthermore, he made the point that God and the Principles of motion were the cause for this and not yet known. Newton compared this to the perfect uniformity of the bodies of animals. He also highlighted the concept that matter has different densities and forces. Sir Isaac Newton continued to speak on how people must analyze the use of experiments and observation to comprehend the universe. Overall, Newton was attempting to make the point, that God and Science are not necessarily two separate ideas.

Key Quotes:

• "All things being considered, it seems probable to me, that God in the Beginning formed Matter in solid, massy, hard, impenetrable, moveable Particles, of such Sizes and Figures..."
• "As in Mathematics, so in Natural Philosophy, the Investigation of difficult Things by the Method of Analysis, ought ever to precede the Method of Composition."

Unit 4: The Blank Slate of the Mind

Author Bio: Lived from 1632 to 1704, John Locke was one of the most important individuals during the Scientific Revolution. He attended University at Oxford and became a doctor. He was very intrigued with how the human mind worked and made extremely significant contributions to the fields of psychology, philosophy, and more.

Speaker: John Locke

Date/Context: This document was written in 1690 during the Scientific Revolution and years of Enlightenment. At this time, psychologists and philosophers were still arguing about how the mind worked, if we were born with all of our beliefs and opinions, or if we started as a blank slate.

Summary: The document focuses on how the mind works. The question is: are people born with a set of beliefs and opinions, or is the mind a blank slate and experiences in the world shape us as people. Many people believe that when we are born, our minds already have set beliefs for the rest of our lives. But for others, our minds are tabula rasa (blank slate). Locke believes that people are born with no prior beliefs or knowledge, and that is acquired through the many experiences that we have in the world. Experiences throughout our lives shape us into the people that we are, and it is forever changing as we have different experiences.

Key Quotation

• "...if a child were kept in a place where he never saw any other but black and white till he were a man, he would have no more ideas of scarlet or green that he that from his childhood never tasted an oyster or a pineapple has of those particular relishes..."

Unit 4 Second Treaties of Civil Government

Author bio: Author John Locke(1632-1704) was an English political philosopher who's ideas later influenced the French and American revolutions. He is know as the father of liberalism. E was born in  Wrington, Somerset, England. He was a product of the English civil war.

Speaker- John Locke.

Date/Context: Two years before the second treaties of civil government king James II was ousted in the glorious revolution. The put king William III in instead. The second treaties of civil government was written to defend the reasons why the glorious revolution happened and to justify the actions of the people involved in it.

Summary: He starts out by saying penalties are needed to protect people. Through out the rest of the is explaining political power and it's origins. He starts out by explaining the law of nature. Were everyone is entirely free. They do not have the liberty to destroy themselves or other creatures. In the law of nature everyone is equal. They are only answerable to god. And only got can set someone higher than another. Natural communities work with everyone needing each other and everyone being equal. Then he talks about when you are allowed to harm someone else. He says if someone is threatening you with destruction or attempting to control you they are declaring war on you. You have the right to defend yourself if someone tries to take you liberties away. He says that no one wants absolute power unless he want to control you and make you a slave. Than he says the natural liberty says that no one be under the authority of another unless it is  represented and supported by the commonwealth, but they are not bound by laws. Under a government every person is bound under a rule of law not set by a person with absolute power. Only if the person agrees to be subordinate to the majority there is a society we're a government influenced by the people than there is a government. This government will make the law of the land but they will only be passed by the majority and the minority will have to follow. Society can only be reached if a groups of people work as one unit. Then he basically goes on to explain that people have to give up some freedom to protect the most important freedoms and liberties. Then he talks about how absolute power is not natural and not right. His last point is basically saying that government and laws are the fences of rights and liberties. His tone is defiantly defensive and in a lecturing tone.

Key quotes: 

"... what state all men are naturally i, and that is, a state of perfect freedom to order their actions and dispose of their possessions and persons, as they hint fit, within the bounds of the law of nature; without asking leave or depending upon the will of any other man."

" I should have a right to destroy that which threatens me with destruction..."

"The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on earth and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man..."

" The only way, whereby any one divests himself of his natural liberty and puts on the bonds of civil society, is by agreeing with other men to join and unite into a community..."

" The reason why men enter into society, is the preservation of their property; and the end why they chose and authorize a legislative, is, that there may be laws made, and rules set, as guards and fences to the properties of all the members of the society, to limit the power, and moderate the dominion, of every part and member of the society..."

Unit 3: The Edict of Nantes

Author Bio: Author - Henry IV of France (1553-1610) was raised a Protestant, he became heir to the French throne through his marriage to Margaret of Valois, but was challenged during a time of religious strife. Despite converting to Catholicism after becoming king of France in 1589, weary of war and religious turmoil, Henry IV issued the Edict of Nantes to foster religious tolerance.

Date/Context: The conflicts in France between Protestants and Roman Catholics due to the spread of Calvinism and increased tolerance of Huguenots was the Wars of Religion from 1562-1598. These were ended in an uneasy peace until Henry Navarre, a Huguenot, became heir to the French throne. This then led to the War of Three Henrys. This war was ended with Henry of Navarre’s embrace of Roman Catholicism and the granted religious toleration of Huguenots through the Edict of Nantes.

Summary: Called for the Catholic faith to be restored and reestablished anywhere the exercise of their faith had been interrupted. Henry wanted no more disputes among his subjects, the Edict gave Huguenots the freedom to practice their beliefs without being disturbed. It also forbid the practice of the Huguenots beyond the mountains, in Paris, or within the five leagues.

Key Quotations: 

• “We permit those of the so-called Reformed Religion to live and abide in all the towns and districts of this our Realm...free from inquisition, molestation, or compulsion to do anything in the way of religion…”