3.3 What changes came about in the fields of science, philosophy and political ideas? Flashcards
11 themes as to What changes came about in the fields of science, philosophy and political ideas?
levellers ranters diggers seekers quakers hobbes locke empiricism francis bacon isaac newton royal society
Leveller when and who
1645-1658
John Lilborne, William Walwyn, colonel Thomas Rainsborough
widespread faction of NMA
levellers beliefs and what they did
An Agreeement with the People 1647-1649
important at putney debates concerning a new constitution for britain
levellers regarded poor as equal to their masters before god so this should be reflected in law
demands
-hofc = most important political institution
-abolish hofl
-universal male suffrage
-codified consitution
-religious toleration
-abolish jail for debt
-rule of law: all considered equal under the law, elected local judges
-similar to Peoples charter 1839
evaluation of levellers
short lived
rump crushed them 1649-1651 - cromwell saw them as dangerous, threat to gentrified class
their radicalism made them a threat and provoked conservative elements
natural extension of rebellion against crown
did not advance legal position of women
lacked cohesion (divided priorities and constitutional settlement)
1649: repressed at burford 1649
aloof from most people as was a radical faction within NMA
ranters - what they belived
preaching group established 1650
- predestination
- so man incapable of sin (so dont have to follow man made laws)
- sex, drinking, criminality, loose behaviour
- many jailed 1651
- 1650 blasphemy act silenced the group
ranters significance
not very
fear far greater than actual threat
diggers - what they believed
active 1649+
Gerard Winstanley - cloth merchant and pamphleteer
collective farmers / vegetable growers in Weybridge hence diggers
-agrarian communism
-compulsory education for boys and girls
-claimed regicide invalidated land laws so sought to build a new godly community with communes on the estates of the wealthy
-often expelled from their squats
-hearkened back to mythical bucolic past
-reactionary towards enclosure
seekers beliefs
belief god was in everyone
form of worship to find god within the self
denied established church
quakers - beliefs
a quietist movement
meetings bring quakers together in stillness to quieten minds and open hearts and minds to god
in stillness and contemplation lies revelations
meeting place could be anyone designated by the congregation
quakers timeline (1647-1758)
1647 - George fox recognises gods light in everyone
1652 - birth of quakerism in north england (salvation, peace of quiet in time of upheaval)
1655 - Margaret Fell shapes national quaker organisation
1660 - monarchy restored, quakers persecuted (35,000 in 1660)
1661 - present a peace testimony to charles 2
1681 - set up in Pennsylvania
1689 - act of toleration allows them to legally worship
1755 - quaker marriages legalised
evaluation of dissenting groups
seen as a threat to restored monarchy and cofe
religious freedom to find god was an extension of the political upheaval
change in type of monarchy 1625 compared to 1688
1625 = confessional state
1688 - constitutional monarchy
confessional state - and in early 17th century was this challenged?
state which officially practices a particular religion
broadly accepted as legitimate model of government
even those who disagreed with church doctrine did not want to destroy national church, just wanted their own version
how confessional state was brought down -civil war
1640 - those questioning confessional state were big -enough and organised enough to bring it down
- conditions of civil war allowed people to think about alternatives to monarchy and cofe
- radical views were never widespread
how confessional state was brought down - interregnum
Interregnum
-increased freedom and toleration = strengthen opposition (was now never going to be eradicated)
Confessional state theoretically restored 1660 by Clarendon Code
-gradual realization loyalty to regime did not require religious conformity
-seeds sown for secular gov (still a long way off though?)
how confessional state was brought down - 1660 restoration
Confessional state theoretically restored 1660 by Clarendon Code
- gradual realization loyalty to regime did not require religious conformity
- seeds sown for secular gov (still a long way off though?)
how confessional state was brought down - james 2
tried to impose confessional state and was deposed (was quickly gotten rid of as no-one wanted the type of confessional state - catholic absolutist- so james had no friend, only enemies?)
realization 1688 secular state possible
how confessional state was brought down - william of orange
accession of william made a secular state and constitutional monarchy possible (remember in holland no divine right of kings, put there by parliament / the people)
how monarchy in 1688 was so different / constitutional?
crown subject to law
end of arbitrary power of crown
concept of king in parliament (had to regularly call parliament)
2 party system emerged
but no cabinet gov yet and ministers still appointed by crown
big change in how philosophers thought in 1688
thought more by rational thought, not religious dogma
richard claridge: god had no place in government or public / civic affairs, that being the realm of a secular authority (he was a preacher)
Whitby (arminian preacher) denied principle of div right of kings
beginning of separation of church from state
who was Thomas Hobbes (and one of his works) and what is the name of his theory
1588-1679
oxford educated
tutor to charles 2
philosopher, academic, scientist, monarchist
applied scientific logic to political theory
idea: Rationalism
Context: civil war demonstrating monarch cant rule without consent of parliament
Leviathan 1651
theory = social contrsct
social contract theory
pessimistic view on man
without a single common power to keep them all in awe they are in a condition of war
the state of nature was comparable to civil war
THEREFORE need for strong government to regulate for the common good and greater peace
left ungoverned men will terrorise each other
so they enter into a social contract by submitting to authority and protection of a sovereign
sovereigns power must be unlimited and absolute
if sovereign fails then contract is broken and people may take action (and get rid of sovereign)
Saw cromwell as the Leviathan - the sovreign
who was locke (and a work)
1632-1704 puritan origins a whig opposed confessional state optimistic view of human nature father in NMA liberalism The Rule of Law witnessed ECW and regicide therefore understood fears of absolutism was exiled 1675 because thought to be associated with a plot to assassinate charles 2 Two Treaties of Government 1689 empiricist approach (conc based on logic, reason, experimentation and observation)
Locke’s version of liberalism
accepted social contract but..
-purpose of gov = preserve citizens rights and freedoms and punish wrongdoers
-thought there were natural rights no human or state should harm
-law making = supreme function of gov
-people enter into social contract and submit to authority because
they expect it to regulate disputes impartially
-justifies ECW and glorious rev becuase authority failed to respect natural rights
opposed absolutism (as would break natural rights
Scientific revolution - timeline of who 1473-1630
developments in philosophy went in tandem with scientific discovery
1473-1543 = copernicus
1571-1630 = keepler
1561-1626 = bacon
baconian method
scientific discovery aided by getting data
all preconceived theories must be rejected
methodical observation of facts = way to understand natural phenomenon
made up by francis bacon and very important when royal society was founded
Lord Falkland
1610-1643
secretary of state to charles 1
killed in ECW
mother = roman catholic
advocated religious toleration and freedom
separation of church and state
patronised ‘Great Tew circle’ to persue truths away from partisan passions
William harvey briefly what he discovered, how and when
heart has two ventricles which move together almost simultaneously and not independently
all done based on observation
before had been thought sacrilegious to dig up a dead body
1578 - 1657
Isaac Newton
1643-1727 foundation for classical mechanics contributed to optics developed calculus laws of motion and universal gravitation dominated sciences view of the universe for 300 years
The royal society
founded by physicians and natural philosophers
first formal meeting 28th nov 1660
named The Royal Society for Improving Natural Knowledge
motto: Nullius in verba’ (take nobodys word for it)
determination to challenge established authoritative works
met once a week
locke, pepys, dryden, and other noted academics
eclipsed oxbridge (as nonconformists excluded from oxbridge were allowed)
patronised by the crown
what connects the scientific revolution and the politiical revolution
both had political implications
everyone is capable of observation and reasoning (democracy?)
publishing = verification
scientific study spilled into study of human, society and politics
in ferment of ECW challenge to accepted principles of science and politics and systems of gov
but no real fundamental change to english society (still largely rural
not all historians believe there was such a revolution of ideas - the continuity thesis (just part of evolution of ideas)
