PHILOSOPHERS

NICOLAUS COPERNICUS

• He baecame interested in an old
• Greek theory that the sun stood
• in the center of the universe in 1500.
• He didn't publish his findings until 1543
• in fear of ridicule or persecution.

NICOLAUS COPERNICUS

• His heliocentric theory did not
• explain why the planets orbited
• the way they did.

JOHANNES KEPLER

• Took over Tycho Brae's work of
• recording the planets' movements
• He concluded that certain laws
• govern planetary motion.

JONANNES KEPLER

• Kepler's laws showed that
• Copernicus' basic ideas were
• true.

GALILEO GALALEI

• Discovered the law of the pendulum
• Rebuilt and improved the telescope
• He announced that Jupiter had 4
• moons , the moon's surface was
• uneven, and

GALILEO GALILEI

• The sun had spots on it.

FRANCIS BACON

• Believed that by better understanding
• the world, scientists would generate
• practical knowledge.
• he encouraged scientists to experiment
• Helped come up with the scientific method

RENÉ DESCARTES

• Developed analytical geometry
• He believed everything should be doubted
• until proven by logic.
• Modern scientific methods are based on the
• ideas of Bacon and Descartes

JOHN LOCKE

• Believed that people could learn from
• experience.
• He believed everyone was born
• free and equal
• He said if a government didn't protect

JOHN LOCKE

• Our natural rights, we had the right to
• overthrow it.

THOMAS HOBBES

• He was convinced that all humans
• are selfish and wicked.
• Created the social contract
• Believed that absolute monarchy would
• impose order and demand obedience.

VOLTAIRE

• Published more than 70 books of
• political essays.
• Often targeted people of higher power
• He was sent to prison twice and exiled
• to Britain for two years

MONTESQUIEU

• Was an aristocrat and a lawyer
• Believed Britain was the best governed
• country of his day.
• He called the political system the
• separation of powers.

ROUSSEAU

• He strongly disagreed with other
• enlightenment thinkers on many matters
• He believed civilization corrupted goodness
• He said that people were more free in
• the primitive times.

MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT

• Argued women's rights to Rosseau
• Believed women should be able to
• be doctors as well.
• Wanted women to have political positions.