Did Isaac Newton believe in the Enlightenment?

The Enlightenment was a movement of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It was a time period where people came up with ideas of freedom. The direct meaning of the Enlightenment was to focus on equality and independence. There were in total 10 philosophers who expanded after one another. These thinkers valued reason, religious tolerance, science, and what they call “Natural Rights”. The three main thinkers I decided to choose were Thomas Jefferson, Sir Isaac Newton, and John Locke. I got to chose 3 out of the 10 thinkers who I thought were most important and the first was Thomas Jefferson. Thomas was the perfect man for the Enlightenment, he was both typically educated and trained in the humanities in addition to being very practical

Isaac Newton had a huge impact on the Enlightenment, he influenced it scientifically in many ways and he influenced faith and reason in a tremendous way. He was known more for his scientific achievements then his religious works.His background and education affected when he made these great achievements. Isaac Newton born on December 25,1642 in Woolsthorpe, England grew up, he was the most important physicist and mathematician of all time.1 Newton attended Cambridge where he studied mathematics. Although he was considered a genious he was also considered an eccentric who was unsociable, vindictive, absent-minded and paranoid, he was considered to have a mid-life mental illness caused by the death of his mother.2Newton was very modest…show more content…
Copernicus Kepler, and Galileo provided the data and the background information and mathematical knowledge to aid Newton in finding and advancing science.9 Before Newton talked about gravitation the main knowledge of scientists was a elementary knowledge of optics, mechanics and astronomy.Copernicus Kepler and Galileo provided the background knowledge of the stars and planets, but Newton used their data to discover the whole gravitational system.10Newton reasoned that the planets and all other physical objects in the universe moved through mutual attraction of gravity.Newton said that every other object in the universe affected every other object through gravity.This explained why the planets move in an orderly fashion. Newton found that “the force of gravity towards the whole planet did arise from and was compounded of the forces of gravity towards all it’s parts, and towards every one part was in the inverse proportion of the squares of the distances from this part.”Newton proves all of this mathematically. This was known to be the single most important contribution to physics that ever has been made.11 Newton and optics, in 1968 Newton made the first reflecting telescope, following the reflecting telescope in 1971 he discovered the spectrum, he finalized all his discoveries of optics in 1776.He wrote books on these discoveries defining optics,

If one were asked to name the most important scientist of Western Civilization, the name Isaac Newton would more than likely roll off the tongue. Newton’s synthesis of previous science knowledge-work into a consistent mathematical theory of the world was the crown jewel of the Scientific Revolution and a key to the Enlightenment.

Newton also merged the two opposing trends of 17th-century science–the empirical inductive method and the rational deductive method. Through the proper balance of the two, Newton created a basis for scientific methodology which exists in all of the natural philosophies today.

Newton’s influence extends into the social sciences and has had a major influence on the structure of the American governmental and other national experiences.

Although current research in physics indicates fallacies and limitations to the Newtonian view, Isaac Newton is recalled as a founding father of modern thought. As Newton “stood on the shoulders of giants” for a better view, now we too may search for new truth, and our vantage is from above his shoulder.

Newton began his investigations into natural science by establishing rules to guide his scientific and philosophical observation. Students often have difficulty determining what may be presumed as consistent and constant, and what factors may be deemed as variables in their experience.

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ACTIVITY #1:

Making Observations and Interpretations

           1 class period

MATERIALS:  

ANY NON-SCIENTIFIC FILM WITH A STORY LINE DEVELOPED IN A NATURAL SETTING    e.g. “Survival.” US Park Service. [*a film depicting four rescue efforts]

PROCEDURE:

1. Choose 10 minutes of the film to show.
   1. First, show the film without audio and have students make as observations as possible during the film. Do NOT explain what you mean by observation. Do NOT show the ending. Assign the following homework:
   2. b) Observe the sky as much as possible during the next 24 hours and record your observations. Pay attention to the position and appearance of objects in the sky, time of day and your position on Earth.
2. During the next class period, divide students into four groups of 6 have each group compile a list of observations based on the film.
3. Have a spokesperson read each list.
4. Discuss the difference between an observation and an interpretation.
5. Have each group eliminate any interpretations and explain to the class why only observations may be used. The groups should explain to the class what conclusion they believe the film will have. Make the same assignment as in Procedure #1.

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ACTIVITY #2:

The Conclusion

           30 minutes

PROCEDURE:

Show the film used in Activity #1 with audio. Discuss the differences in interpretations that the sense of hearing produces. Make the same assignment as in Activity #1, Procedure #1.

How did Newton affect the Enlightenment?

Who was the most important Enlightenment thinker?

Who invented the Enlightenment?