1.What do the ideas of Johannes Kepler demonstrate about the origins of modern science?

1
1. What do the ideas of Johannes Kepler
demonstrate about the origins of modern science?
2
Model Answer

• Kepler was a brilliant mathematician who applied
  his skills to the data left by Tycho Brahe. Using
  this data, he identified three new and
  revolutionary laws of planetary motion, which
  demolished the old system of Aristotle and
  Ptolemy and proved the detailed relations of a
  solar system. Kepler, however, also cast
  horoscopes, followed astrological principles, and
  wrote at length about the beautiful music
  produced by the combined motion of the planets,
  all of which suggests that he took a
  nonscientific approach to some areas. Keplers
  career and beliefs are representative of the
  origins of modern science, combining more
  antiquated or faith-based notions with
  mathematical, fact-based endeavors.
• Section Major Breakthroughs of the Scientific
  Revolution

3
2. What was John Lockes argument in Essay
Concerning Human Understanding that provided a
basis for sensationalism?
4
Model Answer

• Locke argued that all human ideas are derived
  from experience. The human mind is a blank slate
  (tabula rasa) on which the environment writes an
  individuals understandings and beliefs. Thus all
  human ideas and thoughts are produced as a result
  of sensory impressions, as outlined in the theory
  of sensationalism.
• Section The Enlightenment

5
3. What was the purpose and effect of the
Encyclopedia The Rational Dictionary of the
Sciences, the Arts, and the Crafts?
6
Model Answer

• The goal was to examine the expanding range of
  human knowledge and teach people how to think
  critically and objectively. Greater knowledge,
  the editors believed, would produce greater human
  happiness. Its thousands of articles produced a
  revolutionary effect. Science and industry were
  exalted, religion and immortality questioned, and
  intolerance, legal injustice, and out-of-date
  social institutions were openly criticized.
• Section The Enlightenment

7
4. How did Jean-Jacques Rousseau differ from most
of the other philosophes?
8
Model Answer

• Rousseau believed rationalism and civilization to
  be destructive to the individual. He argued that
  warm, spontaneous feelings must complement and
  correct reason and intellect. Furthermore, he
  argued that the refinements of civilized society
  spoiled and corrupted the basic goodness of the
  individual. He abandoned the sophisticated
  society of Parisian salons.
• Section The Enlightenment

9
5. To what extent can Frederick the Great be
considered a practitioner of enlightened
absolutism?
10
Model Answer

• Frederick used the legal system and the
  bureaucracy to attempt to improve the lives of
  his subjects directly. Prussias laws were
  simplified, torture was abolished, and judges
  decided cases quickly and impartially. Prussian
  officials became famous for their hard work and
  honesty. Frederick set the example when he called
  himself the first servant of the state. He drew
  in part on the principles of cameralism, the
  German science of public administration that
  predated the Enlightenment. It held that all
  elements of society should be placed at the
  service of the state. In turn, the state should
  make use of its resources and authority to
  improve society.
• Section Enlightened Absolutism

11
6. Why is Isaac Newton seen as one of the most
important figure in the Scientific Revolution?
12
Model Answer

• Although Newton arrived at some of his basic
  ideas about physics between 1664 and 1666, it was
  not until 1684 that he prepared his ideas for
  publication. His book, Principia Mathematica,
  provided a single explanatory system that could
  integrate the astronomy of Copernicus with the
  physics of Galileo. The key feature of the
  Newtonian synthesis was the law of universal
  gravitation, which held that the whole universe
  was unified in one coherent system.
• Section Major Breakthroughs of the Scientific
  Revolution

13
7. Why did Montesquieu write The Spirit of Laws,
and what main points did he make?
14
Model Answer

• Montesquieu was troubled by the growth of
  absolutism under Louis XIV and intrigued by the
  critical methods used in physical science to
  solve problems. In The Spirit of Laws,
  Montesquieu applied the critical method of the
  problem of government. He showed that forms of
  government were shaped by both history and
  geography. He argued for a separation of powers,
  with political power divided and shared by a
  variety of classes and legal estates. In
  particular he believed that the parlements in
  France were the defenders of liberty against
  royal despotism.
• Section The Enlightenment

15
What were Catherine the Greats intentions when
she set out to rule in an enlightened manner?
16
Model Answer

• Catherine had three goals. First, she saw herself
  continuing the work of Peter the Great in
  bringing the culture of Western Europe to Russia.
  Additionally, she made a sincere and ambitious
  effort to bring domestic reform to Russia. This
  was interrupted by the Pugachev Rebellion, which
  put an end to any intentions she had to reform
  the system. Her third goal was territorial
  expansion, and in this respect she was extremely
  successful.
• Section Enlightened Absolutism