AP European History Unit 4 Lecture Notes

Introduction

• Presenter: Steve Heimler
• Focus: Ideas of Europe's "thinky thinky people" and changes in social, political, and economic landscapes due to these ideas.
• Main Themes: Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment.

Scientific Revolution

Astronomy

• Prevailing View: Geocentric model by Aristotle and Ptolemy.
  • Earth at center, universe revolves around it.
  • Supported by Catholic Church.
• Key Figures:
  • Nicolaus Copernicus: Proposed heliocentric model (Sun at center, Earth revolves around it).
  • Johannes Kepler: Affirmed heliocentric model, planets orbit in ellipses.
  • Galileo Galilei: Used telescopes to observe celestial bodies, proved planets are made of matter like Earth.
• Church Reaction: Opposition to these ideas, books banned, Galileo charged with heresy.

Medicine and Anatomy

• Prevailing View: Humoral theory by Galen (balance of blood, yellow bile, black bile, phlegm).
• Key Figures:
  • Paracelsus: Rejected humoral theory, proposed chemical imbalances cause disease.
  • William Harvey: Described circulatory system as integrated whole.

Reasoning

• Francis Bacon: Inductive reasoning, empirical research.
• Rene Descartes: Deductive reasoning, starting from broad principles.
• Impact: Basis for Scientific Method.

Enlightenment

Key Thinkers and Ideas

• Voltaire: Critique of social and religious institutions, advocated for natural rights.
• Denis Diderot: Published the "Encyclopedia" advocating rationalism, criticized religion.
• David Hume: Philosophy of skepticism, emphasized sensory experience.
• John Locke: Natural rights and popular sovereignty.
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Social contract theory.
• Adam Smith: Criticized mercantilism, promoted free market economics.

Impact and Spread

• Spread through the printing press, salons for discussion.
• Influenced political movements and revolutions (American, French, Haitian).
• Enlightened Absolutists (e.g., Frederick the Great, Catherine the Great).

Social Changes

Population and Agriculture

• Population increase due to decreased death rates and disease.
• Thomas Malthus: Concerns about population growth outpacing food supply.
• Agricultural Revolution: Advances like crop rotation, selective breeding, and seed drills.

Urbanization

• Migration from rural to urban areas due to industrialization.
• Problems: Overcrowded tenements, poor sanitation, spread of disease.

Cultural and Intellectual Life

• Reading revolution, increase in literacy and diversity of books.
• Changes in artistic themes (from Baroque to Neoclassicism).
• Consumer Revolution: Increased disposable income, demand for goods.

Conclusion

• Enlightenment ideas laid groundwork for future political and social changes.
• Addressed issues of absolutism, religious intolerance, and economic policies.