Enlightenment and

Revolution, 1550–1789

Previewing Main IdeasThe Scientific Revolution began when

astronomers questioned how the universe operates. By shattering long-heldviews, these astronomers opened a new world of discovery.Geography In what Russian city did Enlightenment ideas bloom?

The thinkers of the Enlightenment challengedold ideas about power and authority. Such new ways of thinking led to,among other things, the American Revolution.Geography Where had Enlightenment ideas spread outside Europe?

Between the 16th and 18th centuries, a series of revolutionshelped to usher in the modern era in Western history. Revolutions in boththought and action forever changed European and American society.Geography What city in Brandenburg-Prussia was an Enlightenment center?

REVOLUTION

POWER AND AUTHORITY

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

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622 Chapter 22

How would you react to arevolutionary idea?You are a university student during the late 1600s, and it seems that the worldas you know it has turned upside down. An English scientist named IsaacNewton has just theorized that the universe is not a dark mystery but a systemwhose parts work together in ways that can be expressed mathematically. This isjust the latest in a series of arguments that have challenged old ways of thinkingin fields from astronomy to medicine. Many of these ideas promise to open theway for improving society. And yet they are such radical ideas that many peoplerefuse to accept them.

EXAM I N I NG the I SS U ES

• Why might people have difficulty accepting new ideas orways of thinking?

• What are the risks of embracing a different idea? What aresome risks of always refusing to do so?

Meet in small groups and discuss these questions. As you discussthese and other issues, recall other times in history when peopleexpressed ideas that were different from accepted ones. As youread this chapter, watch for the effects of revolutionary ideas,beliefs, and discoveries.

▲ This painting by English artist Joseph Wright depicts adults and childrengazing at a miniature planetarium and its new ideas about the universe.