Expert: Francesco Marchesani - 11/17/2005

Question

I am studying history for a college class and was hoping you could point me in the right direction. We have an essay due. I certainly am not asking for your help in completely answering this question. I intend to complete a long essay on my own, but I was hoping you may be able to point me in the best direction on this topic, perhaps outlining some areas to look ...

The essay prompt:

How did European views of the universe and humanity change in early modern times? What was most responsible for these changes?

I assume this is regarding Enlightenment, but not sure. Did it change from religous thought to more of the scientific process?

Thank you for your help,

Answer
Hello,
I think that the question refers to Enlightenment, but I'd stress that it didn't appear out of nothing: it was a long process, starting during the Renaissance and improving during the age of Galileo, Newton, Leibnitz, who kept faith and science separated, and struggled to create what we know today as the "scientific thought". The age of Enlightenment, thus, is the ending point of such as path, and at the same time the beginning of modern science, completely based on the scientific method.