The Enlightenment (my favorite topic)
I never heard the phrase, "the enlightenment", while attending primary and secondary schools (K-13) in Canada. Was this due to the efforts of well-meaning (but
misguided) protestant teachers and/or protestant school boards? Perhaps.
Introductory Video Lectures
key people and dates (notice the year 1632)
The Scientific Revolution begins
- Renaissance polymath and scientist, Nicolaus Copernicus, is born in Thorn, Royal
Prussia, Poland on 19 February 1473. He publishes De
revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) in 1543.
- Some historians mark 1543 as the beginning of the Scientific Revolution
- Ex Catholic priest and Christianity reformer, Martin Luther, publishes a paper critical of the scientific view because it conflicted with a literal reading of Old Testament scripture: Joshua 10:13
comment: I present this to some modern Protestants who continue to cling to the false narrative that Protestants are more enlightened than
Catholics. In fact, all humanity has a problem whenever religious dogma attempts to supplant scientific pragma. All religious dogma, no matter the
source, is just another form of magical thinking. The Bible is "the inspired word of religion" rather than "the literal word of God". It may be a bronze-age
book of wisdom, but it fails as a book of facts (including history)
- Scientist and philosopher Francis Bacon is born in London, England on 22 January 1561.
- Scientist and philosopher Galileo Galilei is born in Pisa, Florence on 15 February 1564.
- Scientist and philosopher Johannes Kepler is born in Weil der Stadt on 27 December 1571.
- Enlightenment writer and scientist, René Descartes was born in Touraine, Kingdom of
France, on 31 March 1596.
The Age of Enlightenment (in parallel with science)
- The Age of Enlightenment begins in Europe (circa 1600) as a continuation of the Scientific Revolution
- Galileo Galilei publishes a book defending heliocentrism titled Dialogue
Concerning the Two Chief World Systems in Italy on February 22, 1632.
- Galileo was summoned to Rome to defend his science writings to the religious authority in September 1632.
- Galileo was arrested by the Catholic Church in 1633, charged with heresy, tried then found guilty. He lived under house arrest until his death in 1642.
- Enlightenment writer and Doctor, John Locke , was born in Somerset, England, 29 August 1632.
- Enlightenment writer and Lens Grinder, Baruch Spinoza , was born in Amsterdam, Dutch
Republic, 24 November 1632.
- Enlightenment writer, Pierre Bayle , was born in Rotterdam, Dutch Republic, 18 November
1647.
- Enlightenment writer, Matthew Tindal , was born in Devon, England, 12 May 1657.
- The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge (now simply known as the Royal
Society) was created by Royal charter under King Charles II on 28 November 1660.
- Enlightenment writer and political philosopher, Montesquieu was born in Aquitaine, France on
18 January 1689.
- Enlightenment writer, philosopher and historian, François-Marie Arouet (a.k.a. Voltaire)
is born in Paris, Kingdom of France on 21 November 1694.
- The Scottish Enlightenment (begins, circa 1707)
- Enlightenment writer and scientist, David Hume was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 26 April
1711.
- Enlightenment writer and political philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau is born
in Geneva, Republic of Geneva, on 28 June 1712.
- Enlightenment writer and philosopher, Denis Diderot is born in Langres,
Champagne, Kingdom of France on 5 October 1713.
- Enlightenment writer Thomas Paine was born in Thetford, England, February 9, 1737.
The Galileo Affair
Galileo is tried by the Catholic Inquisition then found guilty (in 1632) of publishing books stating "the Earth moves around the Sun". He is sentenced to permanent house
arrest then dies 10 years later.
Lisbon in 1755
In 1755, an earthquake struck Lisbon, Portugal, on November 1 (a.k.a. all saints day). Most of the Christian community were inside cathedrals at the time, so many were
killed. To make matters worse, the resulting tsunami killed even more. It is thought that the total death toll exceeded 30,000 people. European philosophers of the time,
including Voltaire, wondered why the Christian god didn't delay the quake until the day after.

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Neil Rieck
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.