Feudalism, Scientific Revolution & Enlightenment in Western Civilization

Medieval Feudalism and the Rise of Parliament in England

Prosperity in England during the 12th and 13th centuries was illustrated by the success of feudalism and the continuous proliferation of barons — members of the commercial bourgeoisie — who aspired to hold not only economic but political power as well. Under the leadership of Henry III, the barons achieved both economic and political privileges. However, the bourgeoisie's attempts to usurp power from the reigning king led to the development of measures designed to secure the king's leadership and limit the economic and political powers of the barons. Thus, when Edward I became king, he restored and strengthened monarchical power while simultaneously creating Parliament, giving the crown control over the country's taxation system and the formulation of laws.

Under Edward I's leadership, Parliament was created in order to give monarchical control over taxation and the formulation of statutes. The formation of Parliament was largely a measure taken by the monarchy to ensure that the civil war of 1264 — in which the bourgeoisie class attempted to usurp power from the king — would not happen again. With these lessons in hand, Edward I secured his control over England by creating Parliament, which served as a legal and more organized system that monitored the country's taxation process and oversaw the conduct of its feudal economy, the main source of government finance. Because of these interrelated events, Parliament was formed to guard the course of the country's economic prosperity and to strengthen the power of kingship and the monarchy.

The Medieval Worldview Versus the Scientific Revolution

The primary difference between the medieval and scientific understandings of the universe is evident in the shift from theistic to rational thinking. In the medieval period, knowledge was obtained through faith and belief alone. The philosophers of the Scientific Revolution, by contrast, believed that rationality and empiricism were the primary means by which individuals could acquire and develop knowledge. The dominant influence of the Church during the medieval period waned and became increasingly unpopular during the Scientific Revolution, thereby causing a decisive shift from theism to empiricism. In effect, the medieval period explained the nature of the universe as abstract and beyond direct experience, while scientific thought posited that in order to understand the nature of the universe, one must be able to experience it.

Key Figures and Discoveries of the Scientific Revolution

Through Nicolas Copernicus and Galileo Galilei, early modern society learned that the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun — not the other way around. Copernicus, who proposed this discovery, challenged the prevailing teachings of the Church and illustrated that changing times call for changing beliefs in science and its applications. The works of Galileo Galilei further reinforced the Copernican, or heliocentric, theory, which negated the Church's claim that the Earth is the center of the universe — the so-called Ptolemaic theory.

Johannes Kepler established the laws of planetary motion in the 16th century, and together with Isaac Newton, both scientists articulated the first principles of astronomy. These principles hold that (a) planets revolve around the Sun in elliptical orbits at varying speeds, and (b) an attractive force exists between the Sun and the planets, explained through the law of universal gravitation. In sum, the heliocentric theories of Copernicus and Galileo, Kepler's laws of planetary motion, and Newton's law of universal gravitation represent the most important contributions of scientific thought and together triggered the shift from theism to rationalism in Western civilization during the 16th and 17th centuries.