Student
Paper F992-5
Fall 1999, Section I
Reviewer Comments
The status of the individual citizen living in Europe from the
seventeenth century to the present has been ever changing. This change in
status can be explained and even foretold by natural law using the scientific
method. In several primary source documents used this semester, authors,
philosophers, and scientists alike have used this method to relate past events
and their outcomes to present circumstances in order to determine the direction
of things to come. Some have used natural law to try and create a better way of
life for the common man. Although the scientific method has not changed, its
use in modern European writings certainly has.
In the seventeenth century, scientist Galileo Galilei and political
philosopher Thomas Hobbes used the scientific method for very different purposes.
Through use of his telescope and a good hypothesis, Galileo discovered that the
solar system was indeed heliocentric. This theory absolutely conflicted with
the long held geocentric model adopted by the Roman Catholic Church. The
Church, being the absolute authority of the day, forced him to recant his ideas
and live under house arrest. Change for the individual had already begun by
this time. For years the Roman Catholic Church had called the shots for the
people living under its control. The Church made decisions in education,
religion, and science. With the rise of Protestantism, however, the Church
tried to weed out and censor all writers and thinkers who challenged its
decreasing authority. The state of panic that ensued caused hardships for many,
like Galileo, who had a desire to expand knowledge. The common man was tossed
about in all of this uncertainty. As the Bible became accessible to more and
more Europeans through its translation, individuals began to question and pull
away from the Catholic Church.
At the same time in England, Thomas Hobbes was using the scientific
method to prove something different. His intent was to use natural law to
determine the need for a certain type of government. His idea was that man
could not behave in a civilized manner without some form of sovereign
government making the decisions for the society. He did not believe that the
Church could make such decisions and therefore added to the pressure that was
already bearing down on it when he published his philosophy in Leviathan.
Both Hobbes and Galilei were on the forefront in a battle to make the common
people aware of the laws of nature at work around them. Galileo used
observation and experimentation to prove Copernicus's hypothesis of
heliocentricity while Hobbes used observation and historical record to make a
hypothesis on how to better society.
The eighteenth century writers placed a much greater importance on the
individual and economics. In England Thomas Malthus wrote about the dilemma
faced by the workingman in his "Essay on Population". In it, Malthus
used a system of laws to predict a cycle of population growth based on food
supply. He claimed that society would continue to grow until the subsistence that
every man depended on was depleted. His writing gave little hope to the
workingman and must have been a discouraging bit of literature in a time of
change during the Industrial Revolution.
Adam Smith wrote one of the most important books in economics in 1776.
In Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations,
Smith also used the scientific method to put forth his hypothesis that, he
claimed, would set the economy of Europe free. The law of supply and demand can
only be satisfied by free trade in which individual businesses take advantage
of consumer needs. According to Smith, this law is a constant and will continue
as long as there is a need by the society.
These two men were writing in a time when machines were quickly
beginning to dominate production in Europe. For the common man, the Industrial
Revolution must have been a time of excitement mixed with a good dose of
uncertainty. Adam Smith painted a bright picture of the possibilities of a new
system of trade and the opportunities that could be available to any
individual. Later, Thomas Malthus streaked that picture with dark shades of
hopelessness and doubt that there would ever be and end to the population
problem.
As in the seventeenth century, two nineteenth century writers sought to
explain the natural world and the political sphere using the scientific method.
In England biologist Charles Darwin wrote two of the most controversial
publications ever. The Origin of Species explains how the process of
evolution works by natural selection and The Descent of Man
applies that process to human development. Darwin used observation of the
present state of nature to determine the origin of the universe. His writings
stirred up much criticism from religious groups who saw that Darwin was clearly
undermining biblical principles.
Earlier in Germany, Karl Marx and Frederick En gels wrote the
"Manifesto of the Communist Party". These men used the scientific
method, like Malthus, to predict a cycle. This cycle was not a population
problem; it was one of oppression and exploitation of the workingman by the
rich capitalists of the nineteenth century. By observing the present state of
European society as well as historical records, Marx hypothesized that the only
way to end this continuum was all out revolt by the commoners led by an
advanced, educated Communist party.
Darwin's work influenced scientists of his day as well as those of the
present. His ideas caused one of two reactions in the mind of the European
individual. They either challenged the religious authority of the Bible,
thereby outraging the citizens, or they presented a new way of approaching
nature to a society already searching for new intellectual concepts. Marx and
Engels gave a cause to a working class that was longing for a way out of a bare
minimum way of life. After reading the "Communist Manifesto", the
workingman must have been encouraged to know that someone was on his side and
was ready to fight for his rights. Although some did revolt in France and
Prussia, nothing came of the movement at that time leaving the commoner
confused and disheartened.
The twentieth century has seen the scientific method used in Europe in
two very notable events. First, the rise of Communism in the Soviet Union
fulfilled Karl Marx's hopes of an ideal society based on equality and social
pride. Led by Vladimir Lenin, the Bolshevik Party worked to take control of
Russia. After Lenin's death, Joseph Stalin took control and led the Communist
revolt to success. Communism became a reality in the Soviet Union as well as in
Eastern Europe as Marxist ideas began to take on a very real, physical form.
The second notable use of the scientific method in twentieth century
Europe came in a terrifying form. Adolph Hitler, leader of the Nazi Party, took
power in Germany in 1933. Hitler, known for his anti-Semitism, made plans to
deal with all of the Jewish people in Europe. By using the scientific method,
the Nazis claimed that Jews were lesser individuals and that their presence in
society was hindering the German state. The party began to think of ways to
eliminate the Jewish threat from their society; the "final solution"
became one of the most violent and horrific acts in all of modern history.
In Russia and Eastern Europe, Communism was well accepted by the common
people. Advances in technology, better quality of life, and universal education
were some of the benefits that drew the workingman to the Communists.
Unfortunately they were unable to maintain these benefits and advance them
further. When the economy collapsed, the commoner was forced to revolt against
the Communist party. For the individual citizen, a dream come true turned into
a harsh reality as Communism fell to Solidarity.
For the average citizen in Germany, anti-Semitism was not an uncommon
idea; Jews were disliked and even hated by many people all over Europe. Most
human beings, however, could never agree that the Holocaust was right. The
individuals who carried out the executions could only do so by accepting the
idea that they were ridding themselves of a "disease". The scientific
method helped to clear the consciences of thousands of soldiers and officers
giving the extermination orders.
Natural law and the scientific method have been used for many purposes
in European history. From explaining cosmic motion to creating ideas for better
government, the scientific method has been applied to areas of politics,
society, economics, as well as nature. It has been a well-used tool in the
construction of modern European society. Some theories like the heliocentric
solar system and Adam Smith's economic ideas have met with great success. Many
have viewed others, like Communism and the Nazi's "final solution",
as failures and tragedies. Throughout modern European history, the individual
citizen has been part of the excitement and
Bibliography
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Kagan, Donald,
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