European

Over the course of history the world went through changes of dark depressions and ages of enlightenment. During the Renaissance, this became the age of enlightenment. People began to wonder and think more. They became more interested in how things worked and why things are. Because of this, it lead to a race toward knowledge. Many people wished to help in the race toward knowledge in sixteenth and seventeenth century Europe but it was limited to men who either did it for God or to prove him wrong and to gain political advantage for themselves and family.

Back in the ages of the enlightenment and that of the renaissance, men were the superior sex. Everything was done by men or for men. Women were treated alright, but they did not have the same powers that men controlled. They were considered to be inferior and men would try to stop their actions. “Were it allowable for our sex, I might set up my own school of natural philosophy. But I, being a woman, do fear they would soon cast me out of their schools (doc. 9). She realized that because of her sex, she would not be able to have as much of an impact on society as that of a male.

Many men of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth century were firm believers in God, yet did not let this stop them from experimenting and discovering new things that went against their religion. Copernicus chose to dedicate his work to “his holiness” and to benefit the church (doc. 1). However, he was most famous for his studies of the universe and that of heliocentrisim which went against the central belief of the church that the earth was the center of the universe. For his troubles he was put under house arrest for the rest of his life. John Calvin states that just because people reject what is unknown to them that science should not be condemned (doc. 2) In a letter to Galileo, an Italian monk says that people should allow those in authority of the scripture to interpret it to prevent malignant rumors (doc. 3) Many of the clergy and...