The Renaissance

Major Representative Philosophers: Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, Nicolaus Copernicus, Francis Bacon, Isaac Newton, Martin Luther


Classification: individualism and humanism


Meaning: Individualism means a focus on the individual. Humanism means a focus on human values and concerns.


Galilei: formulated the Law of Inertia, which states that a body remains in the state which it is in (at rest or in motion) as long as no other force compels it to change states. Also stated that when two forces work on a body simultaneously, the body will move on an elliptical path. Therefore, because of the forces of gravity and inertia, planets move on an elliptical path.


Kepler: determined that planets move in elliptical orbits and that planets speed up in their orbits as they get nearer to the sun. Also declared that the earth was a planet, just like the other planets. Finally, stated that the same physical laws apply everywhere in the universe.


Copernicus: determined that the earth moves around the sun, and not vice versa (“heliocentric world picture”). Also concluded that the earth turns on its own axis. Incorrectly believed that the sun was the center of the universe and that planets moved in circular orbits around the sun.
Bacon: stressed the importance and practical value of knowledge, especially in human observations of nature.


Newton: provided the final description of the solar system. Established the Law of Universal Gravitation: every object attracts every other object with the force that increases in proportion to the size of the objects and decreases in proportion to the distance between the objects. This attraction is universal.

Isaac Newton

Luther: denied that people needed the Church to receive God’s forgiveness and the necessity of priests, for man should become his own priest.