INTELLECTUAL REVOLUTIONS

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the lesson the students should

be able to:
• Discuss the paradigm shifts through history
• Explain how the intellectual revolution
changed the way how humans see the world
• Describe the technological advancement
that happened in the information age
PARADIGM SHIFTS IN
HISTORY
WHAT IS A PARADIGM?
WHAT IS A PARADIGM?

• A typical example or pattern of something.

• A distinct set of concepts or thought
patterns, including theories, research
methods, postulates, and standards for
what constitutes legitimate contributions
to a field.
WHAT IS A PARADIGM SHIFT?
WHAT IS A PARADIGM SHIFT?

• A fundamental change in approach or

underlying assumptions.
• A concept identified by the American physicist and
philosopher Thomas Kuhn
• A fundamental change in the basic concepts and
experimental practices of a scientific discipline.
• Kuhn presented his notion of a paradigm shift in his
influential book "The Structure of Scientific
Revolutions (1962)."
WHY ARE PARADIGM SHIFTS IMPORTANT?

• Paradigm shift is another

expression for more significant
changes within belief systems.
• Within the philosophy of
science, this concept is
sometimes considered
important and is sometimes
given great attention within
education.
HISTORICAL EXAMPLES
OF PARADIGMS
 SOCIETY AND ETHICS

• Slavery is acceptable to now slavery being

unacceptable
• Role of Children in Society - child labor was,
now is not acceptable
• Male Superiority - beating wives was, now is
not acceptable
SOCIETY AND ETHICS

• Reading and the control over information -

invention of the printing press (and other
major inventions) allowed for the elites
control over reading/writing to end.
• The Reformation - broke monopoly of the
Catholic Church and Christian's "relationship"
with God.
NATURAL SCIENCES

• Darwin’s theory of evolution

• Plate Tectonics - create a physical model of
the Earth's structure
• Albert Einstein’s space-time is not fixed or
objective --- subject to observer’s state of
motion relative to other object.
 HUMAN SCIENCES

• Psychology: Sigmund
Freud --- we are not fully
in control of our behavior
--- a subconscious part
operate.
• Economics --- government
intervention in economy
is now accepted.
THE ARTS

• The Realist paradigm: the purpose of art is to

copy reality
• Shakespeare's impact on drama/theater
• Jazz & rock revolutionizing music
WHAT IS INTELLECTUAL REVOLUTION?

• Refers to Greek speculation about the

"nature" in the period before Socrates
(roughly 600 to 400 BCE).
• ”Pre-Socratic" or "non-theological" or
"first philosophy" – more on physics
and logic
• Showed how society was transformed by
science and technology
QUESTIONS

• What created day and night?

• What heavenly bodies are like stars, moons
and planets are?
• What was actually out there in the outer
space?
INTELLECTUAL REVOLUTION

• There had been instances when advancements

in science and technology changed people’s
perceptions and beliefs. The developments
during this period showed how society was
transformed by science and technology.
• Brilliant minds responded to the call of the
times and created things that could make life
easier for the people.
COPERNICAN REVOLUTION
 CLAUDIUS PTOLEMY

• Famous Greek
philosopher and
astronomer.
• Stated that the planets,
the sun and the moon
move in circular motion
around the earth
• Existence of days and
nights
 GEOCENTRISM/GEOCENTRIC MODEL

• A superseded
description of the
universe with earth
at the center.
• Under the Geocentric
model, the Sun, Moon,
stars, and planets all
orbited Earth.
NICHOLAS COPERNICUS
Revolutionary Astronomer

• Polish mathematician
and astronomer
• Developed his model of
a sun-centered universe
• Explained the daily and
yearly motion of the sun
and stars in the
universe
HELIOCENTRISM/HELIOCENTRIC MODEL

• The center of the solar

system is not the earth
but actually the sun
• Started the birth of
modern astronomy
• Scientific revolution
• Transformation of
society’s thoughts and
beliefs
DARWINIAN REVOLUTION
ONE OF THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL
INTELLECTUAL REVOLUTIONS OF ITS TIME
CHARLES DARWIN

• An English naturalist, biologist

and geologist.
• All life is related and has
descended from a common
ancestor: the birds and the
bananas, the fishes and the
flowers -- all related.
• Published his book, On the
Origin of Species.
• Complex creatures evolve
from more simplistic
ancestors naturally over time.
THEORY OF E V O L U T I O N

• Populations pass through

a process of natural
selection in which only
the fittest would survive.
• O rganisms have the
ability to adapt to their
environment and would
gradually changed into
something that would
be more competitive to
survive – evolution.
FREUDIAN REVOLUTION
SIGMUND FREUD

• He was the founding

Father of Psychoanalysis,
a method for treating
mental illness and also a
theory which explains
human behavior.
 FREUD’S THEORY

• Freud developed the

psychoanalytic theory of
personality development,
which argued that
personality is formed
through conflicts among
three fundamental
structures of the human
mind: the id, ego, and
superego.

Conflict within the mind: According to Freud, the job of the ego is to balance the
aggressive/pleasure-seeking drives of the id with the moral control of the superego.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

• Why do you think most intellectual ideas

are controversial?
• Why did the people accept these new
discoveries despite being contradictory to
what was widely accepted at that time?
• How do intellectual revolutions transform
societies?