What Are the Social Effects of the Scientific Revolution?
The scientific revolution encouraged people to think for themselves, analyze society and reconsider previous beliefs about the world. This led to a diminished capacity of politicians and religious leaders to influence the thoughts and behaviors of people. The period marking the introduction of independent and analytical thinking is also termed the Enlightenment.
Society changed during the scientific revolution because the new scientific theories being developed caused people to begin to question a number of things outside of the ream of science, including the status quo of what they were being told and taught by community leaders. The intellectual movement of the scientific revolution was more to utilize human reasoning to discover how and why things occur the way they do rather than relying on supernatural beliefs or what people were told to take on faith.
This new way of thinking helped give rise to scholars such as Hobbes, Locke, Descartes and Voltaire. People learned how to track the phases of the moon, that the lunar cycle influences the ebb and flow of tides and how the human mind functions rationally. The move toward rational thinking also encouraged the belief that what works for one type of society may not work for another, developing the idea of equal rights.
