In his letter to Richard Bentley, Newton described the universe. In one letter he writes, “…Comets as often as they appear to us descend into the system of out Planets lower than the orb of Jupiter and sometimes lower than the orbs of Venus and Mercury…” (Cohen 330). With the vivid picture of the heavens depicted by Newton, Copernicus, and others, humans were no longer large parts of the universe, but instead, they were tiny parts of the bigger picture (Spielvogel 597).
The Sciences’ Affect on the Role of Humans
Anatomy, physiology, biology, chemistry, and other physical sciences changed how humans were viewed. With increased study of the human body, humans were no longer flesh simply created by God (Spielvogel 584). Scientists discovered how much of the human body was structured and how it reacted under certain conditions (Spielvogel 584). Diagrams depicting the muscular system, the circulatory system, the respiratory system, and other areas were drawn and used to further study the human body (Debus 63).
The Role of Humans Changed by Medicine
With the new views of the human body came breakthroughs in medicine. Like their view of the solar system, scientists also looked at humans as mechanical objects (Garber 409). From this perspective, the human body could be explained without religion (Hooker). In turn, scientists began to study the body as if it was a machine (Garber 409). Research during the Revolution focused on how to improve and fix problems within the human machine (Hooker). The machine concept increased research of diseases, ailments, and medical treatments (Hooker). Problems within the human body no longer seemed controlled only by God, but now were preventable and fixable.
How Classification Systems Changed the Role of Humans
Another area that affected how human beings were viewed was the increased categorization of species (Burns 267). Although humans were categorized as their own species, classification of humans, along with animals, sparked ideas of evolution (Debus 52). The Scientific Revolution provoked increased attention to the relationships humans had with animals (Debus 52). In addition, classification of species also encouraged scientists to classify individuals within the human race (Burns 267). Scientists began classifying humans based upon the climates they lived in, sex, religion, skin tones, and civility (Burns 267). For the first time, science was attempting to understand the fact that God had created a variety of humans (Burns 268). Distinguishing races and sexes had both positive and negative effects on society. It provided structure to explain the obvious differences, but it also allowed other to find scientific reasons for superiority over one another (Burns 267).
The Problems that Remained
Although the Scientific Revolution gave humans alternatives to religious explanations of their world, throughout the revolution the two positions collided (Spielvogel 597). Some extreme standpoints were taken, insisting that either science or religious explanations must prevail, while others continued to attempt to find a way to balance science and religion.
One of those who tried to find a balance was Newton (Cohen 356). In his letter to theologian Richard Bentley mentioned above, Newton attempted to explain how God played a role in science. He began one letter with, “…I had an eye upon such Principles as it might work with considering men for the beliefe of a Deity…” (Cohen 357). Newton is stating that the sciences are not trying to work against a God, but instead prove his work (Cohen 357).
Setting of the Industrial Revolution
The When and the Where
Although foundations for the Industrial Revolution can be found as early as the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the period primarily began after the Scientific Revolution and in the eighteenth century (Hooker). Because much of the world is still relies on industry, a distinct end to the Revolution is hard to determine, but with the growth of corporate business and Internet companies, manufacturing is slowing (Hooker).
The Industrial Revolution began in England and spread throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas (Dietz 23). Ideas spread quickly in counties like France, India, and the United States, but moved slower in nations such as Germany (Dietz 26).
Overview of What Happened and What Caused It
Beginning in the eighteenth century, the economy of the colonial empire of Great Britain was showing obvious evidence of change (Dietz 23). The English economy had been thriving due to a monopoly on slave trade with Spanish America, the control it had over sugar cane in the West Indies, the hold they had over fishing in Newfoundland, and the country’s consistent control over the fur supply in America (Dietz 23). With this economic stability, demand for products increased from both within England and from other nations (Dietz 24). Keeping up with this demand became nearly impossible for the English, and a change towards an industrialized society became necessary (Dietz 24).
Using previous technological developments, the British began organizing their methods of production (Dietz 24). Machinery was created to more efficiently produce products like the following: appliances, clothing, and even weapons (Dietz 25). At an increasing rate, machines were replacing human energy, and since machine labor was quicker and generally cheaper, the methods of English industry spread worldwide (Dietz 28).
Numerous reasons have been named for why the Industrial Revolution began and why it flourished (Hooker). These include: rapid population growth, the creation of a global economy, technological advances, post-Enlightenment views of work, and the desire for power and wealth (Hooker; Toynbee 2; Burns 38).
Due to new agricultural methods, new approaches for treating and preventing illnesses, and economic stability in England, the European population during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century rose dramatically (Toynbee 3). In fact, the population in England grew over 50% from 1781 to 1821 (Toynbee 2). With this increase in people, everyday products were needed in far greater numbers (Burns 38). Industrial growth was the solution to product shortages because factories could produce items in mass numbers quickly (Toynbee 5). In Manifesto for the Communist Party, Karl Marx captures what happens during sudden population growth. He wrote, “in these crises there breaks out an epidemic that, in all earlier epochs, would have seemed an absurdity—the epidemic of over-production…society suddenly finds itself put back into a state of momentary barbarism; it appears as if a famine, a universal war of devastation had cut off the supply of every means of substance…” (Marx 200).
As aristocratic power over economic issues loosened, the Europeans role in the world economy increased (Burns 37). Governments also became more interested in promoting industry, as they reaped the benefits of the increased wealth (Burns 37). Governments began using their power to enforce tariffs and protect resources (Burns 37). As it became easier to produce goods in bulk, a global economy grew with Europe at the center (Hooker). No longer were countries like England and France producing goods for the motherland, but they were also exporting goods worldwide to their territories and allies (Burns 37). For example, Europeans alone were exporting goods to virtually every continent except Antarctica (Hooker).
Another factor that allowed for the transition into the Industrial Revolution was the technological advances from the Enlightenment (Dietz 24). The steam engine, the cotton gin, and the mechanical loom are all examples of technological advances that made production easier (Dietz 25). New machinery combined with increased scientific knowledge about chemicals and minerals provided companies means for industrializing (Dietz 19).
The desire for wealth and power is the final reason why the Industrial Revolution was inspired and why it prospered (Burns 37). Since Britain was already experiencing economic growth before the Revolution, the increase in industrial activity only further accentuated their economic prosperity (Dietz 23). After seeing Great Britain’s success in industrializing, other nations saw the potential to increase their power and stimulate their economy through industry (Burns 38).
Another Change in How Humans Were Perceived
Called by some the most influential change in humankind since the invention of agriculture, the Industrial Revolution led to changes in consumption, social structure, family life, and most other aspects of life (Hooker). The creation of industrialized nations directly affected how human beings were viewed and how they perceived themselves (Hooker).
How Humans Were Seen Prior to the Industrial Revolution
From the period of the Enlightenment, humans were seen as machines and as natural objects that were part of a larger universe (Garber 409; Spielvogel 597). In studying the human body through observation and scientific research, scientists were able to find ways to prevent ailments and fix problems within the human body just as one could in a machine (Hooker). Research of Newton and other astronomers changed the universe—putting the sun in the center and emphasizing how small humans were in relation to space (Spielvogel 597). In addition, the sciences provided explanations for the inner workings of the human world, which began being used over former theological reasoning (Henry 86).
The Changes Caused by Industrialization
Industrialization caused changes in the European economy, society, and human self-views (Hammond 66). These changes included the creation of new economic conditions, changes in gender roles, and changes in sexuality (Hammond 66).
Economic Changes
Economic changes like increased unemployment and the concept of retirement (Hobsbawn 26).
Before the Industrial Revolution, unemployment was nearly nonexistent (Hobsbawn 26). As productivity increased due to the use of machines, fewer workers were needed to produce the same amount of products (Hobsbawn 27). The effects of unemployment began to dwindle the prosperity of society, and in some communist countries, the government attempted to eliminate unemployment (Burns 281). Unfortunately, once unemployment was eliminated, workers felt their jobs were secure and no longer felt the need to work as hard as they once had (Burns 281). This communist attempt to eliminate unemployment ruined competition in the workplace and decreased the efficiency of factories overall (Burns 281).
Another word in modern economic vocabulary that did not exist before the Revolution was retirement (Burns 212). Although previous generations had hoped to work less in their older years, retirement was financially not practical (Burns 212). Since it was hard for older workers to function at the pace of factory labor, retirement options became necessary to combat increased unemployment caused by elderly workers (Burns 212). Retirement funds and Social Security were created (Burns 212).
Societal Changes
The largest societal change caused by the Industrial revolution was the decrease of slavery (Burns 3). As European sugar cane prices rose in comparison to those of other countries, slaves used to raise the cane were no longer necessary (Burns 3). Europeans found it more financially beneficial for the former slaves to become factory workers, and although many of the changes in the roles of African Americans were because of the economic conditions as opposed to kindheartedness, abolitionists were pleased that slave trading in European nations had declined (Burns 3).
Other changes included an economic and partly social transformation, in Europe a new urban working class developed. Since most major industries were urban, workers from all areas, especially rural farmers and peasant workers, moved to the cities to reap the financial benefits of industrialization (Hamerow 17). Peasant workers or serfs were no longer under the jurisdiction of the landowners they worked for, and their work in factories provided them with freedom to live and work as they chose (Hamerow 17). Although the economy of this group was booming, the creation of an urban mass society caused various problems, such as overcrowding (Marx 162). In his Manifesto for the Communist Party, Karl Marx wrote about this situation. He said, “It has but established new classes, new conditions of oppression, new forms of struggle in place of old ones” (Marx 162).
Changes in Humans’ Perception of Themselves
Most importantly, industrialization played a key role in changing humans’ perspectives of their roles in life (Burns 159). At the forefront of this change was a decrease in self worth, especially in men (Burns 159). As machines began doing much of the manual labor previously completed by humans, men began to struggle to find ways to prove their masculinity (Burns 159). No longer could men boast of handcrafting fine goods, but instead they were nameless figures in an assembly line (Freeman 350). With a lack of esteem about their work, male workers increasingly began to feel the need to control their wives and children, and it became even harder for women to attain equal rights (Burns 159). For those women who did make it in the workplace, men attempted to prove their superiority through inappropriate taunting and sexual attacks against their female co-workers (Burns 159).
Along with the effect that the Industrial Revolution had on gender roles, it also affected sexuality (Burns 225). An increase in rural manufacturing caused young adults to move from their parents’ supervision (Burns 225). With this move, the number of premarital sexual acts and unplanned pregnancies grew (Burns 225). With help from the innovation of the condom in the 1840s, sex became a more acceptable casual practice (Burns 225).
Finally, the Industrial Revolution brought up issues of ethics that had not previously existed (Freeman 352). Before industrialization, most production was done for by an individual for their own benefit (or that of his family), but after the Revolution, humans were more often producing goods for the use of strangers (Freeman 352). As the age of industry progressed, production focused more and more on quickness of quantities produced, and the quality that was once important by individual craftsmen became obsolete (Freeman 356). These changes in manufacturing meant that the workers were no longer producing what was best for their fellow man, and in many cases, workers felt as though they were deceiving their friends and neighbors (Freeman 364).
Comparing the Effects of the Two Revolutions
From the previous text, one can conclude that the Scientific Revolution and the Industrial Revolution were both important periods that changed the way humans lived, viewed the world, and viewed themselves. From one standpoint, the Scientific Revolution influenced and even provoked the latter revolution, and from another, the effects of the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions had different focuses.
How the Two Revolutions Differ
Although the two revolutions were seemingly connected, their focus was very different. During the Scientific Revolution, scientists were concerned with the makeup of the world, including how the universe was structured and how objects in nature were constructed. In contrast, the Industrial Revolution went beyond explaining how the world worked, and it instead applied the natural elements of the Earth, such as using humans for labor and natural resources for production.
How the Two are Related
The technological advances of the Scientific Revolution set the stage for much of the Industrial Revolution (Burns 37). For example, the invention of the steam engine was the result of a study of gases during the first revolution (Burns 37). Additionally, the human machine concept formed in the Scientific Revolution soon became the central idea for the Industrial Revolution. As industry popularized, humans became part of the machines they operated. Karl Marx wrote in Capital, “ …the capitalist form of that industry reproduces this same division of labour in a still more monstrous shape; in the factory proper, by converting the workman into a living appendage of the machine…” (Marx 256). They no longer had personalities that affected the products they made, but were instead an extension of the factory work.
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