Before Copernicus’s time people had agreed with Ptolemy’s Geocentric Theory, that the Earth was the center of the universe and the sun and everything else revolved around the earth. This also went with the church’s teachings and the church was basically the law in that time, so they influenced and stressed that idea, and most people agreed and believed it. However Copernicus went against the church, the people, and the accepted law and said that the sun was the center of the universe and not the earth. He declared that the Sun was a solitary object while all the other planets including the earth rotated around the sun, called the Heliocentric Theory. This caused turmoil and confusion within the people with some still believing the old law and others siding with Copernicus. If Copernicus did not have the courage to stand out and speak against the church then who knows when we would’ve figured that out.
Another scientist backing the Heliocentric Theory was Galileo, probably one of the most famous scientists of this time period, and was also a heretic. Not only did he help prove that the Theory was true, he also proved all of Aristotle’s ancient theories wrong. The church had been teaching and believing these century old teachings Aristotle had made and it had been the law for decades. Yet Galileo came and proved every single theory wrong thus angering the church and he was taken to inquisition by the church and took back all that he said for his life, which was a little negative, but the fact that he had said it so people would know was good because then the people would know and more people would finish the studies that he started.
A great philosopher of this time was Locke. He declared many things that still affect many nations today. He came up with three natural rights that he said were, life, liberty, and property. In the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America, there are three rights that are unable to be taken away from you, which are, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Although the one of the rights were changed, Locke’s Philosophy still influenced it. Another nation that has taken his philosophies into account is France. However in their declaration, the rights are life, liberty, and resistance to oppression. He also stated that if the government takes one or more of these rights away from anyone, the people should rebel and abolish the unjust rulers /government, and create a new system that will preserve those rights. He also wrote two treatises on government in 1690. His ideas have affected the world’s greatest nations and those nations have prospered during the time after him.
These people, the scientists Copernicus and Galileo, and the philosopher Locke have made a huge impact on the world and what it has become today. Though these three had most positive effects, some great people did not have that result. Thanks to these three great men, the world is a more knowledgeable and prospering place to live.
