More than any other astronomer or natural phi- losopher, Isaac Newton gave the 18th century its new, reformed cosmology of unity, predictability and order and his discovery of gravity provided a single universal rule for the entire universe, one formula according to which all existence might be understood (Cassirer.

Isaac Newton is best know for his theory about the law of gravity, but his “Principia Mathematica” (1686) with its three laws of motion greatly influenced the Enlightenment in Europe. Newton’s second major book, “Opticks,” detailed his experiments to determine the properties of light.

Newton worked out the theory of gravity and had a mechanistic view on the earth, people, and nature. He ushered the entire scientific revolution and is the sole reason that people began seeing through reason rather than religion. John Locke influenced the idea of deism.

What were some of the major intellectual changes that led to the Enlightenment? The philosophes started to think scientifically rather than religiously. The printing press let people share their ideas with a bigger audience. Enlightenment substituted “the religion of science” for the “religion of Christianity.”

Jefferson and other members of the founding generation were deeply influenced by the 18th-century European intellectual movement known as the Enlightenment. Enlightenment philosophy stressed that liberty and equality were natural human rights.

In these two paragraphs, Jefferson developed some key ideas: “all men are created equal,” “inalienable rights,” “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Where did Jefferson get these ideas? Jefferson was a man of the Enlightenment.