THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
!! The anatomy of the world John Donne (1611) New philosophy calls all in doubt The element of fire is quite put out; The sun is lost, and th Earth, and no man s wit Can well direct him where to looke for it. And freely men confesse that this world s spent, When in the Planets, and the new firmament They seeke so many new; then see that this Is crumbled out againe to his Atomies Tis all in peeces, all coherance gone; All just supply, and all Relation.!
scientific revolution (mid 16th century-late 18th) Began in Europe with the renaissance thinkers like Da Vinci who was an artist, engineer and scientist. He put forth the idea that the earth traveled around the sun.he sketched designs of airplanes, submarines and other machines, but his ideas were never published and did not have an influence on the scientific community ideas died with him. The scientific discoveries brought a change in the way Europeans viewed the world and transitioned away from the Medieval worldview.
Medieval Worldview There was no real scientific mindset in Europe. No separation between chemistry & alchemy or astronomy & astrology. People were very superstitious, believed in the powers of divination (telling the future) that people like Nostradamus and astrologers could see the future. People believed in witchcraft and werewolves.
Why revolution? Why would this be called a revolution? It lasted much longer than any revolution. It was not brought about as a result of a need for changemore gradual.
Renaissance Humanist interest in the writings of the classical world also extended to the scientific texts of the ancient Greeks. Certain texts such as Aristotle s physics, or Archimedes s writings on mathematics were rediscovered in the Renaissance. Although the scientific revolution ultimately rejected these ideas, the revival of past ideas made it possible for modern scientific thought to mature.
Printing press Scientific knowledge could spread more rapidly due to the printing press. By the end of the 17th century (1650-90s) there were numerous books and newsletters informing people of the latest scientific discoveries. The printing press made it possible for a scientist sitting in England to study and know discoveries from Italy.
Discovery of the new world exploration and colonization brought a massive exchange of goods between Europe and the new world (Columbian exchange). The discovery of new plant and animal life encouraged interest in the natural sciences. Also, the link between navigation and astronomy and the great advances made by the Portuguese navigators (1400s) fueled an interest in learning more about the stars.
Reformation The reformation encouraged people to read the bible, and created a larger reading public. Although many of the scientific discoveries came from Italy, the reformation provided a powerful example of challenging established authority. No longer were people complacent or comfortable with what facts they were being fed, rather, they questioned everything.
Witchcraft 1450 to 1650 saw the height of witchcraft persecution in Europe. It lasted the longest in Germany, perhaps due to the insecurities caused by the 30 Years War. Witch persecutions lasted until 1692 in the English colony of Massachusetts and as late as 1722 in Scotland.
Malleus Malleficarum The Malleus Malleficarum was one of the most widely read books. The Malleus Malleficarum, or the Witches Hammer was a scientific guidebook to witchcraft, how to identify witches and how to destroy them.
Scholasticism Medieval worldview toward science. It combined Christian theology with the scientific beliefs of ancient authors. In the middle ages, Thomas Aquinas merged these two together by taking the works of Aristotle and harmonizing them with the teachings of the church. Science in the Middle ages was intended to offer a better understanding of the mysterious workings of God. To view science without a religious framework was inconceivable in the middle ages.
Aristotle Influenced by the work of Aristotle, medieval people thought that the material world was made up of four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. Earth was the heaviest and the basest of the elements and therefore tended toward the center of the universe. Water was heavy but lighter than earth which is why its natural place was covering the earth. Air was above water, with fire as the lightest element of all.
Ptolemy One of the most influential Greek astronomers and geographers of his time, Ptolemy propounded the geocentric theory in a form that prevailed for 1400 years.
Ptolemaic/Geocentric Ptolemy s theory that the Earth was a stationary round object, around which heavenly bodies moved, while the stars were fixed in their orbits. Universe revolves around the earth.
Francis Bacon (1561-1626) Francis Bacon was an English Renaissance statesman and philosopher, best known for his work, Novum Organon. Insisted on the inductive method, proceed from the particular to the general. His work and writings laid the foundations for the scientific method. He argued that knowledge was based on observation (Empiricism): Knowledge is power.
Rene Descartes (1596-1650) Philosopher and mathematician René Descartes is regarded as the father of modern philosophy for defining a starting point for existence, I think; therefore I am. His famous work was Discourse of Method (1637) advocated the theory of knowledge based on humanity s reasoning ability. He is famous for Cogito Ego Sum, I think, therefore I am. He used a form of deduction (reasoning from general to specific) as a way of applying logic for achieving certainty. Descartes is considered by many to be the father of modern philosophy, because his ideas departed widely from current understanding in the early 17th century, which was more feeling-based. While elements of his philosophy weren t completely new, his approach to them was.
Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish mathematician and astronomer who wrote Concerning the Revolutions of Celestial Spheres (1543). Because he was a cleric, Copernicus waited to release his work. When he did release it, he dedicated his work to Pope Paul III, and in addition, the preface to his work indicated that the works within were mathematical hypotheses. In his works, he explained a heliocentric cosmos. Because he merely suggested this to be the case, his work did not spark a revolution.
Heliocentric Cosmos Copernicus s hypothesis that the cosmos was centred around the sun. Proposed that the Earth rotated on its axis, as did other planets, and that the sun was the stationary body around which the entire universe moved. This was a hypothesis and new model of interpretation; it did not provide evidence from observation.
Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) Made new observations by assembling data, proposed a system whereby the moon and the sun circled around the Earth, while the other planets revolved around the sun. He constructed astronomical tables and data. He had plenty of time on his hands because of a non-existent social life. He is said to have lost his nose in a duel and that he replaced it with a prosthetic one made of silver and gold alloy.
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) Brahe s student and assistant who disagreed with the proposal put forth by Brahe. He is most famous for his laws of planetary motion. These laws proclaimed that all the heavens were bound in a single mathematical relationship. For Kepler, the universe was a lawful mechanical system, expressed in mathematics.
Laws of Planetary Motion (Kepler) 1. the movement of the planets is a regular elliptical orbit, with the sun as a focus 2. the planets move in a velocity in which equal areas are swept in equal times 3. the square of the period of the orbit of a plant is proportional to the cube of the planet s mean distance from the sun.
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) Built a telescope in order to observe the heavens more closely. His study and discoveries would bring the scientific revolution to the forefront since he had evidence of a heliocentric universe. His ideas were radical because they rejected the geocentric model and contradicted the Bible and dogma of the church. He wrote Dialogue Concerning the Two World Systems, which supported the Copernican theory of a heliocentric universe. Angering many, he defended himself by saying that the Bible was open to interpretation. He was tried by the Inquisition and condemned for Heresy. Sentenced to life imprisonment which was later reduced to house arrest.
Isaac Newton (1642-1727) The greatest figure of the scientific revolution who wanted to solve the problems posed by Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo. Wrote the Principia, and through his law of gravity, merged the works of Kepler and Galileo s laws, and concluded that the cosmos was one system.
Law of Gravity Newton s law which proposed that the force of gravity between two bodies was inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. The story goes that Newton was hit with this theory when an apple fell on his head. He deduced that the same force that drew the apple to the ground could explain planetary motion. He finally posited that all the planets and objects operated under the effects of gravity. The force that held the planets in orbit, was the same as that which caused bodies to fall to Earth.
Principia Was written by Newton in 1687. It became the world model of science for the next several centuries. In this work, he realized he was challenging God, the church and other theories presented in the past. As a result, at the end of his Principia, he affirmed that the world was organized by a beneficent and wise God: This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being