The Scientific Revolution
Was it a “Revolution”? The end of the medieval worldview Not necessarily new – old theories and data were reexamined
Was it a “Revolution”? It was not rapid Only a few people in widely scattered areas But it set the standard for assessing knowledge in the western world
What caused the Revolution? Renaissance ideas Technological problems Rediscovery of ancient works The Reformation and religious wars
Astronomy
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473 – 1543) Polish priest & astronomer On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres (1543) Heliocentric model of the universe
Tycho Brahe (1546 – 1601) Danish astronomer Built an observatory – data collected proved Copericus theory
Johannes Kepler (1571 – 1630) German astronomer Three laws of planetary motion Planets have elliptical orbits Speeds in orbit are not uniform Planets closer to the sun orbit faster
Galileo Galilei (1564 – 1642) Italian mathematician Used a telescope to see features in outer space Fresco by Giuseppe Bertini depicting Galileo showing the Doge of Venice how to use the telescope
Galileo Galilei (1564 – 1642) Principle of motion & law of inertia Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (1632) Response of the church Cristiano Banti's 1857 painting Galileo facing the Roman Inquisition
Isaac Newton (1642 – 1727) English scientist Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy or Principia Three laws of motion Principle of universal gravitation All motion explained by one universal law
Medicine and Chemistry
Medicine Paracelsus (1493 – 1541) Andreas Vesalius (1514 – 1564) Pioneered the diagnosis and treatment of disease Andreas Vesalius (1514 – 1564) On the Fabric of the Human Body – anatomy William Harvey (1578 – 1657) Blood circulation Image of veins from Harvey's Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus
Chemistry Anton van Leewenhoek (1632 – 1723) Developed powerful microscopes Robert Boyle (1627 – 1691) Studied gases – Boyle’s Law Antoine Lavoisier (1743 – 1794) Named the chemical elements
Philosophy and the Scientific Method
Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626) English lawyer and royal official Considered to be the father of empiricism – experience as the source of knowledge Inductive method of reasoning
Rene Descartes (1596 – 1650) Mathematician Discourse on Method (1637) Begin with doubt “I think therefore I am” Deductive reasoning Cartesian dualism Mind and body
Scientific Method Bacon’s inductive reasoning + Descartes’ deductive method
Responses to the Scientific Revolution
Royal Societies Governments encouraged scientific inquiry Royal Society of England, 1660
Science v. Religion Blaise Pascal (1623 – 1662) Pensees Sought to unite science & religion “God is a reasonable bet” Baruch Spinoza (1632 – 1677) Everything is in God and nothing is apart from Him (monism or pantheism)
Impact of the Scientific Revolution Led directly to the Enlightenment of the 18th century Catholic church became more hostile By 19th century, conflict between science and religion