The Scientific Revolution

The Scientific Revolution Logical Thought Scientific Method New Understanding of the World

Causes  Medieval Intellectual Life and Medieval Universities: scholasticism  The Italian Renaissance  Renewed emphasis on mathematics  Renaissance system of patronage  Navigational problems of long sea voyages  Better scientific instruments

The “Science” of Aristotle  Derived from Aristotle’s “physics” & Ptolemy’s “astronomy”  Geocentric view of the universe

The Science “Revolution”?  Not even called “science” – it’s “natural philosophy”  New ideas, new inventions  Telescope (Dutch!)  Microscope (Dutch too!)  Efforts to measure longitude among the largest scientific endeavors of the era

Nicolaus Copernicus ( )  Polish, Catholic priest, astronomer  Publishes On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres while on his deathbed (afraid to challenge the church)  Proposes a heliocentric view of the universe which better explains planetary motion  Inaccurate, but it “opens the door”

Tycho Brahe ( )  Arrogant, wealthy Danish noble  Supported geocentric view, but had a sophisticated observatory  Gathered huge amounts of data (saw comets shooting “through the crystalline spheres”)

Johannes Kepler ( )  Brahe’s assistant, but supports the heliocentric view  Posits elliptical orbits, non-uniform speeds to explain anomalies  Publishes New Astronomy in 1609; still unclear why objects “orbit”

Galileo Galilei ( )  Italian points his Dutch-made telescope at the skies o Medici were his patrons; originally named moons of Jupiter after them  Advocates heliocentric view based on observations o Publishes Starry Messenger & Letters on Sunspots  Argues mathematical laws control the universe

Sir Isaac Newton ( )  Addressed issue of how the planets moved: ties it all together  Principia Mathematica reasons that mutual attraction (gravity) governs relationships between objects  Built on empiricism: need to observe before explaining  Argues a universe governed by natural laws

Philosophy & the “New Science”  Nature as mechanism: what is “God’s role” in this view?  Focus shifts to mathematical explanations of the world  Shift to knowledge as means of improving lives (& strengthening state)

Francis Bacon ( )  “Father” of: o Empiricism o Inductive Reasoning o Scientific Method  Attacks concept that most truths already discovered  Encourages innovation, research (in contrast to Renaissance thinkers?)  Use knowledge to improve human condition; links science to progress, progress to strong government

Rene Descartes ( )  Deductive reasoning  Discourse on Method, 1637, focuses on mathematical model, in French  Cogito, ergo sum  Dualism  Primary influence on philosophers, logicians

Political Philosophy: Hobbes v. Locke

Political Philosophy: Thomas Hobbes  Leviathan (1651) in wake of English Civil War o Describe man in a “state of nature” o “[T]he life of man [in the state of nature is] solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, & short.” o Argues for absolute power (of whom?) o Why do people object?

Political Philosophy: John Locke  Second Treatise of Government (1690) o Describe man in a “state of nature” o Consent of the governed o Natural rights o Social contract w/ government o What if government fails to protect natural rights? o Essay Concerning Human Understanding & the Tabula Rasa

Women in the World of Science?  How did men of the time feel about women in the sciences?  Which women did have at least limited opportunities?  Margaret Cavendish  Maria Winkelmann  Maria Sibylla Merian  Emilie du Chatelet  Queen Christina of Sweden