The Rise of Science Plato’s unseen forms influence the view that religion has the perfect understanding of the world Science challenged this accepted view Foundations of tension between the religious world-view and scientific world-view

Copernicus 1473–1543 Polish Catholic Priest De Revolutionibus Orbium Mathematical calculations Heliocentric view of the universe What about the centrality of the earth? Humanity has no cosmic significance!? Stars are further away from the earth than the sun Ptolemy’s cosmology must be wrong!

Tycho Brahe 1546–1601 Provided alternative model of the universe to Copernicus Produced accurate measurements of the planets and stars Demonstrated that comets move across the orbit of the planets, not in a straight line in the sphere below the moon

Johannes Kepler 1571–1630 Student of Brahe Discovered three laws of planetary motion There was a time difference in his observation of the planets and what he calculated it should be Concluded that the orbit of the planets was not circular but elliptical Break with Aristotelian view that the planets move in circles Matches astronomers observations of the universe

Galileo 1564–1642 First systematic observation of the world via a telescope The forces of nature work in mathematical ways Heliocentric view of the universe Message from the Stars published 1610 First real brush with religious view of the universe

Galileo continued Asserted Copernicus’ view of the universe as the right one Put on trial and forced to recant Why? Seemed to suggest that because the working of the universe was natural then there was no need for a Prime Mover/First Cause The Inquisition condemned the Copernican view of the universe

Galileo continued He was not anti-religion God had provided two different but complementary ways of looking at the world Scripture and science

Francis Bacon 1561–1626 Rejected Aristotle’s idea of Final Causes Induction was the key Coming to a conclusion based on systematic analysis of events that have been observed Should move from habitual ways of thinking No allegiance to one school of thought

Isaac Newton 1642–1727 Devised system of physical laws explaining planetary motion The world moves and changes according to fixed laws World appears as a mechanism Provided an alternative explanation for movement to accepted models God is no longer necessary to explain the continuing existence of the world – mathematics can do this