1. Section 1 The Scientific Revolution
Chapter 17
Section 1 The Scientific Revolution

2. Background to Revolution
Scientists of Middle Ages relied on ancient works, especially Aristotle, and the Catholic Church for knowledge
Renaissance Humanists revived Greek & Latin, opened up a whole new world of literature
Ptolemy, Archimedes, and Plato
Works posed arguments for and against commonly accepted truth

3. Background Continued
Technical problems required careful observation & accurate measurements
Weight that ships could hold in cargo without sinking for example
New instruments, such as the telescope & microscope quickened discoveries
Printing Press allowed for fast dissemination of literature
Revival of mathematics during Renaissance
Nicholas Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, and Isaac Newton

4. The Ptolemaic System
Based on ideas of Ptolemy, Aristotle, and Catholic Church
Geocentric Model – Earth was center of universe, planets & Sun revolve around Earth
God at end of universe and humans in the center

5. The Copernican System
On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres (1543)
Heliocentric Model of the universe, Sun was the center of the universe, not the Earth, and the Earth rotated on its axis

6. Johannes Kepler Came up with Laws of Planetary Motion
Confirmed Sun was center of universe
Kepler’s First Law – orbit around Sun is elliptical, no circular, and Sun was near edge not the center

7. Galileo Galilei
Mathematician, first European to make regular observation of heavens with telescope
The Starry Messenger (1610) – awoke Europeans to new ideas about universe, shocked many, and contradicted the church
Brought before Inquisition, forced to recant or be put to death

8. Isaac Newton Cambridge University mathematician
Wrote Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy (Principia)
Discovered 3 laws of motion governing planetary bodies
Main point crucial to argument was his Universal Law of Gravitation

9. Breakthroughs in Medicine & Chemistry
Galen – 2nd century B.C.E. Greek physician, most Middle Age medicine followed his teachings
Used animals instead of humans to dissect and learn from
Andreas Vesalius – 16th century B.C.E. physician, wrote On the Fabric of the Human Body (1543)
Used humans to dissect and learn from
Robert Boyle – one of first scientists to conduct controlled experiments
Boyle’s Law – volume of gas varies with pressure exerted on it
Antoine Lavoisier – invented system of naming chemical elements, still in use today

10. Women & the Origins of Modern Science
Margaret Cavendish – wrote Observations Upon Experimental Philosophy
Many women in Germany became astronomers
Maria Winkelmann – most famous German female astronomer, discovered comet
She was denied a position with a university because she was a woman

11. Descartes & Reason
Rene Descartes – 17th century B.C.E. French philosopher
Wrote Discourse on Method (1637)
Starting point was “doubt”
Emphasize on own mind, accepts only things that his reason said were true
“I think, therefore I am.”
Separation of Mind & Matter (mind & body)
Father of modern rationalism

12. Rene Descartes
Rationalism – system of thought based on belief that reason is chief source of knowledge

13. The Scientific Method
Scientific Method – systematic procedure for collecting and analyzing evidence
Francis Bacon – said to rely on Inductive Reasoning, not ancient works