The Scientific Revolution

Clair SpattBell 75/18/09

What was the Scientific Revolution?

• the development of new technology and scientific theories

• a period when new ideas in physics, astronomy, biology, human anatomy, chemistry, and other sciences came about

• led to a rejection of doctrines that had prevailed from Ancient Greece through the Middle Ages

• laid the foundation of modern science• began with the publication of two works that

changed the course of science in 1543 and continued through the late 17th century

Impact of the Renaissance

•Renaissance humanists had mastered Greek as well as Latin

•the language skills gave people access to newly discovered works by Ptolemy and Plato

•most writings by them made it obvious that some ancient thinkers had disagreed with Aristotle and other accepted authorities of the Middle Ages

New Technology• technical problems that

required careful observation and accurate measurements, such as calculating the amount of weight that a ship could hold, served to stimulate scientific activity

• the invention of new instruments, such as the telescope and microscope, made fresh scientific discoveries possible

• the printing press helped spread new ideas quickly and easily

Mathematics • Francois Viete, a French lawyer, was among

the first to use letters to represent unknown quantities

• he applied this algebraic method to geometry and laid the foundation for the invention of trigonometry

• Simon Stevin, a Flemish engineer, introduced the decimal system

• John Napier of Scotland invented a table of logarithms, which made it easier to calculate math problems

The Ptolemaic System• a model of the universe constructed using the

ideas of Ptolemy, the greatest astronomer of antiquity in the A.D. 100s

• geocentric system, because it places Earth at the center of the universe

• the universe is seen as a series of concentric spheres – one inside the other

• Earth is fixed or motionless at the center• the heavenly bodies, pure orbs of light, are

embedded in the crystal-like, transparent spheres which revolve about Earth

The Ptolemaic System…• the moon is embedded in the first sphere,

Mercury in the second, Venus in the third, and the sun in the fourth

• the rotation of the spheres makes these heavenly bodies revolve about Earth and move in relation to one another

• the tenth sphere is the “prime mover”; this sphere moves itself and gives motion to the other spheres

• beyond the tenth sphere is Heaven, where God resides

Nicolaus Copernicus• native of Poland; mathematician• published On the Revolutions of

the Heavenly Spheres• thought that his heliocentric or

sun-centered concept of the universe offered a more accurate explanation than did the Ptolemaic System

• in the system, the sun was the center of the universe and the planets revolved around the sun

• the moon revolved around Earth • the apparent movement of the

sun around the Earth was caused by the rotation of Earth on its axis and its journey around the sun

Johannes Kepler • German mathematician who

took the next step in destroying the Ptolemaic System

• used detailed astronomic data to arrive at his laws of planetary motion

• his observations confirmed that the sun was at the center of the universe and also added new information

• his first law showed that the planet’s orbits around the sun were not circular, rather the orbits were elliptical (egg-shaped) with the sun toward the end of the ellipse

Heliocentric Theory vs. Geocentric Theory

Galileo Galilei• taught mathematics• first European to make

regular observations of the heavens using a telescope

• discovered: mountains on the moon, four moons revolving around Jupiter, and sunspots

• his discoveries were published in The Starry Messenger

• made Europeans aware of the new view of the universe; found himself under suspicion by the Catholic Church

Isaac Newton• showed few signs of brilliance

until he attended Cambridge University

• became a professor of mathematics and wrote Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy

• defined three laws of motion that govern the planetary bodies as well as objects on Earth

• the universal law of gravitation explains why planetary bodies continue their elliptical orbits about the sun

• every object in the universe is attracted to every other object by a force called gravity

Views of Astronomy

ANCIENT PHILOSOPHERS

SCIENTISTS DURING THE SCIENTIFIC

REVOLUTION

Universe Earth-centered Sun-centered

Stars/Planetspure orbits of light; move in

perfect circlesmade of material

substance; move in elliptic orbits

Motionall motion caused by a

prime movergravity governs motion of objects on Earth and of

planetary bodies

Method of Investigationobservation of natural

events; experiments alter natural conditions

conduct experiments to test possible explanations

Breakthroughs In Medicine• Galen, a Greek physician in the A.D. 100s,

dominated medicine by relying on animal (rather than human) dissection to picture human anatomy

• Andreas Vesalius accurately described the individual organs and general structure of the human body

• William Harvey showed that the heart, not the liver, was the beginning point for the circulation of blood; he also proved that the same blood which flows through the veins and arteries makes a complete circuit throughout the body

Breakthroughs In Chemistry• Robert Boyle was one of

the first scientists to conduct controlled experiments

• he worked on the properties of gases

• Boyle’s Law – the volume of a gas varies with the pressure exerted on it

• Antoine Lavoisier invented a system for naming chemical elements still used today; many people consider him the founder of modern chemistry

Women’s Contributions

•women scientists faced obstacles to practicing what they had learned

•scholarship was considered the exclusive domain of men

•many women contributed to the Scientific Revolution

•they helped advance science through their writings and their hard work

Margaret Cavendish• came from an English

aristocratic family• she was tutored at home and

studied subjects considered suitable for girls of proper upbringing (music, dancing, reading, and needlework)

• not formally educated in the sciences

• wrote Observations Upon Experimental Philosophy

• critical of the growing belief that humans were the masters of nature through science, as shown in her work

Maria Winkelmann• famous astronomer in Germany •received training in astronomy from a self-

trained astronomer •she married Gottfried Kirch, Prussia’s foremost

astronomer, so she became his assistant and began to practice astronomy more often

•made the discovery of a comet•denied the position of assistant astronomer of

the Berlin Academy even though she was highly qualified, because she was female

Philosophy and Reason

•scientists came to believe that reason is the chief source of knowledge

•brand new concepts of the universe were brought about during the time of the Scientific Revolution

•strongly influenced the Western view of humankind

•people started a search for knowledge

Rene Descartes • French philosopher during

the 17th century• began by thinking and

writing about the doubt and uncertainty that seemed to be everywhere in the confusion

• his most famous work is Discourse On Method, written in 1637

• emphasized the importance of his own mind and asserted that he would only accept those things that his reason said were true

• “I think, therefore I am.”

Rene Descartes…• he argued that because “the mind cannot be

doubted but the body and material world can, the two must be radically different”

• came up with the principle of the separation of mind and matter (and of mind and body)

• allowed scientists to view matter as dead and inert; matter was something totally detached from the mind and that could be investigated independently by reason

• father of modern rationalism; a system which in which thought is based on the belief that reason is the chief source of knowledge

The Scientific Method• resulted when people became concerned about

how they could best understand the physical world

• a systematic procedure for collecting and analyzing evidence

• steps: ask a question, do background research, construct a hypothesis, test using an experiment, analyze data, draw a conclusion, and communicate your results

• ended up being crucial to the evolution of science in the modern world

Scientists Before• before beginning the reasoning, scientists

tried to free their minds of opinions that might distort the real truth

• started with detailed facts and proceeded toward general principles

• from observing natural events, scientists propose hypotheses (theories) or possible explanations, for the events

• systematic observations and carefully organized experiments to test the hypotheses would lead to correct general principles

Francis Bacon• developed the scientific

method• English philosopher; not

an actual scientist• had few scientific

credentials • believed that scientists

should not rely on the ideas of ancient authorities

• thought people should learn about nature by using inductive reasoning, proceeding from the particular to the general

Francis Bacon…• clear about what he believed his scientific

method would accomplish• stated that “the true and lawful goal of the

sciences is none other that this: that human life be endowed with new discoveries and power”

• much more concerned with practical matters than pure science

• wanted science to benefit the areas of industry, agriculture, and trade

• believed “human power” could be used to “conquer nature in action”

Impact On the Enlightenment • intellectuals were greatly impressed with the

achievements of the Scientific Revolution• favorite word of the time was reason•application of the scientific method was an

understanding of all life•hoped they could make progress toward a

better society than the one they had inherited

• ideas of the Enlightenment would become a form of reform and eventually revolution