REVOLUTIONS IN SCIENCE AND POLITICS
1600-1715
CHAPTER 15
Theories of the Universe
• Geocentricism
– Earth is center of the universe
– Supported by Aristotelian deductive logic
– Expounded upon by Ptolemy (Egypt)
• Heliocentrism
– The sun is the center of our solar system.
– Promoted by Nicolas Copernicus (Poland), but not
published until near death.
– Tycho Brahe (Denmark) in part supported
Copernican system, but had a stationary earth.
• Johannes Kepler (Germany) inherited Brahe’s
data, mathematically proposed 3 planetary
laws:
– Planets move in ellipses, not circles
– The closer to the sun, the faster a planetary body
moves in orbit; the farther moves slower
– The solar system is regular and organized by
mathematical relationships
– “Inter Jovem et Martem planetum interposui.”
Between Jupiter and Mars a planet I will place.
• Galileo Galilei (Italy) postulated or discovered
– The universe was larger than Ptolemy guessed
– Jupiter has moons
– Earliest law of inertia (a mass remains in motion
until a force stops it)
– The Earth moves
• Sir Isaac Newton (England) is know for law of
gravity, calculus, and three laws of motion:
– A mass in motion remains in motion until acted upon by an
outside force (and corollary)
– F=ma
– For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
INDUCTIVE LOGIC
• Based upon the collection of data through
observation
• Reasons from the specific (data) to the general
(a conclusion)
• Basis of Western thought (empiricism) and the
scientific method
Scientific Method
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
State problem
Review literature
Formulate hypothesis
Collect data
Analyze data
Draw conclusions
Chemistry and Medicine
• Alchemy, while looking at the elements,
concentrated on
– Transmuting metals into gold or silver
– Discovery of a panacea (elixir of life)
– Discovery of a universal solvent
• Chemistry, particularly inorganic chemistry, would
evolve from alchemy, with Englishman Robert
Boyle leading the way. Known for Boyle’s Law of
Gases:
– There exists an inversely proportional relationship
between the absolute pressure and volume of a gas, if
the temperature is kept constant within a closed
system.
• Andreas Versalius (Italy) researched the
circulation of the blood in the body, refuting
Galen and Aristotle
• William Harvey (England/Italy) proved a
constant quantity of blood continuously
circulated throughout the body [no ebb &
flow]
• Marcello Malpighi discovered the capillaries
Philosophy
• Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
– Advocated inductive reasoning
– “Knowledge is Power”
• René Descartes(1596-1650)
– Mathematician, provided foundation for analytic
geometry
– Wrote Discourse on Method his 4 step approach to
knowledge (problem solving)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Accept nothing as true unless self-evident
Split problems into manageable parts
Start with the simplest and move to the more complex
Review & re-examine solutions
– Practiced skepticism (questioned everything) and
deductive reasoning
– Pushed a dualistic theory of knowledge (the realm
of the body—physical--and the realm of the mind)
• Mind and body only interact through the intervention
of God
• “ Cogito ergo sum” [I think, therefore I am.]
• Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) mathematician and
Jansenist
– Human beings can’t know the natural world NOR
themselves. Only limited knowledge.
– Pascal’s wager
Political Thought
NATURAL LAW
• Hugo Grotius
maintained “natural
law” should govern
relations between
states.
• Natural law was
founded in human
reason, applied to all,
and was unchanging.
• The “Golden Rule”
applied to states.
DIVINE RIGHT
• Bishop Bouisset
defended theory kings
rule by divine right
• Divine right monarch
had power to intervene
in subjects lives as
ordained by God, not
reason
ABSOLUTISM
• Thomas Hobbes believed
everything could be
explained using
mechanistic, natural laws.
• Wrote Leviathan, setting
forth a theory of
government based on idea
that Humans are driven by 2
forces: fear of death, and
quest for power.
• Advocated a Social Contract
between ruler and subjects,
in which they surrender
absolute power to the ruler
LIBERALISM
• Promulgated by John Locke
• Believed human nature was
naturally good, and humans
could govern selves.
• Ideal System: a government
limited by laws, subject to
will of citizens, existing to
protect life and property
• Believed humans possess
reason
• If rulers break agreement,
revolt is justified
• Locke believed the newborn
was a tabula rasa, rather
than Descartes’ progammed
individual.
Responses to New Thought
• Virtuosos appeared, dabbling in the latest
science
• Bernard de Fontenelle wrote Conversations on
the Plurality of Worlds, a dialogue between
himself and a countess, explaining science
[shades of Castglione]
• Pierre Bayle authored the Historical and
Critical Dictionary, a combo encyclopedia and
dictionary, remarkable because it paid for
itself, and proved there was a literate public.