Unit Two/Ch. 16
AP European History
Ms. Tully - UHS
THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
II. Advances in Medicine &
Chemistry
Focus Question
What did Paracelsus, Vesalius, and Harvey
contribute to a scientific view of medicine?
Dominance of Galen
 2nd C Greek physician
 Theory of two different
blood systems
 Doctrine of four bodily
humors: blood, yellow
bile, phlegm, black bile
Paracelsus (1493-1541)
 Swiss scientists – lone
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ranger in medicine
Rejected work of Aristotle
& Galen
Macrocosm-Microcosm
theory
Disease caused by
chemical imbalances in
specific organs
Disease treatment – “like
cures like”
Father of modern medicine
Vesalius (1514-1564)
 MD from University of
Padua 1536 
Professor of surgery
 Emphasis on practical
research to understand
human body
 On the Fabric of the
Human Body, 1543
William Harvey (1578-1657)
 MD from University of
Padua in 1602
 On the Motion of the
Heart and Blood, 1628
 Heart starting point for
circulation, blood flows
in veins & arteries
Chemistry
 Robert Boyle (16261691) – matter is
composed of atoms
 Antoine Lavoisier
(1743-1794) – system
for naming chemical
elements
III. Women in the Origins of
Modern Science
Focus Question:
What role did women play in the Scientific
Revolution?
Margaret Cavendish (1623-1673)
 Prominent female
scientist of 17th C
 Excluded from Royal
Society
 Active & critical
participant
 Example of French or
English woman in
science
Maria Merian (1647-1717)
 Tradition of female
craft production 
scientific participation
 Reputation as
important
entomologist in 18th C
 1699  Merian went to
South America to study
bugs
Maria Winkelmann (1670-1720)
 Famous German
female astronomer
 Married Gottfried Kirch
 leading astronomer
 Faced typical obstacles
in career
Debate on the Nature of
Women
 Querelles des femmes – arguments about women
 Medieval males opinions
 Early modern female arguments  women were
rational, education beneficial
 Science used to support old stereotypical views
 Labor & birth transferred from midwives to men
 Distribution of misogynistic/scientific literature
perpetuated attitudes against women
IV. Descartes & Rationalism
 Read Toward a New Earth: Descartes,
Rationalism, and a New View of Humankind on p.
504-505
 What is Cartesian dualism, and what were its social
implications?
 Why is Descartes considered the “founder of modern
rationalism”?
 Read The Father of Modern Rationalism on p. 505
& answer the prompt at the end.
 This will go directly into Section #3:
Classwork/Homework !!
V. The Scientific Method & the
Spread of Scientific Knowledge
Focus Question:
How were the ideas of the Scientific
Revolution spread, and what impact did they
have on society and religion?
Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
 Scientific method built
on inductive principles
 Organized
experiments,
systematic
observations 
Empiricism
 Wanted to contribute
to “mechanical arts”
Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
 Emphasize deduction
and mathematical logic
 Discourse on Method
 Newton synthesized
Bacon’s empiricism &
Descartes’ rationalism
into one method
Scientific Societies
 English Royal Society – 1640s
 French Academy of Sciences – 1650s
 Both societies practical value of scientific
research  primary focus on mechanics &
astronomy
 German princes & cities sponsored small
scale societies
 Spread of scientific journals
Science and Society
 How did science become such an integral part
of Western culture in the 17th & 18th centuries?
 Merchants & gentry attracted to science b/c it
could exploit resources for profit
 Political interests in scientific conception of
natural world to create social stability
 Leaders supported scientific revolution for
military advancement
Science and Religion
 Theology the final
measure
 Dichotomy between
science & religion 
growing secularization
 Benedict de Spinoza
(1632-1677)
 Blaise Pascal (16231662)