Medicine & Chemistry
Major Players and Contributions:
Paracelsus - believed disease was caused by chemical imbalances in the
organs.
Vesalius - On the Fabric of the Human Body; the most concise understanding of
human anatomy.
William Harvey - On the Motion of the Heart and Blood; described how blood
circulates in the body.
Robert Boyle - believed in the existence of atoms; worked on the properties
of gases.
Antoine Lavoisier - produced a rudimentary method of cataloging chemical
elements.
Spread of Science
French Royal Academy of Sciences
Well supported by the state
Focused on radical fields and technology
Journal des Savants provided details of experiments
English Royal Society
Did not receive government aid
Dealt with pragmatic science
Philosophical Transactions published papers written by scientists.
Female Scientists
Notable women:
Marie-Anne Lavoisier - translated English works for her
husband.
Margaret Cavendish - participated in many scientific debates;
questioned men’s attitudes toward Nature.
Maria Merian - studied entomology in Dutch South America.
Maria Winkelmann - Prussian astronomer; discovered a comet;
denied entrance to Berlin academy
The Study of Femininity
Traditional View:
Women were weak minded, unintelligent, and sexually insatiable; therefore, needing
male dominance.
Counter Argument:
Women were chaste, pious, and temperate and male dominance was not necessary.
Women were also capable of rational thought and education could improve this
ability.
Scientific “Findings”
Women’s skulls were smaller and hips were wider.
Men therefore must be smarter, and women were naturally designed to give birth to
children.
René Descartes
Childhood
Brilliant; Jesuit educated
Discourse on the Method
First postulate: “I think therefore, I am.”
The existence of self is assured; the rest may not be.
Second postulate: Cartesian Dualism
The Body and the Mind are separate entities.
Mechanics: the universe can be discovered by human reason.
God, therefore, designed the universe.
Rationalism
Worldview
Investigation of matter is now easier because it is no longer seen
as part of “Self”.
Truth can be found through deduction and reason
Protestant Reaction
Descartes’ works are banned by Protestants.
Bacon
Background:
Parliamentarian; little scientific background.
Significance
The Scientific Method
Foundation of Empiricism - truth can only be discovered
through meticulous gathering of data.
Spinoza
Background
Excommunicated from Amsterdam
Refused Professorship
Rejected Dualism
God
God did not create the universe, he is the universe.
Pantheism
Nature
Is an extension of God.
Humanity and personality can be explained
Pascal
Bridge Building
Tried to close the gap between scientific revelations and
Christian beliefs.
Expressed concerns about reason and senses.
Discussed the frailty of human beings.
Christianity, he believed, saw mankind for what it was,
vulnerable and yet special.