The Scientific Revolution
Clair Spatt
Bell 7
5/18/09
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 (eggshaped) 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/Planets
pure orbits of light; move in
perfect circles
made of material substance;
move in elliptic
orbits
Motion
all motion caused by a prime
mover
gravity governs motion of
objects on Earth and of
planetary bodies
Method of Investigation
observation 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 selftrained 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