The Scientific Revolution

OBJECTIVESA. To understand the components of the

Scientific Revolution.B. To understand the discoveries and

achievements that occurred during the time.

C. To analyze the causes of this revolution.D. To examine the intellectual consequences

of the era.E. To reflect on the impacts of this time

period on ourselves.

The Scientific Revolution

CREATION OF A NEW WORLDVIEW

Questioning of old knowledge and assumptions

Gradual replacement of religious & superstition presumptions

Gradual rise of science & reason

What It Was

A. During the Middle Ages, scientific ideas were largely based on religious traditions rather than direct observation and mathematical reasoning

B. During the 17th and 18th Centuries, scholars began relying on observation and mathematics to transform the natural sciences

THE “SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION”C. The result impacted well beyond the scientific

community, affecting moral, social, and political thought

D. The change weakened the influence of churches and encouraged the development of secular thinking

THE TELESCOPEThe most important of

a series of new scientific instruments

that facilitated discovery.

Discoveries and Achievements of the Scientific Revolution

A. Astronomy: New Model of the Universe1) Sun as center of universe

a) Copernicus - The Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres

b) Kepler - New Astronomy

c) Galileo – Dialogue Concerning Two Chief World Systems

Heresy

2nd Century A.D. Greek scholar Claudius

Ptolemy envisioned a motionless earth

surrounded by a series of nine hollow,

concentric shapes that revolved around it

Discoveries and Achievements of the Scientific Revolution

The Ptolemaic Universe

• Ptolemy’s first seven spheres held the moon, Mercury, Venus, the sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn

• The eighth sphere held stars• The ninth sphere was empty,

surrounded the whole cosmos, and provided the spin that kept the other spheres moving

• Beyond the spheres, Christian astronomers placed Heaven

Claudius Ptolemy

TWO VIEWS OF THE PTOLEMAIC ORPRE-COPERNICAN UNIVERSE

In this sixteenth-century engraving the:

Earth is at the center of the universe.

elements of water, air, and fire are arranged in ascending order above the Earth.

orbit that is shaded in black is the firmament or stellar sphere.

presence of Christ and the saints at the top reflects the view that Heaven lay beyond the stellar sphere.

Nicolaus Copernicus

A. Copernicus’s idea harmonized much better with observed data than did Ptolemy’s, but it was not warmly received

B. If Copernicus was right, then the Earth was just another planet and human beings were not the center of the universe

C. At the time, this had serious religious ramifications

COPERNICAN VIEW OF THE SUN-CENTERED UNIVERSE

The depiction by Copernicus.

All the orbits are circular Kepler was to show the

orbits were elliptical.

The outermost sphere is that of the fixed stars.

Scientific Revolution

• Copernicus’s work inspired astronomers to examine the heavens in new ways

• Increasingly they based their theories on observed data and used mathematical reasoning to organize the data

• Gradually Copernicus’s model replaced Ptolemy’s

• This reliance on observation and mathematics ushered in the “Scientific Revolution”

Discoveries and Achievements of the Scientific Revolution

B. Physics: Laws of Motion and Gravitation1) Galileo

a) Inertia

2) Sir Isaac Newtona) Universal Law of Gravitation

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)

A. Galileo used the telescope to observe spots on the sun and moon1) Discredited the

Ptolemaic notion that the heavenly bodies are smooth, immaculate, unchanging and perfectly spherical

Galileo’s drawing of the moon showing craters

Galileo Galilei

A. Other achievements:1) Noticed four of the moons that orbit Jupiter2) Observed previously unknown distant stars3) Meant universe is much larger than previously

suspected4) Showed that the velocity of falling bodies depends

not on their weight but on the height from which they fall

B. In 1632, publishes Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems which compares the Copernican and Ptolemaic systems1) Found guilty of heresy by the Spanish Inquisition

and spent the rest of his life under house arrest

SIR ISAAC NEWTONThis portrait was painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller in 1689, two years after the

publication of Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy.

Isaac Newton

A. Wrote the Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy in 1687

B. United the heavens and Earth in a vast, cosmic system

C. A law of universal gravitation regulates the motion of bodies throughout the universe

D. Newton’s laws allowed him to explain seemingly unrelated phenomena using gravitation1) The ebb and flow of the tides and the

gravitational pull of the moon2) The eccentric orbits of planets and comets

and the gravitational influence of the sun, the Earth, and other heavenly bodies

CHRONOLOGY: DISCOVERIES OF THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION

The Discoveries and Achievements of the Scientific Revolution

C. Chemistry:Discovering Elements of Nature1) Paracelsus

a) Four “humors”

2) Robert Boylea) Vacuum

D. Biology:Circulation of the Blood1) William Harvey

PORTRAIT OF ROBERT BOYLE WITH HIS AIR

PUMP IN THE BACKGROUND (1664)

Boyle’s pump became the center of a series of

experiments carried on at the Royal Society in London.

The Search for Scientific Knowledge

Observation and ExperimentationInductive Reasoning

From particular to generalEmpiricism

Francis Bacon

Deductive ReasoningFrom general to specific

Rationalism

Rene DescartesDiscourse on the Method

DISSECTIONDutch surgeon Nicolaes Tulp giving an anatomy lesson in 1632.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the dissection of human corpses became standard practice in Europe.

Knowledge of the structure and

composition of the human body, could best be acquired by cutting open a

corpse.

This reflected the emphasis placed on observation and experimentation.

The Search for Scientific Knowledge

C. Mathematics and Nature1) Newton

a) Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophyb) one of the most important works in the history

of science

D. The Mechanical Philosophy1) Descartes

a) Dualism The body is a machine and follows natural laws The mind does not follow the laws of nature

Causes of the Scientific Revolution

A. Developments Within Science1) Late Medieval Science

a) Theory of Impetus

2) Renaissance Sciencea) Neoplatonism

3) Collapse of Paradigms

Causes of the Scientific Revolution

B. Developments Outside Science1) Protestantism

a) Publication and dissemination of new ideasb) God in naturec) Millenium

CHRONOLOGY: THE FORMATION OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES

The Search for Scientific Knowledge

2) Patronagea) Academy of the Lynx-Eyedb) Academy of Experimentc) Royal Academy of Sciencesd) Royal Society

3) The Printing Press4) Military and Economic Change

a) Improved weaponryb) Increased awareness and understanding of

abstract concepts such as economics

THE FOUNDING OF THE FRENCH ACADÈMIE DES SCIENCESLike the Royal Society in England, the French Academy of Sciences was

dependent upon royal patronage. Louis XIV, seen sitting in the middle of the painting, used the occasion to glorify himself as a patron of the sciences as well as the arts. The painting also commemorates the building of the Royal

Observatory in Paris, which is shown in the background.

CHRONOLOGY: THE IMPACT OF THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION

Intellectual Consequences of the Scientific Revolution

A. Education1) “The Ancients” vs. “The Moderns”

Which group was superior?

2) Battle of the BooksJonathan SwiftSatireBooks come alive and battle for supremacy

B. Skepticism and Independent Reasoning1) Descartes - “I think, therefore I am”2) Baruch Spinoza

a) A Treatise on Religion and Political Philosophyb) Everything is one – there is no dualism

BARUCH SPINOZASpinoza was one of the

most radical thinkers of the seventeenth century. His identification of God with

nature made him vulnerable to charges of atheism. His followers in the Dutch Republic, who

were known as freethinkers, laid the foundations for the

Enlightenment in the eighteenth century.

Intellectual Consequences of the Scientific Revolution

C. Science and Religion1) Deists

There is a godGod is indifferent to what happens

2) SecularizationObservation more important than faithFaith in God is for spiritual support not forunderstanding the world

THE TRIAL OF GALILEO, 1633Galileo is shown here presenting one of his four defenses to the Inquisition. He claimed that his book Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems

did not endorse the Copernican model of the universe.Source: Gérard Blot/Art Resource/Reunion des Musees Nationaux

Humans and the Natural World

A. Human Beings in the Universe1) Kepler

a) Lunar Astronomy

2) De Fontenellea) Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds

One of the first to explain scientific ideas in vernacular

B. The Control of Nature1) “Knowledge is power”

C. Women, Men, and Nature1) Male dominance over nature2) Adoption of a masculine philosophy

ASTRONOMERS IN SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY

GERMANYElisabetha and Johannes Hevelius working together with a sextant in

a German astronomical observatory. More than 14 percent of all German astronomers were female. Most of them cooperated witht heir husbands in their work.

Impact of the Scientific Revolution

A. Suggested that rational analysis of behavior and institutions could have meaning in the human as well as the natural world

B. Increasingly, thinkers challenged recognized authorities such as Aristotelian philosophy and Christian religion and sought to explain the world in purely rational terms

C. The result was a movement known as the “Enlightenment”

THEENLIGHTENMENT

Philosophes

A. Enlightenment thinkers sought to discover natural laws that governed human society in the same way Newton’s laws regulated the universe

B. Collectively, these thinkers were called the philosophes (“philosophers”)

Philosophes

1. Believed that natural science would lead to greater human control over the world

AND2. Rational science of human affairs would

lead to individual freedom and the construction of a prosperous, just, and equitable society

3. Their central ideas included1) Progress2) Deism3) Tolerance

Central Ideas of the Philosophe Movement: Progress

A. Most philosophes were optimistic about the future because they believed in the inevitability of progress

B. Saw human history largely as a history of the improvement of humanity in three respects: 1) Developing a rational knowledge of the

natural world and the ability to manipulate the world through technology

2) Overcoming ignorance bred of superstitions and religions

3) Overcoming human cruelty and violence through social improvements and government structures

Central Ideas of the Philosophe Movement: Deism

A. Not all, but most philosophes, were Deists1) Believed in the existence of a god, but

denied the supernatural teachings of Christianity such as Jesus’ virgin birth, miracles, and the resurrection

2) Deists believed in a powerful god who set the universe in motion and established natural laws to govern it, but then took no personal interest in the universe and did not intervene in its affairs (“The Watchmaker”)

Central Ideas of the Philosophe Movement: Deism

A. Deists believe1. Religion should be reasonable and should result in

the highest moral behavior of its adherents

AND2. The knowledge of the natural world and the human

world has nothing to do whatsoever with religion and should be approached completely free from religious ideas or convictions.

“It believes in God, and there it rests.”

Central Ideas of the Philosophe Movement: Tolerance

The philosophes hated the crimesthey felt had been perpetrated inthe name of religion and the nameof God

They felt a fair, just, andproductive society absolutelydepended on religious tolerance

Francis-Marie Arouet (1694-1778) (Voltaire)

A. Was especially critical of the oman Catholic Church which he held responsible for fanaticism, intolerance, and incalculable human suffering

B. Wrote Candide in 1759 in which he analyzes the problem of evil in the world and depicts the woes heaped upon the world in the name of religion

C. His battle cry against the Roman Catholic Church was: “ecrasez l’infame” (“crush the damned thing”)

Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755)

A. Sought to establish and formalize political principles that would guarantee individual liberties while maintaining a prosperous and stable state.

B. Instrumental in developing the idea of separation of governmental powers

John Locke (1632-1704)

A. Studied the relationship between the individual and the state

B. In 1689 he wrote:An Essay Concerning Human Understanding

the mind at birth as a blank slate filled later through experience

C. Two Treatises of Government (1689)1) Largely anti-authoritarian2) Second Treatise describes Locke's ideas for a

more civilizes society based on natural rights and social contract theory

John Locke

A. Individuals should use reason to find truth DO NOT simply accept the opinion of authorities or being subject to superstition

B. There must be a distinction between the legitimate and illegitimate functions of institutions 1) Based on those distinctions, there is a

corresponding distinction for the uses of force by those institutions.

C. Reason leads to the truth and determining the legitimate functions of institutions1) Through this, the individual and society will flourish

John Locke and Social Contract

A. Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) had described a social contract in which people in a state of nature ceded their individual rights to a strong sovereign in return for his protection

B. Locke offered a new social contract theory in which people contracted with one another for a particular kind of government, and that they could modify or even abolish the government

Adam Smith (1723-1790)

A. Focused on economics and held that laws of supply and demand determine what happens in the marketplace

B. Wrote An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations in 1776 which argued the virtues of a free market economy

Adam Smith

A. Free enterprise systemB. The role of self-interest and laissez-faire

1) Through an “invisible hand” self-interest guides the most efficient use of resources in a nation’s economy, with public welfare coming as a by-product

2) State and personal efforts to promote social good are ineffectual compared to unbridled market forces

C. Provides the intellectual rationale for free trade and capitalism

Legacy of the Enlightenment

A. Rise of logic and observation over belief and superstition

B. Debate on Judeo-Christian values and secular humanism

C. Debate on economic realitiesD. Debate on human rights and valueE. Debate on the role and authority of

government