The Scientific Revolution The

							The Scientific Revolution
Science from Copernicus to Newton
Origins of the New Science

Basis of the Scientific Revolution:
• 1. Conflicting classical sources
  (Aristotle, Ptolemy, Galen)
• 2. Examination / focus of
  Renaissance artists on nature
• 3. Development of technical skills
• 4. Use of mathematics to
  understand nature
Forces influencing science
• 1. Aristotelian Philosophy: provided a
  starting point
   – Matter made of four elements (earth, wind, water
     and fire)
• 2. Neo-Platonism: revival of Platonic
  philosophy
   – emphasis on mathematics
• 3. Mystical / alchemy: metaphysical
  (spiritual / moral) explanation of the world
   – Paracelsus: doctor / alchemist who believed that
     disease could be diagnosed and treated with
     ingested medicine
• 4. Natural Philosophy: attempt to explain
  the natural world
Characteristics of the
Scientific Revolution
• Europeans began to challenge classical thought
• Materialistic: all matter made up of the same
  material & subject to the same laws
• Mathematical: use calculation to replace common
  sense
   – measurable, repeatable phenomena
   – People began to understand the mathematical nature of
     the universe
• Science boils down to the mathematical
  relationship
• Development of scientific institutions began; Labs,
  universities, journals, language, careers
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)
• Polish monk, mathematican
  and astronomer.
• Presented first serious
  challenge to Ptolemy’s
  geocentric universe.
• In On the Revolution of the
  Heavenly Spheres he
  proposed heliocentric theory
• Avoided persecution through
  death
Tycho Brahe (1546-1601)
         • Built Europe’s first
           modern astronomical
           laboratory
         • Discovered a
           supernova and comet.
         • Believed all other
           planets revolved around
           the sun while the earth
           remained stationary.
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
              • Supported
                Heliocentric and
                states that
                revolutions are
                elliptical
                (German)
                  – Developed a
                    mathematical
                    formula as proof
                  – Developed three
                    laws of planetary
                    motion
Laws of Planetary Motion

• 1. All planets revolve around he
  sun in elliptical orbits.
• 2. The velocity of the planet varies
  according to its distance from the
  sun (closer = faster, further = slower)
• 3. set out mathematical formula to
  explain the physical relationship
  among the moving planets and the
  sun.
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)

• Asserted that planets
  are made of roughly
  same material as the
  Earth
• Wrote The Starry
  Messenger (1610)
• A Dialog Between the
  Two Great Systems of
  the World (1632)
• Challenged biblical
  view of the heavens
Galileo and the Church
• In 1632, Brought before the Roman
  Inquisition for teaching
  “Copernicanism”
• Church was prepared to tolerate
  hypothesis (not fact). Galileo forced
  to recant.
• Tried and found guilty of heresy,
  house arrest; Dialogue was placed
  on the Index of Forbidden Books
Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
• Used experimental philosophy = physics
• Start with the natural world and then try to
  explain it
• Natural philosophy began with an idea and
  applied it to nature
• Used math to create models based on nature
       - used formulas
• Expressed observations in numeric language
• Math was a precise language that allowed for
  replication, collaboration and the creation of new
  knowledge
• Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles
  of Natural Philosophy) (1687)
Laws of Universal Gravitation

• 1. Law of motion - every object is at
  rest or motion and continues until
  some force affects the object
• 2. Rate of change of motion is in
  proportion to the force which affects
  the object
• 3. To every action there is always
  an equal and opposite reaction
Discoveries in Anatomy
• Andreas Vesalius:
  – Galen (Classical source) established classical
    beliefs regarding anatomy and physiology.
    More accurate anatomical sketches
• William Harvey:
  – Blood circulates throughout the body in a
    continuous loop
  – Previously believed that there were two
    circulation systems
  – Heart as a pump
Discoveries in Chemistry
• Robert Boyle
  – supported atomic view of matter -
    chemistry
  – Boyle's Law: relationship between
    pressure and gas
  – Promoted the use to experimental
    technology
The Scientific Method
• Use of observation and data collection to
  prove or disprove a hypothesis had been
  used by various researchers for centuries
  (especially the Arabs)
• Scientists such as Copernicus and
  Galileo revive the use of these techniques
  in Europe.
• Later scientists build upon their methods
  toward a more codified scientific method.
Francis Bacon
         • Challenged Aristotle’s
           reliance on deductive
           reasoning.
         • codification of the
           Scientific Method
           (inductive empirical
           experimentalism)
         • The Advancement of
           Learning (1605)
Rene Descartes
• Jesuit education; Schooled in Aristotelian
  philosophy
• Disagreed with the basis of Aristotelian
  philosophy
• Embraced Skepticism (people who use doubt as
  the basis of knowledge)
• Rejected absolute construct of knowledge,
  knowledge based on probability
• Constructed knowledge based on doubt, but
  reaffirmed the value of deductive reasoning.
• Used "proofs" to support philosophical learning
• Could only accept that which you could prove
   – "I think, therefore I am"
Rene Descartes
    • Cartesian dualism: Mind and matter are separate,
      so to is the physical world from intellectual
      constructs (basis for science)
       – Example: Ontological proof of god:
       – One could only accept God if you could prove it
          exists
       – Descartes knew that he was not perfect
       – Only a perfect individual could place that
          concept in ones mind
       – Therefore perfection must exist
       – What is perfection, existence without limits =
          God
       – proof for God based upon doubt, if you doubt it
          then it must exist at some level
    • Contrast it to Aristotelian proof: Causality
    • believed that humans could more completely
      understand their world by using abstract principles
    • Believed in that nature operated based on a
      Mechanical set of laws
Blaise Pascal
           • Scientist who
             studied probability
             and mathematics.
           • He had concerns
             about science’s
             influence on faith.
           • Wrote Pensees,
             reflections on faith
             and science.
Scientific Societies
• As the importance of science grew,
  scientific societies formed to promote
  research and share knowledge.
• Many had gov’t connections and support:
  reflecting the growing influence of central
  governments,
• Rome (1603), Florence (1657), England
  (Royal Society, 1662), France (French
  Academy, 1666), Prussia (Berlin
  Academy, 1701)