The Scientific Revolution

What Ideas about the universe and the natural world did the world believe up to today? Scholars relied on traditional authorities (the Church) for beliefs about structure of universe Geocentric theory, Aristotle Earth center of universe Sun, moon, planets revolved around Earth Ideas upheld by church, accepted authority for European intellectuals

Scientific Revolution—a movement in the 1600s in which new technology and innovative approaches to seeking knowledge led to a breakthrough in European thought. (Everything was questioned; nothing was assumed)

Deductive Reasoning Observing something general & using logic to prove a hypothesis (unproven question) Use Scientific Method to prove hypothesis Premise: All dogs have four legs Premise: Rover is a dog Conclusion: This method goes from big to small Rover has four legs

Scientific Method Theory—Observation of something in nature Form Hypothesis—come up with a question about observation Experimentation—conduct tests to determine answers to hypothesis Confirmation—analyze & interpret data to see if hypothesis is true This method goes from big to small

Inductive Reason Observing something specific & using logic to make a general statement Observation: John came to class late this morning Observation: John’s hair was uncombed Prior experience: John is very fussy about his hair Conclusion: John overslept

Reasons for Scientific Revolution Renaissance—emphasis on order, perfection, its OK to question traditional beliefs, humans can accomplish anything Reformation—Catholic Church did not always support scientific thought; new religions weakened Church authority Overseas Exploration—caused scientific research on new plants & animals brought back

Nicolaus Copernicus

Nicolaus Copernicus Founder of modern astronomy Introduced heliocentric hypothesis: earth is 1 of many heavenly bodies that spin on their axes & revolve around the sun Revolutionize Europe’s concept of the universe Influenced: Galileo, Kepler, & Newton

Galileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei Considered one of most influential scientists in history Law of Inertia, invented telescope, astronomy observations Perfection of scientific method--emphasis on careful, quantitative measurements The telescope helped him look at moons of jupiter and the half circle of saturn and holes in the moon Law of inertia is that object in motion stay in motion until acted on by an outside force

Galileo and the Church (Part I) Galileo’s Theories Brought him into direct conflict with the church Church leaders pressured him not to support ideas of Copernicus Dialogue concerning Two Chief World Systems, 1632, showed support

Galileo and the Church (Part II) Trial Pope Urban VII ordered Galileo to Rome to stand trial before Inquisition Church wanted to stamp out heresy, or dissenting views Trial held, April 1633

Galileo and the Church (Part III) House Arrest Galileo stated would not use Copernican theory in work Received lenient sentence in return Pope ordered Galileo under house arrest, where he spent rest of life

Science and Society Science and the Church Conflicts As science assumed greater significance, the question of the role of the Roman Catholic Church in a changing culture became important. While the church opposed the views of many scientists, it benefited from new discoveries that made Renaissance art and architecture possible. Church most powerful institution in Europe, Middle Ages Primary resource for knowledge, learning Cathedral schools, universities trained people to run the church Science and the Church Most scientists did not want to challenge role of Christianity Church explained world through inspiration, revealed truth Science explained world through logical reasoning Conflicts The church feared reason as an enemy of faith, but eventually began to embrace some of the achievements of the Scientific Revolution.

Isaac Newton

The greatest and most influential scientist of the era Isaac Newton The greatest and most influential scientist of the era Major contributions to understanding of motion, light, heat Discovered theory of gravity Created calculus Laws of motion: 1st an object at rest will stay at rest an object in motion will continue In motion unless acted on 2nd force = Mass x Acceleration the bigger an item the more power it takes to move 3rd every action has an equal and opposite reaction – first law is directly related to galileo’s

Science and Community Scientific Revolution established new way of thinking about physical world Great advances made in astronomy, physics, biology, chemistry Advances influenced developments in arts, architecture Impact of Scientific Revolution soon would cause philosophers, scholars to wonder if reason could solve poverty, war, ignorance