The Age of Exploration & Expansion

From Magic to Science Until the Renaissance, little difference between magic & science: Alchemy: quest to transform one substance into another, ex – lead to gold Astrology: the impact the stars have on the human psyche Natural Philosophy: the attempt to explain nature through religion and mythology Roger Bacon: 13th Century monk & teacher who promoted scientific inquiry and experimentation Major advances in scientific thought & study develop during the Renaissance resulting in the Scientific Revolution

Advances in Astronomy Ancient astronomy Ptolemy stated that the Earth was the center of the universe & all other celestial bodies revolve around the Earth (Geocentric Theory) Nicholas Copernicus develops Heliocentric Theory Sun is the center of the universe, Earth revolves around the Sun Published his ideas in 1543 Ideas denied by the Church which supported Geocentric Theory Galileo proves Copernicus’ heliocentric theory Constructed & perfected the telescope Documented geographic features of the moon, Saturn’s rings, and other celestial features Used observations to prove Copernicus’ theory Johannes Kepler

Causes of the Scientific Revolution: Importance of Humanism encourages inquiry & experimentation People challenging old & accepted “truths” Weakening of the Church authority leads people to question Church teachings about scientific areas Other Causes: Development of new tools help promote scientific experimentation Telescope Barometer Thermometer Microscope Development of the Scientific Method

Sir Isaac Newton Published a work building on the beliefs of Copernicus, Galileo, & Kepler Wanted to explain WHY the planets moved as they did around the sun Determined that there was a force that kept the planets in motion Law of Universal Gravitation All bodies are attracted to one another Force of the attraction is measurable The force that keeps the planets in motion and that causes things to fall is the same force Developed a mathematical means of measuring motion Calculated the speed of sound Impact of Newton Changed the way people viewed the world Began to see God as a great scientist or engineer Earth a great clockwork, once wound by God, would stay in motion according to the laws of physics

Vesalius & Harvey Andreas Vesalius: William Harvey: Inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s study of human anatomy. Dissected cadavers and created highly detailed illustrations of human anatomy 1543 published a seven volume book On the Fabric of the Human Body First comprehensive work on human anatomy William Harvey: Using laboratory experiments, study the movement of human blood Documented how blood moved through the veins and arteries Identified the heart as the most important muscle responsible for the movement of blood through the body

Rene Descartes French philosopher & mathematician Basics of Cartesian philosophy No assumption should be accepted w/o question All assumptions must be proven on the basis of known facts Only universal truths that had previously been proven could be accepted w/o risk All scientific knowledge is connected Descartes ideas helped shape the development of the Scientific Method Identify a problem or question – formulate a hypothesis Conduct an experiment Observe & collect data Evaluate & analyze date to determine if hypothesis is correct/if not re-evaluate & start process over