The Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment Toward a New Worldview The Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment

Introduction Profound change in the European world-view in the late 16th and 17th centuries Primary cause was the Scientific Revolution (1543-present) The most profound change in human history? New intellectual climate differed from medieval & early modern world-view: Rejection of authority “Best” knowledge was practical Demystification of the universe Scientists of this era differed from predecessors in combining mathematics and experiment -rejection of authority. Mostly Church authority, several crises contributed to this. -”best” authority was practical. Bacon: “purpose of knowledge was to ease man’s estate” Descartes: purpose of knowledge “to make us, as it were, masters and possessors of nature” Demystification of the universe: e.g., heavenly realm above the moon was no longer of eternal bodies that had no matter or weren’t physical Experiment was different from Observation, which the ancient did.

Introduction Roots – science & technology from: Ancient Egypt – pyramids, mathematics China – movable type, paper, astronomy Islam – medicine, ancient Greek texts, astronomy, mathematics Medieval Europe – alchemy, herbalists, cathedrals

The Geocentric (Ptolemaic) Universe                                                                                                    The Geocentric (Ptolemaic) Universe The Geocentric Universe

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish monk Observed patterns of star and planet movement On the Revolutions of Celestial Bodies (1543) Heliocentrism Called into question the literal truth of the Scriptures Copernicus waited until he was near death to publish his findings Called into question the literal truth of the Scriptures. There are a few passages where God, for example, makes the sun stand still. This implies that the earth is still and the sun moves around it.

The Heliocentric (Copernican) Universe

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) Italian scientist Improved the telescope Made observations that proved the Copernican view of the universe Moon Planets Stars Sunspots Wrote in the vernacular 1633 – Church forced Galileo to recant; placed under house arrest Among observations: moons of Jupiter, that is that there are planets with their own satellites: this also goes against the conception of perfect crystal spheres.

Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina of Tuscany (1615) Written to address the conflict between the Bible and heliocentric theory Argued that the Bible must be interpreted in light of scientific knowledge Argued for a non-literal interpretation of the Bible Galileo declared the Bible teaches how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go The letter began Galileo’s troubles with the Catholic Church

René Descartes (1596-1650) French mathematician and philosopher A transitional figure between the medieval past and modern science A rationalist Promoter of deductive reasoning, predicting particular results from general principles Mathematician: invented the Cartesian Coordinate system and analytic geometry, among other things. Promoter of deductive reasoning. Wanted science to be like Euclid: deductions from self-evident starting points.

Discourse on Method (1637) Descartes wished to develop a method that could be used to yield scientific truth Argued that abstract reasoning and math were a more reliable path to truth; our senses could deceive us Cogito ergo sum (“I think, therefore I am”) Cogito ergo sum was one of Descartes’ “axioms”, that is, certain and self-evident truths that other truths could then be deduced from using a deductive method.

Significance of the Scientific Revolution Contributions of these scientists made the universe comprehensible for the first time The individual became much more important; collective authority was not the source of wisdom…individual intellect was After the Revolution, God was viewed by many as either a remote “master mechanic”, or his existence began to be doubted Began long adversarial relationship between science and religion The Revolution laid the foundation for the Enlightenment of the 18th century…

The Scientific Method A Way to Solve a Problem

What is the Scientific Method? It is the steps someone takes to identify a question, develop a hypothesis, design and carry out steps or procedures to test the hypothesis, and document observations and findings to share with someone else. In other words, it’s a way to solve a problem.

Scientist have to take the time to think logically when they are investigating a question or problem. They break things down into many steps that make sense.

Scientists develop a question, gather information and form an hypothesis.

The next step scientists take is to create and conduct an experiment to test their hypothesis.

A key to experiments is observing what happens and writing it down. Gathering information or data and documenting it so it is readable and makes sense to others is really important.

Once a scientist completes an experiment, they often repeat it to see if they get the same findings and results. This is really what we call verification, or checking things out to make sure everything was valid and will happen again and again.

Scientists share their experiments and findings with others. Because they share their experiments and findings, scientists can learn from each other and often use someone else’s experiences to help them with what they are studying or doing.

The steps of the Scientific Method are: Question Research Hypothesis Procedure/Method Data Observations Conclusion