The Scientific Revolution

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Paradigm Shift A change in the way people think or view certain things

What was the Scientific Revolution? historical changes in thought & belief which caused changes in social & institutional organization, that happened in Europe between roughly 1550-1700

Where did scientific thought begin? It began with the Greeks. More specifically, it began with Aristotle. He began questioning why things were they way they are and looked for a logic reason(not god) to answer his questions. This was the start of the scientific method.

Before the Scientific Revolution, what did many people believe? The Church taught that Earth was placed in the center for a reason; human beings as God's children occupied a special placement in the Universe which was on Earth Therefore the sun revolved around the earth. Also, the “heaven” (stars) were "perfect and unchanging"

Nicolaus Copernicus Priest, Mathematician, Astronomer. Created the Heliocentric Model Said that the universe revolved around the Sun and not the Earth (geocentric model). This theory went against the Catholic Church and the Creation of the Earth as described in the Old Testament. Made him an enemy of the Catholic Church and eventually weakened the power of the church. He was put under house arrest for heresy by the church.

Johannes Kepler German scientist who developed laws of planetary motion that are the basis for the same laws used today. He discovered that the shape of a planetary orbit is elliptical and not circular. Elliptical – an oval shape with two foci. He defended Copernicus and said that the planets orbit around the sun. This changed the idea that the Earth was the center of the universe This was another challenge to the Catholic Church

Galileo Gailiei (1564-1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist, mathematician, inventor, and philosopher. Discovered Moon craters and the four largest Moons of Jupiter. He discovered the rotation of the sun by observing sunspots and confirmed Copernicus’ theory that the planets revolved around the sun. This went against the teachings of the Catholic Church He was put on trial by the Inquisition and forced to say that all of his findings were wrong. He was first imprisoned, and later confined to his house near Florence.