The Challenge to Aristotle  For 1500 years Aristotelian physics and philosophy ruled the study of science and government  The Ptolemaic Universe was a conception of the universe that was centered around the Earth  This is a called a geocentric model  The heavenly bodies moved in perfect circles

Nicolaus Copernicus  1543: Copernicus publishes On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres  Copernicus argued that we lived in a heliocentric universe with the Sun at the center

Tycho Brahe  Tycho was a brilliant observational astronomer  His measurements were so accurate they allowed his best friend and student to take the next step in destroying Aristotelian Science

Johannes Kepler  Used Tycho’s data to confirm Copernicus’ theory that the sun was the center of the universe  Kepler’s 3 Laws of Motion  First Law: All orbits are not circular but elliptical  Kepler’s findings destroyed Aristotelian Physics

Galileo Galilei  Invented a telescope to observe:  The mountains of the Moon  Phases of Venus  Moons around Jupiter  Sunspots  That the heavens were not perfect  1610: Published his findings in The Starry Messenger  Attacked by the church, Italy was no longer the center of scientific revolution…it is England

Sir Isaac Newton  Arguably the smartest man who ever lived…ever  May have been hit on the head with an apple  Almost singlehandedly invented calculus

Newton’s Laws  First Law: Every object continues in a state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line until deflected by a force  Second Law: The rate of change of motion on an object is proportional to the force acting on it (Force = mass x acceleration)  Third Law: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction  Law of Gravitation: every object in the universe is affected by gravity

Toward Enlightenment  By challenging Aristotle, science made it possible for philosophers to develop new ways of thinking about human nature, politics, and government