Leaders of the Scientific Revolution Chapter 22.1

Essential Questions What are the causes and consequences of the Scientific Revolution? How is the Scientific Revolution a change in both science and thought? Who were the major contributors to the advancement of scientific knowledge? Who is impacted by the Scientific Revolution? How are those people/groups impacted?

Why is it referred to as a “Revolution?” Prior to the 1500s, Europeans accepted the word of the Catholic Church, which had based its ideas about the natural world on the Bible and the often erroneous teachings of Greek/Roman philosophers like Aristotle and Ptolemy Religious doctrine was never questioned! Leaders of the Scientific Revolution would apply ideas gained from the Renaissance, Reformation and Era of Exploration Question! Explore! Challenge! As a result, there was an explosion of scientific (and mathematically proven) knowledge, or a Revolution!

MAJOR FACTORS LEADING TO THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION Rising community of intellectuals pursuing knowledge Rise of universities in the High Middle Ages - Science emerged as a minor but distinct branch of philosophy in leading universities Interest in the idea of human potential and progress (humanism) Recovery of classical texts (mathematics) Navigational problems of long sea voyages in the ‘Age of Exploration’ were a cause as well. Renaissance pattern of patronage allowed individuals to pursue scientific investigation (Galileo was supported by the Medicis)

The Catholic Church based its doctrine on the Aristotelian View of the Universe Aristotle put forth this view of the universe in the 4th century B.C. This is commonly known as the GEOCENTRIC view where a motionless Earth is at the center of the universe while the moon, sun, planets, and stars revolve around the Earth. Notice also that it was believed that the orbits were circular. Ancient astronomers also believed the Earth was composed of “heavy” elements while the celestial bodies were composed of completely different substances and thus were weightless, allowing them to orbit the Earth.

Ptolemaic View of the Universe The astronomer and mathematician, Ptolemy (2nd century A.D.) had worked out complicated rules to explain the minor irregularities in the movement of the planets in an attempt to mathematically prove the GEOCENTRIC universe. While Ptolemy was wrong, a positive consequence of his work was that it allowed stargazers and astrologers to track the planets with greater precision.

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish monk and astronomer questioned Ptolemy’s complicated explanation of planetary movements proposed a sun centered solar system (heliocentric) -planets and stars revolved around a fixed sun Author-On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres - published in 1543; waited to have his work published until right before his death b/c he feared Church persecution

Nicolaus Copernicus His ideas are attacked by religious authorities; Luther called him “the fool who wants to turn the whole art of astronomy upside down.”

The Copernican System

Tycho Brahe 1546-1601 A Danish nobleman and astronomer who received money from the king of Denmark to build an advanced observatory where he studied the stars and planets; collecting over twenty years of data.

Brahe’s Problem… Made detailed observations of the stars and planets He could not make mathematical sense of them Used the views of Aristotle and Copernicus Planets revolved around the sun Sun and planets revolved around the earth and moon

JOHANNAS KEPLER (1571-1630) German astronomer- brilliant student of Brahe Formulated the three laws of planetary motion -orbits of the planets are elliptical rather than circular -Planets do NOT move at a uniform speed in their orbits -time it takes a planet to orbit the sun is related to its distance from the sun Kepler provided sound mathematical proofs for Copernicus’ heliocentric theory

Kepler’s contributions are HUGE; he had mathematically proved the relations of a sun-centered solar system, aka HELIOCENTRIC

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) Italian philosopher and astronomer Medici family was a patron Viewed the physical universe as a “Book of Nature…written in mathematical characters.” Improved on the telescope allowed him to observe the motion of the planets and the surface of the sun and moon Came to accept Copernicus’ idea of a heliocentric universe (based on observations) The Dialogue Concerning Two Chief World Systems- Galileo’s discussion of his ideas regarding heliocentrism

GALILEO Used observations of the moons of Jupiter as evidence for heliocentrism

GALILEO OBSERVED JUPITER AND THE ROTATION OF ITS MOONS

Galileo- The Heretic Galileo’s views were challenged by the Church Church feared that helio-centrism would undermine its authority and theology Church doctrine was based on the geocentric theory of both Aristotle and Ptolemy’s models, as well as Scripture Galileo was brought before the Inquisition His works and teachings were condemned and placed on the Index of Forbidden Books Galileo recanted his views to avoid execution He was threatened with torture and excommunication and placed under house arrest until his death

Cristiano Banti’s 1857 painting Galileo facing the Roman Inquisition

He was finally absolved by Pope John Paul II in 1992. It only took 500 years!

Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1723) “If I have seen further [than others], it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.” (Newton)

Isaac Newton English mathematician – Cambridge University Built on the work of Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo (Newtonian synthesis) 1686 formulated the mathematics for the universal law of gravitation every physical body in the universe exerts a force on every other body Provided evidence that the universe was governed by precise mathematical relationships

Isaac Newton: Can a Scientist believe in God? Newton was deeply Christian (theistic) in his thinking Believed the physical order “can be the effect of nothing else than the wisdom and skill of a powerful ever-living agent.” The science of Newton would lay the foundation for much of the science of the western world

Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica Newton’s most important work Described universal gravitation and the three laws of motion Newton showed that the motions of objects on Earth and of celestial bodies are governed by the same set of natural laws Removed any last doubts about heliocentrism

Sir Isaac Newton’s other accomplishments… Shares dual credit with Gottfried Leibnitz for developing differential and integral calculus Built the first reflecting telescope

Newton developed a theory on color by using a prism to break white light into the many visible colors that form the visible spectrum

SIR FRANCIS BACON EMPIRICISM (SCIENTIFIC METHOD) INDUCTIVE –TRUTH CLAIMS NEEDED TO BE EMPIRICIALLY VERIFIED

Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) English politician and writer; not a trained scientist knowledge comes through observation and experimentation -SCIENTIFIC METHOD Allow the “facts” to speak for themselves and draw conclusions based on those facts Referred to as Inductive Reasoning-EMPIRICISM

RENE DESCARTES “I think, therefore, I am.” He would only believe those things his mind told him were true

Rene Descartes 1596-1650 French mathematician Invented analytical geometry Author of Discourse on Method- stated that everything in the universe except God and the human soul can be viewed as mechanical Descartes believed that he could rationally prove the existence of God Universal Doubt- start your research from scratch; not based upon the faulty foundations of others

Zacharias Jansen (1580 -1638) Was a Dutch spectacle-maker associated with the invention of the first optical telescope. Jansen is sometimes also credited for inventing the first truly compound microscope

Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1632 –1723) Dutch tradesman and scientist Often referred to as the Father of Microbiology Best known for improving the microscope Helped to proved wrong Aristotle’s theory of “spontaneous generation” Was the first to observe single-celled organisms- called the “animalcules”

Other Advancements in Science Evangelista Torricelli (Italy) Student of Galileo Developed the first mercury barometer which measures atmospheric pressure (aids in weather prediction) Gabriel Fahrenheit (Germany) Created the first thermometer using mercury in glass (1714); measured freezing at 32 degrees Anders Celsius (Sweden) Created another scale for a mercury thermometer His scale measures freezing at 0 degrees

Advances in Medicine… Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564) Flemish anatomist, physician and author Wrote On the Structure of the Human Body Dissected corpses of executed criminals Used commissioned artists to build up a wealth of anatomical diagrams Overturned many of Galen’s research, which had previously been considered unassailable Galen was a Roman physician, surgeon and philosopher who lived in AD 129-199

More Advances in Medicine… Edward Jenner (1749-1823) English scientist Pioneer of the smallpox vaccine “Father of Immunology” William Harvey (1578 – 1657) English physician Was the first person to describe completely and in detail the systematic circulation and properties of blood being pumped to the body by the heart

Image of veins from Harvey's Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus

Advances in Chemistry… Robert Boyle (1627-1691) English chemist Boyle’s Air Pump Pioneered the use of the Scientific Method in chemistry Author of The Skeptical Chemist Most known for Boyle’s Law (describes the interaction of volume, pressure, & temperature of gas) One of the founders of modern chemistry

Advances in Chemistry continued… Antoine Lavoisier (1743-1794) The “Father of Modern Chemistry” French nobleman Named oxygen and hydrogen Helped construct the metric system Put together the first extensive list of elements He discovered that, although matter may change its form or shape, its mass always remains the same (Law of Conservation of Mass). Tried, Convicted, and guillotined during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror

“It took them only an instant to cut off his head, but France may not produce another such head in a century.” -Joseph Louis Lagrange

Consequences of the Scientific Revolution Creation of an international scientific community; scholars could engage in discourse about theories and ideas, thus expanding knowledge. (England’s Royal Academy and the French Academy of Science) The modern scientific method. Few economic consequences for the masses initially outside of navigation. Few practical and applied consequences of the science to improve the lives of the masses (at least not until the Industrial Revolution). The greatest impact was on how people thought and believed.

THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION WOULD IMPACT THE DEVELOPMENT OF TWO 18TH CENTURY MOVEMENTS THE ENLIGHTENMENT AND THE INDUSTIRAL REVOLUTION

Questions to assess your understanding: (the MICRO history) Whose ideas were the basis for Europeans’ view of the universe? How was science classified before 1500? Which astronomers contributed to the destruction of the geocentric view of the universe? Who postulated the heliocentric view of the universe? What does empiricism emphasize? Who created the modern scientific method? Who put forth the three laws of planetary motion? Who formulated the law of universal gravitation? What was Galileo’s greatest achievement? Who wrote On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres? What is its significance? Who wrote Principia? What is its significance? Who postulated the theory of inertia? What did it state? What is the significance of Gresham College to the discipline of science? Who is regarded as Europe’s leading astronomer with his vast amounts of detailed observations? What are the significant causes of the scientific revolution? What are the significant consequences of the scientific revolution?

Essential Questions (the MACRO history) How is the Scientific Revolution a change in both science and thought? What are the causes and consequences of the Scientific Revolution? Who were the major contributors to the advancement of scientific knowledge? Who is impacted by the Scientific Revolution? How are those people/groups impacted?