THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION

CREATION OF A NEW WORLDVIEW  Questioning of old knowledge & assumptions  Gradual replacement of religious & superstition presumptions  Gradual rise of science & reason

THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION NEW DIRECTIONS IN ASTRONOMY & PHYSICS  PTOLEMY: Geocentricism  NICOLAUS COPERNICUS ( ): Heliocentrisim  TYCHO BRAHE ( ): More accurate position of planets  JOHANNES KEPLER, ( ): Elliptical planetary movement

THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION NEW DIRECTIONS IN ASTRONOMY & PHYSICS  GALILEO GALILEI ( )  Constructed first telescope  Described motion of bodies on earth

THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION NEW DIRECTIONS IN ASTRONOMY & PHYSICS  ISAAC NEWTON ( )  Universal Gravitation: combined laws of planetary & earth motion  Numerous practical applications

THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION DISCOVERIES IN OTHER SCIENCES  Botany: new medical applications  Anatomy: better understand of how human body worked  Microscope invented

THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT  FRANCIS BACON ( )  Inductive reasoning: working from particular to general conclusions  Empiricism & scientific method  Disinterested Observer  No preconceptions  Patterns emerge = Truth  What is the Reality?

The Scientific Revolution A break with the past emphasizing objectivity Traditional Cosmos = Aristotle, Ptolemy, Stoicism, Church Fathers New Cosmos = Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton Traditional (Qualitative) = Metaphysical, moral, ethical New Cosmos (Quantitative) = Mechanistic, atomistic, Mathematical Traditional asks “Why”? New Cosmos asks “How”?

Organization of the Universe Traditional: Earth-centered with all heavenly bodies moving around it in perfect circles Principle of perfection Judeo-Christian world view exemplified by geometry of the universe Earth is most important, God is focused on us and we give him something to do Why? Our senses reveal we are at the center of the universe

Aristotelian Logic Objects try to find “rest” at the center of the universe Fall inward until obstructed Teleological View: Define cause by its result Heavenly bodies move perfectly or are at perfect rest. The cosmos itself defines moral and ethical meaning Problem is that objects don’t move perfectly Ptolemy creates an extremely complex model that works. Why doesn’t God work simply?

Galileo Reject’s “perfect rest” theory of gravity Creates a mathematical solution for acceleration based on time and distance Weight, size composition of objects don’t matter: D=1/2gT 2 =32’/second/second Galileo is proved “wrong” at the Tower of Pisa (they don’t understand a closed system) Explains how, not why (a quantitative focus) Along with Kepler this view makes God a mathematician subject to the laws of the universe

Newton 1687 published the Principia Mathematica (Written 15 years earlier) Indebted to Galileo Concludes that inertia exists in a state of motion or rest Objects will rest or move forever absent an outside force Suggests the law of gravity

Law of Gravity Every object is attracted by the mass of the other (varies over distance) Explains planetary motion (impetus out (inertia) v. gravity drawing objects to the center creates ellipse) Most believe Newton has reconciled the universe Proved by observation, universe behaves quantitatively, expressed through math,universe is truly organized, motion predictable (God the clock-maker, Deism)

Critics of the Scientific Revolution Meaning replaced by function A place for all things in the universe except humanity Science becomes irrelevant (1 + 1 = 2 becomes meaningless) Orbits become equations (Understand and control universe, but do we belong anywhere?) Is the math theory real? Positivism. Absolutely Certain science can explain anything

Why does this Occur? Printing Press Capitalism A few remarkable scientists Scientific Societies Popular Science (downside is the gap of elites with the masses widens)

Falsification Karl Popper Where do theories come from??? Can we prove a theory correct if it agrees with our observations? Can we prove theories wrong if they disagree with our observations? Create a theory that fits most facts and then attack its weak points What are the weaknesses of this approach?

Thomas Kuhn Paradigm Shifts Paradigm is a set of accepted assumptions within which science works Ignore difficulties and contradictions until it is impossible to do so Result is a paradigm shift Weaknesses of this theory?

THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT  RENÉ DESCARTES ( )  Geometry: any algebraic formula could be plotted as curve in space  Cartesian Dualism: division of reality into “thinking substance” & “extended substance”  Deductive Reasoning: starting with general assumptions & working downward

THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION POLITICAL THOUGHT  THOMAS HOBBES ( )  Negative, mechanistic view of human nature  Strong sovereign necessary to control conflicting desires Hobbe’s Leviathan

THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION POLITICAL THOUGHT  JOHN LOCKE ( )  TABULA RASA: humans born with blank slate  Government & public enter contract