The Scientific Revolution also known as the “Age of Reason.”

As the printing press increased the accessibility of books in Europe, the literacy rate increased and people began to question the status quo. People began to wonder…what should I believe? Should I believe what my experience shows me? Or what authorities, including the church and the bible, have told me to believe.

The following scientists questioned common beliefs in the 16 th century. For this reason they were seen as risk-takers because of their threat to authority. These men and their new ideas became part of what is known as the “Scientific Revolution.” What were the consequences of their risk-taking?

Nicolaus Copernicus A Polish mathematician and astronomer who through the scientific method, observed and then proposed that the sun was stationary in the center of the universe and the earth revolved around it. A sun-centered universe is known as heliocentric. The heliocentric view was very controversial, because it disputed what had been taught for centuries… that the Earth (and the Catholic Church) was the center of the universe. A earth –centered universe (geocentric view) had been proposed by Greek astronomer, Ptolemy, centuries before and had been the standard view up until this time. Wrote De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres), but delayed publication, fearful of the Catholic Church’s response to it. “Finally we shall place the Sun himself at the center of the Universe”

It was not just the Catholic Church that disapproved of Copernicus’ heliocentric view. This is what Martin Luther had to say about Copernicus’ findings… "There is talk of a new astrologer who wants to prove that the earth moves and goes around instead of the sky, the sun, the moon, just as if somebody were moving in a carriage or ship might hold that he was sitting still and at rest while the earth and the trees walked and moved. But that is how things are nowadays: when a man wishes to be clever he must... invent something special, and the way he does it must needs be the best! The fool wants to turn the whole art of astronomy upside-down. However, as Holy Scripture tells us, so did Joshua bid the sun to stand still and not the earth." galileo-galilei#beyond-the-big-bang-copernicus

List 3 Facts about Nicolas Copernicus: How was he a risk-taker?

Galileo Galilei An Italian scientist, Galileo used the scientific method and a superior model of the telescope to make important astronomical discoveries. Some of Galileo’s astronomical discoveries included the moons of the planet Jupiter, the phases of the planet Venus (similar to those of Earth's moon), and sunspots on the moon. As a professor of astronomy at University of Pisa, Galileo was required to teach the geocentric view of the universe. Later, Galileo was exposed to the Copernicus’ heliocentric view and with observations made with his newly improved telescope, he became convinced that the heliocentric view was the most accurate view of the universe. In 1633 the Inquisition convicted him of heresy and forced him to recant (publicly withdraw) his support of Copernicus. They sentenced him to life imprisonment, but because of his advanced age allowed him serve his term under house arrest at his house outside of Florence. bang-galileo-galilei “I do not feel obliged to believe that the same god who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.”

List 3 Facts about Galileo: How was he a risk-taker?

Johannes Kepler Johannes Kepler was a German mathematician and astronomer. He agreed with Copernicus’ heliocentric view of the universe, but through mathematical calculations, Kepler discovered that the orbits of the planets were ellipses, not circles. With this information, he formulated his Three Laws of Planetary Motion. Kepler’s First Law: The orbits of the planets are ellipses, with the Sun at one focus of the ellipse. “I much prefer the sharpest criticism of a single intelligent man to the thoughtless approval of the masses.”

List 3 Facts about Kepler: How was he a risk-taker?

Isaac Newton English physicist and mathematician Helped define the laws of gravity and planetary motion, co-founded the field of calculus, and explained laws of light and color, among many other discoveries. A famous story says that Newton uncovered the laws of gravity after being hit on the head by a falling apple. There is no proof that this story is true. However, his assistant John Conduitt later wrote that Newton had said he was inspired to think about gravity after seeing an apple fall in his garden around Newton was knighted in 1705 and upon his death in 1727 was the first scientist given the honor of burial in Westminster Abbey. and-a-scientific-revolution galilei#beyond-the-big-bang-sir-isaac-newtons-law-of-gravity “If I have been able to see further, it was only because I stood on the shoulders of giants.”

Isaac Newton’s calculations changed the way people understood the universe. No one had been able to explain why the planets stayed in their orbits. What held them up? Less than 50 years before Isaac Newton was born it was thought that the planets were held in place by an invisible shield.

List 3 Facts about Newton: How was he a risk-taker?

William Harvey English physician Harvey was fascinated by the way blood flowed through the human body. Most people of the day believed that food was converted into blood by the liver, then was consumed as fuel by the body. Harvey knew this was untrue through his firsthand observations of human and animal dissections. By observing the action of the heart in small animals and fishes, he proved that the heart receives and expels blood during each cycle. His views were very controversial and lost Harvey many patients, but it became the basis for all modern research on the heart and blood vessels. “All we know is still infinitely less than all that remains unknown.” william-harvey-blood.html

List 3 Facts about Harvey: How was he a risk-taker?