Scientific Revolution: But was it revolutionary?

Previously, The Church was the ultimate authority about how the universe functioned Several things caused a change in European thinking: –The Crusades –The Bubonic Plague –The emergence of commerce –The Reformation/printing press/education –The discovery of the Americas

Scientific Method Scientists began to realize that their observations did not always mesh with Church doctrine Observation and experimentation Empirical knowledge

Renee Descartes “Cogito ergo sum.” Cannot accept anything as true unless absolutely able to verify validity. Begin with the simple  end with complex Believed science needed to start over completely Need more experimentation!

Copernicus Astronomer Studied the star movement, and realized that the earth was not the center of the universe; the earth did move Heliocentric view of the universe

Galileo Mathematician Built upon Copernicus’ discovery, and said that the earth/planets traveled in an elliptical orbit, not a spherical one Found/wrote papers about sun spots Tried before the Inquisition and convicted of heresy Forced to recant

Isaac Newton Principia Law of universal gravitation regulates the motions of bodies throughout the universe Precise mathematical explanations of the laws that governed movement on earth Synthesized astronomy and mechanics

So, was it revolutionary? What do you think?