The Scientific Revolution 1540 – 1700 AD

What is science? Science as we know it (modern science) did not exist until the 16 th and 17 th centuries. Science is a way to gain knowledge about the world. The word science comes from Latin and means “knowledge” or “understanding”.

What is science? (cont.) Science starts with observation. By observing the world, scientists identify facts. Scientists use logic to develop explanations of the facts they have observed. These explanations are called theories. Experiments are used to test theories. Experiments can either support or disprove theories. These ideas: observation, facts and theories make up modern science.

Before Modern Science – The Greek Thinkers The ancient Greeks developed theories about how the world worked. Some of these theories are now considered scientific (based on facts, observation, and logical conclusion). Some great Greek thinkers are called “rationalists” because their theories are based on rational (reasonable and logical) methods of thinking.

Great Greek Rationalists Aristotle – taught that people should observe the world carefully and draw logical conclusions about what they see. (This is the foundation of modern science.) Ptolemy – used observation to create theories of astronomy and create maps (geography). Euclid – discovered mathematical laws. He is considered the father of geometry. Pythagoras – is most famous for his geometry theorem. He worked in the area of math, but made many contributions in music and philosophy.

Before Modern Science – The Middle Ages In the Middle Ages, few Europeans were educated. Most of these were church trained and the focus of their education was religious. These educated few formed their understanding of the world from the teachings of two main sources: –Ancient Greek writers –The Catholic Church Non-Europeans also helped to preserve ancient Greek writings. Muslim scholars translated the works into Arabic and taught them in their universities.

The Renaissance triggered the Scientific Revolution. –Renaissance thinkers were very interested classical writings of the Greeks and Romans. –Humanists artists and writers spent much of their time studying the natural world. –Alchemists (early chemists who tried to create gold) carried out experiments that resulted in greater understanding of natural substances.

Many advances were made during the Scientific Revolution. Astronomy Geography Mechanics Physics Inventions Reason