1. The Age of Exploration & Expansion

2. From Magic to Science
Until the Renaissance, little difference between magic & science:
Alchemy: quest to transform one substance into another, ex – lead to gold
Astrology: the impact the stars have on the human psyche
Natural Philosophy: the attempt to explain nature through religion and mythology
Roger Bacon: 13th Century monk & teacher who promoted scientific inquiry and experimentation
Major advances in scientific thought & study develop during the Renaissance resulting in the Scientific Revolution

3. Advances in Astronomy
Ancient astronomy Ptolemy stated that the Earth was the center of the universe & all other celestial bodies revolve around the Earth (Geocentric Theory)
Nicholas Copernicus develops Heliocentric Theory
Sun is the center of the universe, Earth revolves around the Sun
Published his ideas in 1543
Ideas denied by the Church which supported Geocentric Theory
Galileo proves Copernicus’ heliocentric theory
Constructed & perfected the telescope
Documented geographic features of the moon, Saturn’s rings, and other celestial features
Used observations to prove Copernicus’ theory
Johannes Kepler

4. Causes of the Scientific Revolution:
Importance of Humanism
encourages inquiry & experimentation
People challenging old & accepted “truths”
Weakening of the Church authority leads people to question Church teachings about scientific areas
Other Causes:
Development of new tools help promote scientific experimentation
Telescope
Barometer
Thermometer
Microscope
Development of the Scientific Method

5. Sir Isaac Newton
Published a work building on the beliefs of Copernicus, Galileo, & Kepler
Wanted to explain WHY the planets moved as they did around the sun
Determined that there was a force that kept the planets in motion
Law of Universal Gravitation
All bodies are attracted to one another
Force of the attraction is measurable
The force that keeps the planets in motion and that causes things to fall is the same force
Developed a mathematical means of measuring motion
Calculated the speed of sound
Impact of Newton
Changed the way people viewed the world
Began to see God as a great scientist or engineer
Earth a great clockwork, once wound by God, would stay in motion according to the laws of physics

6. Vesalius & Harvey Andreas Vesalius: William Harvey:
Inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s study of human anatomy.
Dissected cadavers and created highly detailed illustrations of human anatomy
1543 published a seven volume book On the Fabric of the Human Body
First comprehensive work on human anatomy
William Harvey:
Using laboratory experiments, study the movement of human blood
Documented how blood moved through the veins and arteries
Identified the heart as the most important muscle responsible for the movement of blood through the body

7. Rene Descartes French philosopher & mathematician
Basics of Cartesian philosophy
No assumption should be accepted w/o question
All assumptions must be proven on the basis of known facts
Only universal truths that had previously been proven could be accepted w/o risk
All scientific knowledge is connected
Descartes ideas helped shape the development of the Scientific Method
Identify a problem or question – formulate a hypothesis
Conduct an experiment
Observe & collect data
Evaluate & analyze date to determine if hypothesis is correct/if not re-evaluate & start process over