1. Chapter 15.1: History of Scientific Thought
EQ’s:
Which people and places influenced the Scientific Revolution of the 1500s?
2. Why did Europeans begin to question classical scientific knowledge and what did they do about it?

2. Q1: Rationalism Rationalism = Using reason, or
logical thought to understand
the world
Btw 600 BC – 200 AD,
Greek Rationalism responsible
for Greeks developing many
ideas on how world worked
Tried to explain universe in mathematical terms, made advances in plant and animal anatomy, and medicine

3. Q2: Muslim Scholars
In Medieval period Europeans became more interested in religion but Muslims focused on scientific knowledge
Muslims focused on classical scientific knowledge, which they later passed to European thinkers

4. Q3: Jewish Scholars Translated scientific works into Latin
Jewish scientist created tool to measure distance between objects in sky
Jews helped to keep scientific knowledge alive

5. Q4: Humanism Renaissance period brought back interest in science
Invention of printing press helped spread humanist books on sciences
Shared views on Greek, Roman, Muslim, and Jewish science scholarship

6. Q5: Thomas Aquinas
As scientific knowledge spread through Europe as early as the 1200s, conflict arose between Christianity and science
Christianity stressed viewing world through faith
Scientists emphasized reason
Thomas Aquinas tried to show that faith and reason could exist in harmony

7. Q6: Roots of Scientific Revolution
Greek rationalism, medieval Muslim and Jewish scholarship, and humanism all played important parts in the Scientific Revolution 1500s

8. Q7: Different Opinions
As more books became available scholars realized classical thinkers did not always agree
As Greek texts became more widely read European thinkers discovered there were different opinions about some important ideas
European scholars began questioning classical learning

9. Q8: Renaissance Spirit and Values
As Europeans began questioning classical scientific knowledge the Renaissance spirit of investigation led scholars to make important discoveries during the Scientific Revolution of the 1500s

10. Q9: Global Exploration
During Renaissance Europeans looked for new routes to Asia
Voyages increased knowledge of Earth’s shape, size, and weather
Exposure to previously unknown lands through global exploration stirred European’s desire to learn more

11. Summary Write a 12-15 sentence summary answering the EQ’s
Remember! The EQ’s were:
Which people and places influenced the Scientific Revolution of the 1500s?
Why did European’s began to question classical scientific knowledge and what did they do about it?