The Scientific Revolution

What was the Scientific

Revolution?
 From 16th century to 18th century
 Started in Europe
 Rise of Intellectuals
 Development of new ways to study universe
 Old authorities no longer blindly accepted
 Application of mathematics to natural world
 Creation and spread of new ideas and
discoveries
 The Scientific Revolution
 period of “transition from implicit
trust in the internal powers of
man’s mind to professed
dependence upon external
observation.....”
 Laid foundations for the

development of new technologies,

which continuously and greatly
shaped lives and social order.
 Before the Scientific
Revolution
 Science was called “natural
philosophy”
 Science mixed with moral
philosophy, theology,
numerology, alchemy & magic
 Ancient Greek sources highly
trusted
 Few experiments were
performed
 Causes of the Scientific
Revolution
 The voyages of
discovery and
colonization

 Ancient & Medieval

works translated into
Latin, then vernacular
languages

 New inventions &

institutions that
promoted sharing of
knowledge
 Leonardo di ser Piero da
Vinci
( 14/15 April 1452 – 2 May
 Italian polymath of the
1519)
Renaissance whose areas of
interest included invention,
drawing, painting, sculpture,
architecture, science, music,
mathematics, engineering,
literature, anatomy, geology,
astronomy, botany, paleontology,
and cartography. He is widely
considered one of the greatest
painters of all time, despite perhaps
only 15 of his paintings having
survived.
Nicolaus Copernicus
(1473-1543)
 Sun-centered universe
– heliocentric theory

 Earth is no different than

any other planet

 On the Revolutions of the

Heavenly Spheres (1543)
 http://www.npr.org/2011/11/08/141931239/for-copernicus-a-
perfect-heaven-put-sun-at-center
 Heliocentric Model
 Earth is not
center of the
universe
 Earth is just
another planet
 Earth revolves
around the Sun
 Night and day
caused by Earth’s
rotation
 The 15th Century
Astronomy
 Earth is stationary sphere at the center of
heaven. It’s habitable surface is a flat circle
with Jerusalem at it’s center.
 Stars and planets made of a perfect
substance called aether a 5th heavenly
element.
 Moon, sun and stars held in place by invisible
crystalline spheres.
 Heaven is its own sphere above the stars.
 Hell is where Satan lives and is below the
habitable surface of earth.
The Philosophical Medieval
AristotleView
 & Ptolemy from Greece supported
the
Geocentric theory:
Earth was an unmoving object
located at the center of the
universe- the sun and planets
moved around the Earth
 Religion guided views too: Christianity
taught that God had placed Earth at the
center of the universe.
 Aristotle
(384BC – 322BC)
 Greek philosopher

 Developed
geocentric model.

 Philosophies had long-

lasting effects on
philosophical theories.
Claudius Ptolemy
(85AD – 165AD)
 Greek astronomer,
mathematician &
geographer

 Expanded Aristotle’s
geocentric theory.

 Introduced
trigonometry methods.
Geocentric Theory
 Heliocentric Theory
Geocentric vs. Heliocentric Models
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyQ8Tb85HrU
 Geocentric vs. Heliocentric
 Video Clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO
xtiUPdHiM
(7 minutes)
Seven points of the
Copernican system:
1. The celestial spheres do
not have one common
center.
The Earth is not at the center
of everything.
2. Earth is not the
center of the universe,
only the center of
gravity and the lunar
orbit.
Only the Moon orbits Earth.
3. All the spheres orbit the Sun.

Spheres means the planets.

4. Compared to the distance to
the stars, the Earth to Sun
distance is almost nonexistent.

The stars are very much

farther away than the Sun.
5. The motion of the
stars is due to the
Earth rotating on its
axis.
6. The motion
of the Sun is the result
of the Earth’s motions.
(rotation and
revolution)
7. The retrograde and forward
motions of planets is caused by the
Earth’s motion.

It is caused by the fact that Earth’s

orbit is a different length than the
other planets.
 Tycho Brahe
(1546-1601)
 Danish nobleman, astronomer, and
writer known for his accurate and
comprehensive
astronomical and planetary
observations.
 he has been described as "the first
competent mind in modern astronomy
to feel ardently the passion for exact
empirical facts.
 Tycho worked to combine what he saw
as the geometrical benefits of the
Copernican system with the
philosophical benefits of the
Ptolemaic system into his own model
of the universe, the Tychonic system.
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
 GALILEO – designs 1st telescope
w/lens & sees movement of stars
& moons (similar to the
movement of the planets)

 Church believes heavens are

fixed, unmoving & earth is central
 they are furious w/Galileo!

 Galileo accused of heresy (crimes

against Church)  1633 brought
to trial before Catholic Inquisition
& he recants his statements

Brainpop
 Galileo Galilei (1564 —
1642)
 Gathered observational
data that supported the
Heliocentric Model

 Wrote Dialogue
Concerning the Two Chief
World Systems (1632)
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
 Uses experiments &
observations
 Planetary movement
is a mathematical
formula
 Planets move around
the Sun in elliptical
orbits NOT circles
 Confirms Copernicus
ideas
William Harvey (1578-1657)
 Published On the
Motion of the Heart
and Blood in
Animals (1628)

 Showed heart
acted as a pump to
circulate blood
throughout body
 Zacharias Janssen
(1585-1638)
 generally believed
to be the first
investigator to
invent the
compound
microscope.
 Otto von Guericke
(1602-1686)
 German scientist, inventor,
and politician.
 His major scientific
achievements were the
establishment of the physics
of vacuums, the discovery
of an experimental method
for clearly demonstrating
electrostatic repulsion, and
his advocacy for the reality
of "action at a distance" and
of "absolute space".
 Robert Boyle
(1627-1691)
 largely regarded today as the
first modern chemist, and
therefore one of the founders
of modern chemistry, and one
of the pioneers of modern
experimental scientific method.
 He is best known for
Boyle's law, which describes
the inversely proportional
relationship between the
absolute pressure and volume
of a gas, if the temperature is
kept constant within a
closed system.
 Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
(1632-1723)
 commonly known as "
the Father of Microbiology“
 one of the first
microscopists and
microbio-logists.
 best known for his
pioneering work in
microscopy and for his
contributions toward the
establishment of
microbiology as a
scientific discipline.
Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
 Universal law of motion 
every object in universe
attracts every other
object

 Mathematical Principles of
Natural Philosophy (1687)
- Explained gravity (what
goes up must come down)

 Universe is a giant clock-

all parts work together but
God set clock in motion.
 Charles Robert Darwin
(1806-1882)
 English naturalist, geologist and
biologist,
 best known for his contributions to
the science of evolution.
 His proposition that all species of life
have descended over time from
common ancestors is now widely
accepted, and considered a
foundational concept in science.
 In a joint publication with
Alfred Russel Wallace, he introduced
his scientific theory that this
branching pattern of evolution
resulted from a process that he
called natural selection, in which the
struggle for existence has a similar
effect to the artificial selection
involved in selective breeding.
 Darwin’s Theory of

Evolution
Evolution, or change over time, is
the process by which modern
organisms have descended from
ancient organisms.

 A scientific theory is a well-

supported testable explanation of
phenomena that have occurred in
the natural world.

Charles Darwin
 Voyage of Beagle
 Dates: February 12th,
1831
 Captain: Charles Darwin
 Ship: H.M.S. Beagle
 Destination: Voyage
around the world.
 Findings: evidence to
propose a revolutionary
hypothesis about how life
changes over time
 Patterns of
Diversity
 Darwin visited Argentina and
Australia which had similar
grassland ecosystems.

 those grasslands were inhabited by

very different animals.

 neither Argentina nor Australia was

home to the sorts of animals that
lived in European grasslands.
 Patterns of
Diversity
 Darwin posed challenging
questions.
 Why were there no rabbits in
Australia, despite the presence
of habitats that seemed perfect
for them?

 Why were there no kangaroos

in England?
 Living Organisms and
Fossils

 Darwin collected the

preserved remains of
ancient organisms, called
fossils.
 Some of those fossils
resembled organisms that
were still alive today.
 The Galapagos
Island
 The smallest, lowest islands were hot, dry, and
nearly barren-Hood Island-sparse vegetation

 The higher islands had greater rainfall and a

different assortment of plants and animals-
Isabela- Island had rich vegetation.
 Darwin was fascinated in particular by the land
tortoises and marine iguanas in the Galápagos.

 Giant tortoises varied in predictable ways from

one island to another.

 The shape of a tortoise's shell could be used to

identify which island a particular tortoise
inhabited.
The Journey Home

 Darwin Observed that

characteristics of many plants
and animals vary greatly
among the islands

 Hypothesis: Separate species

may have arose from an
original ancestor
 Sigmund Freud
(1856-1939)
 Austrian neurologist and
the founder
of psychoanalysis, a
clinical method for
treating psychopatholog
y through dialogue
between a patient and a
psychoanalyst.
 Famous for Psychoanalysis
 Psychoanalysis: “The Talking Cure”
therapy that investigates the workings and
interactions between conscious and
unconscious mind.
 Think of: “revealing,” “unearthing” what we
have hidden, repressed, in order to become
healthy.
 The image of the therapist’s couch is from
Freud’s practice where patients would lie as
Freud interrogated them
 The Self: Id, Ego, Superego
Freud: We have a tri-partite (three-part) self
 Id – That most infantile and demanding part of the self
that is insatiable; ruled by the “Pleasure Principle” that
aims to find pleasure and avoid pain
 Ego – The part of the self that battles against the Id and

Superego with reason, logic, and rationale; ruled by the

“Reality Principle”: You can’t always get what you want;
helps the Id make it until urges/desires can be satisfied
 Superego – Unreasonably abuses you for shirking your

responsibilities and not living up to your potential;

contains rules concerning what constitutes good or
appropriate behavior as well as standards concerning
what constitutes bad, immoral, or embarrassing
behavior
 Unbalanced Id, Ego,
Superego
 If, as an adult, your Id is too dominant? (very self-
absorbed, don’t care about others, only out for
yourself)
 If, as an adult, your Ego is too dominant? (distant,
rational, efficient, unemotional, cold)
 If, as an adult, your Superego is too dominant?
(guilt-ridden or sanctimonious).
Andreas Vesalius
(1514-1564)
 First to dissect human
bodies (even though a
disapproved practice)
 Wrote On the Fabric of
the Human Body (1543)
 His published
observations included
detailed drawings of
human organs, bones &
muscle.
Francis Bacon
(1561-1626)
 English politician & writer
with an interest in
science.
 Criticized ancient
philosophers on how they
arrived at conclusions.
 Urged scientists to
experiment in order to
arrive at conclusions
 Developed Scientific
Method
 The Scientific Method
 Observation
 Research
 Hypothesis
 Experiment
 Analysis
 Conclusion
Rene Descartes (1596-
1650)
 French scientist &
mathematician.

 Developed analytical
geometry (links both
algebra & geometry)

 Developments
provided new tools
for scientific
research.
The Enlightenment
---
Age of Reason
What was it?
 Emerged out of
Scientific Revolution
& ended in French
Revolution

 Spokesmen = Rising
Middle Class

 Paris = Center of
Enlightenment

 Search for new

laws/ways to govern
humans
Key Ideas
 Distrust of
Tradition and
Religion

 Scientific method
could be applied to
society as well

 Man is naturally
good
The World of the Old Regime
 Built on tradition

 World of hierarchy,
privilege and
inequality

 Allied with the Church

 Challenged by
supporters of the
Enlightenment
 Conflict with the
Capitalistic Middle Class
 Size and increasing
power of the Middle
Class

 New notion of wealth

w/mercantilism

 Tension and discord

created by the Middle
Class
 The Philosophes
(Philosophers)
 18th century French intellectuals

 Truth through reason

 Natural laws – natural is good and
reasonable
 Happiness – belief in natural laws leads
to happiness
 Progress – for society (can be perfected)
 Liberties – people should be free
The Problem of Censorship
 The attempt of the
Old Regime to control
new thinking
 Publishers and writers
hounded by censors
 Over 1000
booksellers and
authors imprisoned in
the Bastille in the
early 1700’s
Famous Enlightenment
Thinkers
Thomas Hobbes (1588 –
1679)
 Wrote Leviathan (1651)
 Convinced that all
humans are wicked and
evil
 Humans exist in a
primitive state and give
consent to the
government for self-
protection
 Absolute monarchies
John Locke (1632-1704)
 People learn from experience

 Favored self-gov’t, people

rule

 Natural rights: life, liberty,

property

 gov’t protects these rights

and if not, people overthrow
gov’t

 Wrote Two Treaties on

Government (1690)

 Inspired American Revolution

 Francois Arouet
Voltaire (1694-1778)
 Admired English gov’t
 Mocked laws of
France and religion
 There should be
separation of church
and state
 “Ecrasez l’infame” –
“Crush the evil thing”
Baron de Montesquieu (1689-
1755)
 The Spirit of the
Laws (1748)

 “Power should be a
check to power” –
this is beginnings of
separation of
powers

 Influence in the US
– legislative,
executive, judicial
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
(1712-1778)
 Individual freedom

 “Man is born free, and

everywhere he is in
chains.”

 Direct democracy

 1762- Wrote “The Social

Contract” in which he
stated that Gov’t is a
contract b/w people and
rulers
The Role of the Salon – Spreading Ideas

 Wealthy women of
Paris hosted social
gatherings known as
salons
 Philosophers, writers,
artists, scientists
gathered to share
ideas
 Madame Geoffrin –
most influential salon
hostess
Diderot’s Encyclopedia
 Encyclopedia (28 volumes)
 Collected articles regarding
all topics: science, politics,
economics, slavery, human
rights, religion, etc.
 Critics were outraged &
Pope threatened to
excommunicate Catholics
who read it!
 Translations helped spread
enlightenment ideas across
Europe
 Art and Literature
 Enlightenment is reflected in the arts
– music, literature, painting, and
architecture
 Baroque – grand and ornate TO
 Neoclassical – simple and elegant,
Classical music – Haydn, Mozart,
Beethoven
 Development of novels
Enlightened Despotism
 The manner of
political reform –
monarchs who
embraced new
ideas& reforms
 Frederick the Great
of Prussia
 Catherine the Great
of Russia
 Joseph II of Austria
 Impact of Enlightenment
 Ideas led to people challenging long
held ideas about society

 Political philosophies of the

Enlightenment inspired American
and French revolutions in the 1800s