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The scientific revolution (Copernicus and Kepler (Galileo's…
The scientific revolution
Causes of the Scientific Revolution
Natural philosophers did not make observations of the natural world. Instead, they relied on a few ancient authorities, especially Aristotle.
Renaissance humanists had mastered Greek as well as Latin, these language skills gave them access to newly discovered works by Archimedes and Plato.
Other developments also encouraged new ways of thinking. Technical problems that required careful observation and accurate measurements, such as calculating the amount of weight that shops could hold.
Mathematics played a key role in the scientific achievements of the time. It was promoted in the Renaissance by the rediscovery of the works of ancient mathematics. Mathematics was seen as the key to navigation, military science, and geography.
Nicolaus Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, and Isaac Newton were all great mathematicians who believed that the secrets of nature were written in the language of mathematics.
Philosophy and Reason
René Descartes brought a philosophical perspective to the natural sciences. He began by considering the doubt and uncertainty that seemed to be everywhere in the confusion of the 17th century.
The starting point for his new system was doubt. In Discourse on Method, he decided to set aside all that he had learned and to begin again.
Descartes emphasized the importance of his own mind, accepting only these things that his reason said were true.
Bacon and the Scientific Method
The scientific method was a systematic procedure for collecting and analyzing evidence.
Francis Bacon believed that scientists should not rely on the ideas of ancient authorities. But rather, inductive reasoning.
Before beginning this reasoning, scientists try to free their minds of opinions that might distort the truth.
Scientific Breakthroughs
During the Scientific Revolution, discoveries in astronomy led to a new conception of the universe. Breakthroughs advanced medical knowledge and launched the field of chemistry.
The Ptolemaic System
Ptolemy, who lived in the A.D. 100s, was the greatest astronomer of antiquity.
In the Ptolemaic system, the universe is seen as a series of concentric spheres, one inside the other.
The 10th sphere in the Ptolemaic system is the "prime mover." This sphere moves itself and gives motion to the other spheres.
Vocab
Geocentric- earth-centered; a system of planetary motion in which the sun, moon, and other planets revolve around the sun.
Heliocentric- sun-centered; the system of the universe in which the earth and planets revolve around the sun.
universal law of gravitation- one of Newton's three rules of motion; it explains that planetary bodies continue in elliptical orbits around the sun because every object in the universe is attracted to every other object by a force called gravity.
rationalism- a system of thought expounded by René Descartes on the belief that reason is the chief source of knowledge.
scientific method- a systematic procedure for collecting and analyzing evidence that was crucial to the evolution of science in the modern world.
inductive reasoning- the doctrine that scientists should proceed from the particular to the general by making systematic observations and carefully organized experiments to test hypotheses or theories, a process that will lead to correct general principles.
Copernicus and Kepler
In May 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus published his famous book, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres.
He thought that his heliocentric* conception of the universe offered a more accurate explanation than did the the Ptolemaic system.
Johannes Kepler took the next step in destroying the Ptolemaic system.
He used detailed astronomical data to arrive at his laws of planetary motion. His observations confirmed that the sun was at the center of the universe and also added new information.
Galileo's Discoveries
Galileo was the first European to make regular observations of the heavens using a telescope, he made remarkable discoveries.
Galileo's discoveries published in The Starry Messenger in 1610, did more to make Europeans aware of the new view of the universe than did the works of Copernicus and Kepler.
Women's Contributions
Margaret Cavendish and Maria Winkelmann helped advance science through their work.
Cavendish published Observations Upon Experimental Philosophy.
In Germany, many of the women who were involved in science were astronomers. These women had received the opportunity to become astronomers from working in family observatories where their fathers or husbands trained them.
Between 1650 and 1710, women made up to 14% of all German astronomers.
The most famous female astronomer in Germany was Maria Winkelmann. She received training in astronomy from a self-taught astronomer.
Winkelmann made some original contributions to astronomy, including the discovery of a comet.
Newton's View of the Universe
His major work was the Principia, in it he defined the three laws of motion that govern the planetary bodies, as well as objects on earth.
Crucial to his whole argument was the universal law of gravitation*.
Breakthroughs in Medicine and Chemistry
Galen dominated medicine in the Late Middle ages. Relying on animal, rather than human, dissection to picture human anatomy. (he was wrong)
During this time, Andreas Vesalius and William Harvey added to the understanding of human anatomy. Vesalius accurately described the individual organs and general structure of the human body. Harvey showed that the heart was the beginning point for the circulation of blood.
Robert Boyle was one of the first scientists to conduct controlled experiments in chemistry.