Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Section C: Key Theme 2: The wider intellectual context: the coming of the…
Section C: Key Theme 2: The wider intellectual context: the coming of the age of science and reason
Making sense of the universe and is impact, c1580-c1750: the coexistence of new and older ideas and impact of Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton
The coexistence of new and older ideas
Ptolemy
Key ideas
Earth was at the centre of the universe
Provided mathematical models without observable evidence
Suggested hypothetical bodies might exists in the solar system
Planets
Stars
Suggested planets move at an epicycle
Although to make his calculations work, he had to assume the epicycles did not move around the Earth but around another point not far from Earth
Astronomy before Ptolemy
Geocentric model of the universe was already established
Anaximander argued the Earth was cylindrical in shape
Surrounding the Earth were a number of invisible wheels
Inside the wheels, fire is burning constantly and what we see as the Moon, stars, and planets are actually holes in the invisible wheels, revealing the fire within.
According to Plato, the Earth was spherical in shape, but remained motionless at the centre of the universe, with all celestial bodies moving in uniform circles around the Earth.
Copernicus and Tycho Brahe
Copernicus
Key ideas
Suggested the universe was heliocentric
Agrees heavely bodies move in perfect circles, but proposed the universe was made of 8 spheres.
The Earth revolved on its own axis, and the moon revolved on its own sphere around the Earth.
How were his ideas received at the time?
1616: book was banned by the Catholic Church and added to their list of Prohibited books
Removed from the Index only in 1758
His book became hugely influential later and his findings were seen as accepted fact by many intellectual circles, after his lifetime.
Only 10 thinkers accepted his theory as truth before 1600
How might his ideas undermine a belief in witchcraft?
Challenged traditional authority of the Church as always correct
The heliocentric model presented the universe as a system governed by mathematical laws rather than supernatural forces
As people began to rely more on science to explain natural phenomena, belief in supernatural causes began to decline.
The influence of Tycho Brahe
Believed planets circled the Sun, but that the sun circled the Earth, which was always stationary.
This was false, but was a step in advancing understanding of orbit.
1572: observed a supernova, which went against the established view that the universe was uniform and could not change
Johannes Kepler
Main ideas, influences, and works
Ideas
Laws of planetary motion
Planets travel in elliptical orbits around the Sun
Planets do not travel at a constant speed
God is responsible for the form of the universe
The distance from a planet to the sun, cubed, is proportional to the time it takes the planet to complete its orbit, squared
Influences
Used the approach of a natural philosopher
Mathematical approach
Desire to continue the work of Brahe and discount Ptolemy's errors
Works
'Harmonies of the World' 1621
Significance and impact
Shift from a belief in constant circular and linear motions always taking place in the universe, to a realisation that this was not the case.
Use of mathematics to solve problems and explain how the world worked, rather than to simply describe theories, had an impact on everyday life.
Maths went through a revolution
Boundaries between mathematics and natural philosophy became more blurred
Arguments against significance and impact
He dedicated much time to defending an releasing his mother from charges of witchcraft, slowing down his output
Unable to comprehend the sun's gravitational pull
Strong believer in God
Galileo Galilei
Main ideas, influences, and works
Ideas
Used a telescope to identify a number of new features
Argued the study of the universe should be balanced between maths and experiment
Works
'Discourse on the Tides' 1616
'Starry Messenger' 1610
Led him into a number of debates with the Catholic Church
'The Assayer' 1623
'Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems' 1632
His sale of books was prohibited after this was published
Contradicted the Church-sponsored Aristotelian system
His works were added to the Catholic Church's list of Prohibited Books
Influences
Wrote a letter in 1597 to Kepler, saying he was indebted to Copernicus
Influence of mathematicians
Guidobaldo del Monte
Mediaeval thinkers who developed theories about motion
Significance and impact
Developed a mathematical approach to the study of natural phenomena
Not convinced by superstition
Reliance on observation and empiricism
Rejected the right of the Church to act as an authority over scientific matters
The only way to find the truth was through reflection and experience
Arguments against significance
Did little to convince scholars that the ideas of Copernicus and Brahe should be questioned
He did much to support their theories
The ban on printing his books was not lifted until 1718
Isaac Newton
Main ideas, influences, and works
Ideas
Calculus
Compositions of light
Laws of gravity and motion
Telescope better than ever before
Alchemist
Antitrinitarianism
Saw the world as a machine
Religion and science as inseparable
Saw his work as a project to understand God
Influences
Descartes
Huygens
Works
'Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica'
Significance and impact
Demonstrated that the universe operated according to consistent, predictable principles rather than supernatural interventions
Presented a universe governed by natural laws
Reducing the idea that witches could manipulate nature
Encouraged people to seek logical explanations instead of resorting to superstition
Arguments against significance
Alchemy
His belief in mystical and supernatural elements of the universe
Makes it harder to discredit superstition
Persistence of religious and legal structures supporting witchcraft beliefs
The changing approach to human understanding and knowledge, c1580-c1750 (key developments: Francis Bacon and the empirical scientific approach, the foundation of Gresham College 1597 and the Royal Society 1662, Thomas Hobbes's deductive reasoning and materialism, John Locke and his 'Essay Concerning Human Understanding' 1690).
Francis Bacon and the empirical scientific approach
Ideas/ beliefs
Emphasis on collecting evidence to formulate theories
Inductive reasoning
'Experimental and the rational'
Heat is a form of motion
His work served to preserve a belief in magic
Method of working
Accumulating as much data about the subject as possible
Reject any preconceived theories/conclusions
Methodical observation of facts
Inductive reasoning
Allowed for supernatural phenomena as long as it was observed as part of the scientific process
Works
'Of the Proficience and Advancement of Learning, Divine, and Human' 1605
'Novum Organum' 1620
Argues for his experimental method
'The New Atlantis' 1626
Depicted a utopian state, where scientific knowledge is explained and valued
Influence and impact
''Novum Organum' 1620 became an important guidebook for the Royal Society
Many scientists attempted to emulate his 'baconian Method' after his death
The empirical nature of his work was developed by philosopher such as John Locke
With the change in social attitudes following the Civil War, his work was revisited and emulated by others
Member of the Privy Council
The foundation of Gresham College 1597 and the Royal Society 1662
The foundation of Gresham College 1597
Thomas Gresham (Opened the Royal Exchange; died 1579)
Left a provision for the profits of the Royal Exchange to fund seven professors to deliver public lectures on their respective faculties of law, rhetoric, divinity, music, physics, geometry, and astronomy
Achievements
First professor of geometry popularised the use of logarithms
William Bedwell translated a number mathematical works into England, and invented a new ruler to carry out geometric calculations
Edmund Gunter worked closely with a group of naval officials to improve navigation
The 'invisible college'
1645
Group of natural philosophers
Loosely organised colllective who shared an interest in experimental investigation
Connections to Gresham College
Often met in the astronomy lecture room
Many members of this group would go onto form the Royal Society
Significance
Made new ideas more public and accessible
College was fluid in its members, unlike typical universities
Many Greshamites went on to found the Royal Society
The foundation of the Royal Society 1662
The formation of the Royal Society
1662
Monarchy restored in 1660, making the political climate suitable
Charles II interested in science
Early work
Experiments followed Bacon's methods
After 1684, it dedicated itself solely to scientific pursuits
Significance
Baconian aim to gather all knowledge about nature
Knowledge used for public good, rather than the interest of a small clique of intellectuals
English and foreign scholars
'Philosophical Transactions'
By the early c18th, science was part of the public conscience, rather than viewed with suspicion
Gave a boost to the increasing belief in Europe that humans could progress without divine assistance
Evidence some members of the Royal Society continued to give credence to the notions of witchcraft/ magic
The Royal Society undermined belief in witchcraft through its focus on critical investigation
HOWEVER
Many members were interested in magical areas of study, even using science to try to prove witches existed and God's reality
Thomas Hobbes's deductive reasoning and materialism
Thomas Hobbes
Key philosophical ideas
Advocates strong government led by a single leader
Deductive reasoning
All men are born flawed
Materialism
Achievements
Materialism goes some way to explaining why belief in witchcraft and magic declined
Many writers assessed cases of witchcraft with a rational mindset influenced by Hobbes' work
Deductive reasoning
Rejection of Bacon's inductive reasoning
Hobbes met a number of continental philosophers when travelling Europe in the 1630s and 40s
Eg. Descartes
Disagreed with many Cartesian ideas
Shared the same opinion that knowledge should be based on certain indisputable principles
The inductive method is inadequate
Why?
3 more items...
Inductive vs deductive reasoning
Inductive
Evidence
Theories emerge from observed facts
Collection of facts
No preconceived theories
Observation
Deductive
Application of existing rules
Testing of propositions
Use of preconceived theories
Facts collected to prove theory
Influence of Euclid
Euclid's explanation of Pythagoras' theorem
Hobbes saw that Euclid based his justification on deductive reasoning and was satisfied with it
Hobbes used deductive reasoning to promote his ideological views on monarchy
It is not the system that creates corrupt politicians, but the politicians themselves, because of his original premise that all men are born flawed
Materialism and magic
Everything is created by matter, and all observed events (including those to do with the mind and spirituality) are the result of matter acting on matter
Allowed no room for belief in supernatural/magic, because they were not founded on matter
Significance
Materialism goes some way to explaining why belief in witchcraft declined
Argued cases of possession were due to madness or epilepsy, and miracles were never proven to go against the laws of nature
When and why did his ideas become fashionable?
Early 18th century
Final cases of witchcraft were being investigated
Sceptical opinion was at its peak
Who did he influence?
John Webster
Balthasar Bekker
John Holt
John Locke and his 'Essay Concerning Human Understanding' 1690
'Essay Concerning Human Understanding' 1690
Main ideas
Questioned how we think, how we perceive the world around us, and the nature of religious practices
Concludes that experience is the most important source of human knowledge
The essay
Book 1
Humans are not born with knowledge
The mind is filled through experience alone
Book 2
Knowledge can only come from experience
Book 3
Focuses on language, and in particular why humans may use one word to categorise many different things
Book 4
Questions whether knowledge an ever be entirely accurate or truthful, because every person's knowledge is unique to them and their own point of view
Puts forth arguments for materialism
All things consist of only matter
The 'primary' qualities of an object are the same regardless of how someone perceives them
John Locke
Why was he so influential?
Political ideas had been applied in the Glorious Revolution 1688-89
Theories were well known, by his death
Father of modern empiricism
Works/ achievements
'Essay Concerning Human Understanding' 1690
'Treatise of Government 1689
Father of modern empiricism