Download Western Civilizations Chapter 17

A Revolution in World View
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Up until the 17th century, most European
scholars held the medieval view of the
universe
This was based on the views of Aristotle,
Ptolemy, and Christian scholars
◦ Earth did not move
◦ Earth was center of the universe
◦ Planets, sun, heavens, and stars moved around the
earth
◦ The universe was finite
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Scientific Revolution began and with it came the
beginnings of the modern scientific view of the
universe
◦ Earth was a moving body
◦ Earth wasn’t at the center of the universe
◦ Earth and planets revolved around the sun
◦ Universe was infinite
Another change:
When conducting scientific investigations, scholars
observed, measured, experimented, and came to
reasoned conclusions
Although its impact was limited until the 18th century, it
helped turn people away from medieval assumptions
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Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543)
◦ Polish clergyman
◦ Interested in astronomy, astrology, mathematics, and
Church law
◦ Studied in Italy
◦ Was influenced by the Greeks, especially Plato and
Pythagoras
◦ Sought a simpler mathematical formulation for how the
universe operated
◦ Was convinced that the earth was not the center of the
universe
◦ Said sun was the center
◦ Said earth was not stationary but moved in circles
around the sun
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This change from the earth-centered
(geocentric) to a sun-centered (heliocentric)
universe has come to be known as the
Copernican Revolution
Copernicus did not publish his findings until
the year he died, 1543
He feared the ridicule and anger it would
arouse, especially from the Church
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Tycho Brahe ( 1546-1601)
◦ Danish
◦ Was one of the most important astronomers of 16th
century
◦ Was an aristocrat
◦ Had backing of his king
◦ Built the most advanced laboratory in Europe
◦ Gathered highly accurate and detailed information
about the planets and stars without the help of a
telescope (not invented yet)
 Discovered a new star in 1572 and a new comet in
1577
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Brahe believed earth was the stationary center
of the universe
Said other planets, not the earth, revolve
around the sun
Said sun revolved the earth and moon
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Johann Kepler (1571-1630)
◦ German
◦ Tycho Brahe’s assistant
◦ Believed in the Copernican Heliocentric View of the
universe
◦ Formulated 3 laws of planetary motion
 Planets move in ellipses around the sun
 Their velocity varies according to the distance from the
sun
 The physical relationship between the moving planets
could be expressed mathematically
This gave support for the Copernican Theory
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Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
Italian
Astronomer
Physicist
Mathematician
Like Copernicus and Kepler, felt there was a hidden
harmony to nature
◦ Felt the harmony could be discovered through
experimentation and mathematics
◦ Found motion could be described mathematically
◦ Found that once bodies have been set in motion,
they will stay in motion
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◦ Galileo established rules for experimental physics
◦ Built a telescope in 1609 and used it to discover
 The moon has rough surfaces like the earth
 Jupiter has moons
 Sun has spots
Unlike Copernicus, Galileo published and defended his
views against any detractors, lay or clergy
His Dialogue on the Two Chief Systems of the World was
condemned by the Catholic Church at the Inquisition of
1633. This forced him to recant.
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Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
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English
Professor of mathematics at Cambridge University
Invented calculus
Investigated the nature of light
Described the 3 laws of motion mathematically:
inertia, acceleration, and action/reaction
Put forth laws of gravitation
Member of Parliament
Director of the Royal Mint
Knighted by Queen Anne
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The Newtonian universe was uniform,
mathematically describable, held together by
explainable forces, and atomic in nature
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New methodology emphasized:
◦ Systematic skepticism
◦ Experimentation
◦ Reasoning based on observed facts and
mathematical laws
◦ Two practitioners of this new methodology were
Francis Bacon and Rene Descartes
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Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
English
Politician
Lord Chancellor of England under James I
Had great interest in new science
Advocated that scientists should engage in the
collection of data without preconceived notions
◦ Then scientific conclusions could be drawn using
Inductive Reasoning (particular to general)
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 Draw a general conclusion from many individual
observable facts
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Thought scientific knowledge could be useful
Could be applied to commerce and industry
to improve the human condition
◦ give humans more control over their environment
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Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
◦ French
◦ Studied philosophy and mathematics
◦ Practiced as a mathematician, physicist, and
metaphysical philosopher in Holland
◦ Discovered analytical geometry (combination of
algebra and geometry)
◦ Defended the value of abstract reasoning
◦ Said not to assume old assumptions are facts
◦ Said to begin at the beginning: I think, therefore, I
am
◦ He practiced Deductive Reasoning (general to particular)
and came up with a variety of conclusions
◦ Thought universe could be divided into 2 parts: the mind
and the body
◦ This is called Cartesian Dualism
◦ Believed rigorous reasoning by an individual could
discover the truth about nature and then use these
truths to help satisfy human needs
◦ Descartes found himself in dispute with medieval
thought by first challenging all established authority;
second, by accepting as truth only what could be
discovered through reason; third, by assuming a purely
mechanical/physical universe
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There were other discoveries in the 17th and
18th centuries using the new scientific
method
◦ Vesalius (Flemish) wrote the first comprehensive
book on the structure of the human body, based on
observations
◦ William Harvey (English) discovered major principles
of the circulatory system
Vesalius and Harvey are regarded as the founders of
the science, Anatomy
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Robert Boyle (Irish)
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worked in England
Laid foundation for modern chemistry
Said all matter was composed of atoms
Discovered the law of gases/air pump
Proved the idea that a vacuum could exist when
sealed chamber is pumped out
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Sir John Napier
◦ Invented logarithms
◦ This principle was applied to the slide rule
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Basic scientific instruments were invented
during the 17th century: telescope and
microscope came from the Dutch Netherlands
Galileo was the first to use the telescope in
systematic astronomical observations
Leewenhoek
◦ Dutch
◦ Pioneered the use of the microscope
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Huygens
◦ Dutch
◦ Invented the pendulum clock
◦ Worked on problems of air pressure and optics
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Methods and discoveries of the Scientific
Revolution spread into other areas
One area was political theory
Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were quite
prominent
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Thomas Hobbes
◦ Influenced by Francis Bacon, Rene Descartes, and
Galileo Galilei
◦ Used scientific theory to justify absolutism
◦ In Leviathan (1651), he deduced theories on the
proper functioning of the state
 Said people are usually in competition with one
another for self-preservation, avoidance of pain, the
pursuit of pleasure
 Reasoning will lead people to compromise and join in a
contract which creates a state giving great power to a
sovereign to keep the peace
 Not popular
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John Locke
◦ Has a medical education
◦ Was influenced by Francis Bacon, Isaac Newton, and
Robert Boyle
◦ His line of thinking was similar to Hobbes: human
nature, social contract
◦ His conclusions were different
 Sovereigns had fewer powers than Hobbes gave them
 Individuals retained the right to revolt under certain
circumstances
 He felt British constitutionalism was in accordance with
natural law
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Men were not the only ones involved with new
discoveries and new ideas
Women who were aristocratic and educated
were indispensible sources of patronage for
scientists
Some women were scientists
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Maria Cunitz (1610-1664)
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From Silesia that is in modern day Poland
Astronomer
Knew 6 languages
Published a simplified version of Kepler’s
mathematical calculations
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Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717)
◦ German entomologist and artist
◦ Had refined powers of observation learned from her
artistic training
◦ Used to study and record features and behaviors of
insects and plants found in the New World
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Margaret Cavendish (1623-1673)
English
Duchess of Newcastle
Philosopher
Wrote several works like Grounds of Natural
Philosophy
◦ Distrusted sensory knowledge
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Women could join Italian Academies and that
meant they could receive patronage to do
their research
They were barred, however, from scientific
academies in France and England
They were told money from patronage was
limited and what there was, would go to men
Women in other areas had to fight for the
right to work in public institutions like Maria
Winkleman
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Maria Winkleman (1670-1720)
◦ German astronomer
◦ Was not allowed to succeed her husband in an
official position at the Berlin Academy of Sciences
◦ Had been her husband’s unofficial partner in
astronomy during his tenure
◦ She had discovered a new comet during her time
there
◦ She had to find work in private observatories
◦ She returned to the Berlin Academy of Sciences as
her son’s unofficial assistant (she had trained her
son)
Women were being marginalized
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The Renaissance:
◦ Stimulated an interest in analyzing and describing
the physical reality of the world
◦ Stimulated questioning
◦ Caused a resurgence of classical studies
◦ Study of philosophy, astronomy, physics, and
mathematics became important to universities
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Scientific research was encouraged in
astronomy and mathematics
Universities had illustrious teachers like
Galileo and Isaac Newton
This was an age when new instruments were
needed to aid navigation and exploration
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Helped by the invention of printing press
Helped by the acceptance o new information by
Protestants
Governments gave support to science hoping
that new discoveries would give governments
more prestige and more power
◦ They established scientific academies in England, France,
and Italy
◦ They gave laboratories money and brought scientists
together
◦ They gave scientists acceptance in society
◦ They contributed to new values supportive of science
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By the end of the 17th century, the former
medieval view of the universe had been
replaced by the Copernican-Newtonian world
view
Accomplishments:
◦ New methodology of modern science was
established
◦ Scientists had created foundations for the modern
sciences of astronomy, physics, mathematics,
chemistry, anatomy, and other disciplines
◦ Science gained acceptance in society