Download Ch. 10 Web Notes

Ch. 10 Revolution and Enlightenment
Section 1: The Scientific Revolution
Early scientists = “natural philosophers”
Most knowledge came from Aristotle until the 16th century.
New developments brought new thinking:
 Need to solve new problems (how much cargo can a
ship hold?)
 New inventions (telescope, microscope, printing press)
 Rediscovery of mathematics (new theories brought
about the Age of Reason)
 Revolution in Astronomy
 Breakthroughs in Medicine and Chemistry
 Women have a place in science!
 New philosophies
 The Scientific Method
Astronomy
Ptolemy develops the Ptolemeic system (geocentric model)
puts the universe in a series of concentric circles with
earth at the center of the universe. (See p. 294)
Nicholas Copernicus wrote On the Revolutions of Heavenly
Spheres. He believed in a heliocentric or sun-centered
model of the universe. Started people thinking about a new
conception of the earth.
Johannes Kepler used detailed astronomical data to show
that the sun was the center of the universe and that the
orbits of the sun were not circular but elliptical (egg
shaped.)
Galileo Galilei observed that planets were not orbs of life
but made up of matter. He was put on trial by the
Catholic Church which said it was heresy to say that the
earth was not the center of the universe. (This meant
that humans were no longer the center of the universe and
God was not in a specific “heaven.” Galileo was tried and
under threat of execution, he recanted his research.
Newton wrote The Principles of Natural Philosophy and
introduced the universal law of gravitation. This law
explains why the plants orbit the sun and describes the
force of gravity. This created a new idea of the universe;
the universe as a uniform machine that works according to
natural laws.
Medicine and Chemistry
Vesalius performed numerous autopsies when he was a
professor of surgery and he showed new ideas about what
the structure of the human body (see p. 297)
William Harvey showed that the heart (not the liver) was
the beginning point for circulation of blood.
Robert Boyle was the founder of modern chemistry.
Women and the Origins of Modern Science
Margaret Cavendish wrote that man was just a part of
nature, not the controller of nature.
Maria Winkelmann astronomer who discovered a comet.
She was denied a post as an astronomer at the Berlin
Academy because she was a woman.
Rene Descartes “I think, therefore I am.” Believed that
only reasoning could be used to prove truth. He was known
as the father of rationalism (system of thought based on
the belief that reason is the chief source of knowledge.)
Scientific Method
Systematic procedure developed for collecting and
analyzing evidence. *This was critical to the evolution of
science in the modern world. It was developed by Francis
Bacon. He relied on inductive reasoning, stating that
scientists should move from the particular to the general.
He believed that humans could control and dominate
nature.