The historical changes in thought and belief to change in social and institutional organization period, between the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus and Isaac Newton is Scientific Revolution. As many historians declare that, the Scientific Revolution began with Copernicus and ended with Newton 150 years later. The later half of this century saw minds such as Descartes, Newton, Leibniz, and Galileo begin to change scientific thought. The Scientific Revolution provide a good exercise for people think. The Scientific Revolution began during the 17th century and became a catalyst for a new philosophy, economics, politics and religion, that permeated every level of human society and placed the emphasis for change on humanity rather than intangible
In the 1500s and 1600s, the scientific revolution changes the way Europeans looked at the world, they began to make conclusion based on experimentation and observation instead of accepting traditional ideas. ‘’Although new knowledge emerged in many areas during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, including medicine, chemistry, and natural history, the scientific achievements that most captured the learned imagination and persuaded people of the cultural power of natural knowledge were those that occurred in astronomy.” (348) Nicolaus Copernicus was a polish astronomer who published On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, were he made two main conclusions, the universe is heliocentric not geocentric and the earth is one part of many
Each country had very different responses towards the European scientific Revolution. China had a strong rejection towards the scientific revolution because the Europeans had failed to leave a good impression. According to the video, “Empires in Collision” China was a well-advanced country that had a rich economy also China was a nation that envisioned themselves as above everyone else. When the Europeans showed their inventions, China looked at them like “toys” it was never enough to persuade the Chinese. Out of the three countries China was unyielding to European’s scientific revolution.
Europe’s time periods worked together like a domino effect. Time periods like the Renaissance, Reformation, Scientific Revolution, and the Enlightenment all were an extension of each other. The Scientific revolution used reason and logic to explain certain planetary motion and much else and philosophers from the enlightenment wanted to incorporate these same tactics. Philosophers agreed on each other’s thinking like natural rights and consent if the governed, however some did not have the same thought. They disagreed on topic like women rights and the type of government the people should have.
The Scientific Revolution created conflicts that developed in societies with the birth of modern science. There were many disputes with modern science. Modern Science was distinctive from Science created previous to this era. “ In the 1500s and 1600s, some startling discoveries radically changed the way Europeans viewed the physical world,” (pg. 54). The Catholic Church did not like how the people were believing what these new scientists were theorizing and not what they believed.
During the Scientific Revolution, natural philosophers developed a new scientific worldview. A heliocentric model of the universe replaced the geocentric model that was already in place and widely used. Different methods for discovering scientific laws such as Natural rights were developed. Scientist believed in a universe of matter in motion, which was reasoned with mathematics and experiments. Philosophes organized into societies widespread throughout Europe to make the spread of knowledge and ideas easier.
The moon revolves around the Earth, and objects fall because of gravity. At one point, during the 17th and 18th century, this new concept, and much more like it, was the talk of the town. This time period was called the scientific revolution, where philosophers and scientists questioned the views on the world resulting in unfamiliar discoveries and the creation of new ideas. Science has influenced culture, religion, and government during this time as it made its crucial impact for their different way of thinking. Science was an important factor when it comes to progress within their society as there were many new findings.
In Steven Shapin’s book, The Scientific Revolution, he described the massive scientific changes that occurred from the late 16th to the early 18th centuries. Shapin utilizes the scientists and their findings to demonstrate the changes that affected Western civilization. He describes his theory of the Scientific Revolution as he proves that the world has always had scientific advances. Steven Shapin states his thesis which influenced the modern world, that the Scientific Revolution did not happen during a single time period through the use of the three essential questions: What was known, How was it known, and What was the Knowledge for.
How was the medieval view of the universe, people, and their place in nature changed by the discoveries of Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton? Before the Scientific Revolution, people did not question the universe and did not long to further their knowledge, largely because of religion. The Catholic Church, for example, felt that one should not question how heaven works, but rather how to get to heaven. This was completely different from the views of scientists, especially Copernicus and Galileo, who challenged whether the sun or earth was in the center of the universe, which consequently led to questioning of where heaven was located.
In order to understand the history of science, it is important to consider two major scientists; the Greek Aristotle and the Persian Ibn Sina. The reason why we approach these two scientists is because Ibn Sina could be considered one of the first “modern” scientists while Aristotle is more of an “ancient” scientist. The difference between the two is that Ibn Sina gained knowledge by the influences of such as Aristotle and Hippocrates6, in other words, from past knowledge. On the other hand, Aristotle came with his own beliefs on natural sciences, which are the fundamentals supporting many of his works7. Holding the difference between these two scientists in account, the same reasoning could be applied to science in a general view.
“God, who has given the world to men in common, has also given them reason to make use of it to the best advantage of life and convenience” (Locke, 35). The Scientific Revolution concentrated on understanding the physical world through astronomical and mathematical calculations, or testable knowledge. The Enlightenment focused more on “Spreading of faith in reason and in universal rights and laws” (Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, 535). While the Scientific Revolution preceded the Enlightenment, both time periods sought to limit and challenge the power of the Church, through the spread of science, reason and intellect, and political philosophies. The Scientific Revolution began with Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1542) and Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) wanting to understand the movement of the planets beyond what they authorities had told them.
Referring to the many historical altercations in personal beliefs and thoughts, the Scientific Revolution lasted for a great deal of time. Many subjects developed new ideas like physics, medicine, biology, astronomy, and chemistry, which came about and laid the foundations for modern science. During this time scientists began to apply what is now known as the scientific method, whereby they use observation, experimentation, and special tools to discover the laws of nature (Bradford). Many people supporting the church pushed away intellectual thinking and were ignorant of science because it was intimidating. Although, as Johannes Kepler stated, “I much prefer the sharpest criticism of a single intelligent man to the thoughtless approval of the masses.”
During the Middle Ages, the relationship between science and religion was central to the ability of intellectuals to pursue the natural sciences. Without approval from their religious leaders, the great thinkers of the Middle Ages were unable to make any large strides in natural philosophy. Islamic societies were no exception. Muslim intellectuals of the time were simultaneously thinkers devoting to solving problems in the natural world as well as religious scholars. The usual narrative on Muslim scientific development relates that many Muslim religious leaders in the Middle Ages maintained a degree of distrust in the teachings of ancient Greek natural philosophers that provided the foundation for burgeoning sciences.
At the same time reformation was shattering Christianity shaking loose the churches hold on European minds. Medieval European scholarship had been largely based on belief. Now that approach was over run as thinkers began to use mathematical data. In their studies of the stars, astronomers had struggled to explain what they were seeing. Nicolas Copernicus theorized that the earth turned and rotated around the sun.
But, in relatively recent times, although there is a specific process in which hypotheses should be proven, society has grown to be more accepting and welcoming of controversial ideas. Rather than having singular methods, like that of Socrates ', which did not encompass an entire field of knowledge, it allowed the development of precise areas in science to be far more extensive and detailed. Modern scientists did not have any religious
