Transcript The Scientific Revolution

The Scientific Revolution
Science from Copernicus to Newton
Origins of the New Science
Basis of the Scientific Revolution:
• 1. Conflicting classical sources
(Aristotle, Ptolemy, Galen)
• 2. Examination / focus of
Renaissance artists on nature
• 3. Development of technical skills
• 4. Use of mathematics to
understand nature
Forces influencing science
• 1. Aristotelian Philosophy: provided a
starting point
– Matter made of four elements (earth, wind, water
and fire)
• 2. Neo-Platonism: revival of Platonic
philosophy
– emphasis on mathematics
• 3. Mystical / alchemy: metaphysical
(spiritual / moral) explanation of the world
– Paracelsus: doctor / alchemist who believed that
disease could be diagnosed and treated with
ingested medicine
• 4. Natural Philosophy: attempt to explain
the natural world
Characteristics of the
Scientific Revolution
• Europeans began to challenge classical thought
• Materialistic: all matter made up of the same
material & subject to the same laws
• Mathematical: use calculation to replace common
sense
– measurable, repeatable phenomena
– People began to understand the mathematical nature of
the universe
• Science boils down to the mathematical
relationship
• Development of scientific institutions began; Labs,
universities, journals, language, careers
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)
• Polish monk, mathematican
and astronomer.
• Presented first serious
challenge to Ptolemy’s
geocentric universe.
• In On the Revolution of the
Heavenly Spheres he
proposed heliocentric theory
• Avoided persecution through
death
Tycho Brahe (1546-1601)
• Built Europe’s first
modern astronomical
laboratory
• Discovered a
supernova and comet.
• Believed all other
planets revolved around
the sun while the earth
remained stationary.
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
• Supported
Heliocentric and
states that
revolutions are
elliptical
(German)
– Developed a
mathematical
formula as proof
– Developed three
laws of planetary
motion
Laws of Planetary Motion
• 1. All planets revolve around he
sun in elliptical orbits.
• 2. The velocity of the planet varies
according to its distance from the
sun (closer = faster, further = slower)
• 3. set out mathematical formula to
explain the physical relationship
among the moving planets and the
sun.
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
• Asserted that planets
are made of roughly
same material as the
Earth
• Wrote The Starry
Messenger (1610)
• A Dialog Between the
Two Great Systems of
the World (1632)
• Challenged biblical
view of the heavens
Galileo and the Church
• In 1632, Brought before the Roman
Inquisition for teaching
“Copernicanism”
• Church was prepared to tolerate
hypothesis (not fact). Galileo forced
to recant.
• Tried and found guilty of heresy,
house arrest; Dialogue was placed
on the Index of Forbidden Books
Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
• Used experimental philosophy = physics
• Start with the natural world and then try to
explain it
• Natural philosophy began with an idea and
applied it to nature
• Used math to create models based on nature
- used formulas
• Expressed observations in numeric language
• Math was a precise language that allowed for
replication, collaboration and the creation of new
knowledge
• Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles
of Natural Philosophy) (1687)
Laws of Universal Gravitation
• 1. Law of motion - every object is at
rest or motion and continues until
some force affects the object
• 2. Rate of change of motion is in
proportion to the force which affects
the object
• 3. To every action there is always
an equal and opposite reaction
Discoveries in Anatomy
• Andreas Vesalius:
– Galen (Classical source) established classical
beliefs regarding anatomy and physiology.
More accurate anatomical sketches
• William Harvey:
– Blood circulates throughout the body in a
continuous loop
– Previously believed that there were two
circulation systems
– Heart as a pump
Discoveries in Chemistry
• Robert Boyle
– supported atomic view of matter chemistry
– Boyle's Law: relationship between
pressure and gas
– Promoted the use to experimental
technology
The Scientific Method
• Use of observation and data collection to
prove or disprove a hypothesis had been
used by various researchers for centuries
(especially the Arabs)
• Scientists such as Copernicus and
Galileo revive the use of these techniques
in Europe.
• Later scientists build upon their methods
toward a more codified scientific method.
Francis Bacon
• Challenged Aristotle’s
reliance on deductive
reasoning.
• codification of the
Scientific Method
(inductive empirical
experimentalism)
• The Advancement of
Learning (1605)
Rene Descartes
• Jesuit education; Schooled in Aristotelian
philosophy
• Disagreed with the basis of Aristotelian
philosophy
• Embraced Skepticism (people who use doubt as
the basis of knowledge)
• Rejected absolute construct of knowledge,
knowledge based on probability
• Constructed knowledge based on doubt, but
reaffirmed the value of deductive reasoning.
• Used "proofs" to support philosophical learning
• Could only accept that which you could prove
– "I think, therefore I am"
Rene Descartes
• Cartesian dualism: Mind and matter are separate,
so to is the physical world from intellectual
constructs (basis for science)
– Example: Ontological proof of god:
– One could only accept God if you could prove it
exists
– Descartes knew that he was not perfect
– Only a perfect individual could place that
concept in ones mind
– Therefore perfection must exist
– What is perfection, existence without limits =
God
– proof for God based upon doubt, if you doubt it
then it must exist at some level
• Contrast it to Aristotelian proof: Causality
• believed that humans could more completely
understand their world by using abstract principles
• Believed in that nature operated based on a
Mechanical set of laws
Blaise Pascal
• Scientist who
studied probability
and mathematics.
• He had concerns
about science’s
influence on faith.
• Wrote Pensees,
reflections on faith
and science.
Scientific Societies
• As the importance of science grew,
scientific societies formed to promote
research and share knowledge.
• Many had gov’t connections and support:
reflecting the growing influence of central
governments,
• Rome (1603), Florence (1657), England
(Royal Society, 1662), France (French
Academy, 1666), Prussia (Berlin
Academy, 1701)