Transcript Scientific Revolution

The
Scientific
Revolution
What sparks the
Scientific Revolution ?
• A new way of thinking about the natural world
• Based on observation and willingness to question
accepted beliefs
• Discoveries during the age of exploration led to
belief there might be other new information, or
they may be wrong about the world
• Exploration also led to study of astronomy &
mathematics
Before the Scientific Revolution…
Ptolemy
(87-140 A.D.)
• Until the mid 1500’s, European
scholars accepted and believed
the teachings of Ptolemy, an
ancient Greek astronomer.
• Ptolemy taught that the Earth
was the center of the universe.
•People felt this was common
sense, and the geocentric theory
was supported by the Church.
• It was not until some startling
discoveries caused Europeans to
change the way they viewed the
physical world.
Nicolaus Copernicus
• Copernicus was a Polish
astronomer who studied in Italy.
• In 1543 Copernicus published
On the Revolutions of the
Heavenly Spheres.
• In his book, Copernicus made
two conclusions:
1. The universe is heliocentric,
or sun-centered.
2. The Earth is merely one of
several planets revolving
around the sun.
Nicolaus Copernicus
• Copernicus came to these
conclusions using
mathematical formulas.
• The Copernican
conception of the universe
marked the start of modern
science and astronomy.
The Copernican Heliocentric Model
Reaction to Copernicus
• Most scholars rejected his
theory because it went against
Ptolemy, the Church, and
because it called for the Earth
to rotate on its axis.
• Many scientists of the time also felt that if Ptolemy’s
reasoning about the planets was wrong, then the
whole system of human knowledge could be wrong.
Tycho Brahe
• In late 1500s, the Danish
astronomer Tycho Brahe
provided evidence that
supported Copernicus’
heliocentric theory.
• Brahe set up an
astronomical observatory.
•Every night for years he
carefully observed the sky,
accumulating data about
the movement of the stars
and planets.
Johannes Kepler
• After Brahe’s death, his assistant, the German
astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler, used
Brahe’s data to calculate the orbits of the planets
revolving around the sun.
• Kepler’s calculations supported
Copernicus’ heliocentric theory.
• His calculations also showed that
the planets moved in oval shaped
orbits, and not perfect circles, as
Ptolemy and Copernicus believed.
Galileo Galilei
• Galileo Galilei was an Italian
astronomer who built upon
the scientific foundations laid
by Copernicus and Kepler.
• Galileo assembled the first telescope
which allowed him to see mountains on
the moon and fiery spots on the sun.
• He also observed four moons rotating
around Jupiter – exactly the way
Copernicus said the Earth rotated
around the sun.
• Galileo also discovered that objects
fall at the same speed regardless of
weight.
Galileo Galilei
• Galileo’s discoveries caused
an uproar. Other scholars
came against him because like
Copernicus, Galileo was
contradicting Ptolemy.
• The Church came against Galileo
because it claimed that the Earth was
fixed and unmoving.
• When threatened with death before
the Inquisition in 1633, Galileo
recanted his beliefs, even though he
knew the Earth moved.
• Galileo was put under house arrest,
and was not allowed to publish his ideas.
The Scientific Method
• By the early 1600s, a new approach to science
had emerged, known as the Scientific Method.
• Scientific Method – systematic method used to
confirm findings and to prove or disprove a hypothesis.
• Scientists observed nature, made hypotheses, or
educated guesses, and then tested these
hypotheses through experiments.
• Unlike earlier approaches, the scientific method did
not rely on the classical thinkers or the Church, but
depended upon a step-by-step process of
observation and experimentation.
• The scientific method set Europe on the road to
rapid technological progress.
The Scientific Method
Newton
• Sir Isaac Newton was an English
scholar who built upon the work
of Copernicus and Galileo.
• Newton was the most influential
scientist of the Scientific Revolution.
• He used math to prove the
existence of gravity - a force that
kept planets in their orbits around
the sun, and also caused objects
to fall towards the earth.
The Scientific Method
Newton
• Newton published his scientific
ideas in his book Mathematical
Principles of Natural Philosophy.
• He discovered laws of light and
color, and formulated the laws of
motion:
1. A body at rest stays at rest
2. Acceleration is caused by force
3. For every action there is an
equal opposite reaction
• He invented calculus: a method
of mathematical analysis.
The Scientific Method
• Francis Bacon was an English
philosopher who wrote
Advancement of Learning.
• Bacon popularized the scientific
method and used it with
philosophy and knowledge.
• Bacon argued that truth could
not be known at the beginning
of a question, but only at the
end after a long process of
investigation.
Francis Bacon
The Scientific Method
• Descartes was a French scientist,
mathematician, and philosopher.
René Descartes
• Descartes emphasized human
reasoning as the best road to
understanding.
• Like Bacon, Descartes also
believed that truth was only found
after a long process of studying
and investigation.
“I think, therefore I am”
Other Scientific Advances…
Chemistry
Robert Boyle
• In the 1600s Robert Boyle
distinguished between
individual elements and
chemical compounds.
• Boyle also explained the
effect of temperature and
pressure on gases.
Other Scientific Advances…
Medicine
Andreas Vesalius
• In 1543 Andreas Vesalius
published On the Structure of
the Human Body.
• Vesalius’ book was the first
accurate and detailed book
on human anatomy.
Other Scientific Advances…
Medicine
William Harvey
• An English scholar who
described the circulation of
blood for the first time.
•He showed how the heart
served as a pump to force
blood through veins and
arteries, and made a
complete circuit.
Other Scientific Advances…
Medicine
Ambroise Paré
• French physician Ambroise
Paré developed a new and
more effective ointment for
preventing infection.
• Paré also developed a
technique for closing wounds
and stitches.
Other Scientific Advances…
Medicine
Anton von
Leeuwenhoek
• A Dutch inventor who
perfected the microscope
and became the first human
to see cells and
microorganisms.
Enlightenment in Europe
 A new intellectual movement that stressed reasoning,
thinking, and the power of the individual to solve
problems.
 “Age of Reason”
 Early 1700’s: If people used reason to find laws that
governed the physical world, why not use reason to
discover natural laws?
 Laws that govern human nature
 Reformers begin studying human nature and societal
problems
Enlightenment - Government
Started by two English political thinkers during 1600s.
Very different ideas on humans and governing.
Thomas Hobbes
 War convinced him that
humans are selfish, and
without government people
would be at war all the time,
which would make life
“solitary, poor, nasty, brutish,
and short.”
John Locke
•
Humans are naturally reasonable, moral
and good
•
Humans have natural rights: life liberty
and property
•
People form governments to protect
natural rights
•
Best government was one with limited
power
•
If a government violates people’s natural
rights, people have the right to overthrow
government
 Believed best government is an
absolute ruler (power of a
leviathan (sea monster) who
can keep law & order
 This agreement is “social
contract”
 Heavily influenced US
Declaration of Independence
French Philosophes
French intellectuals during Enlightenment. Met mostly in Paris. Believe
you can apply reason to all aspects of life
Voltaire
Montesquieu
Rousseau

 3 branches of
individual freedom
 Believed in direct
democracy – only
good gov’t is one
freely formed by
general will of
people
 People give up some
of their freedom for
the common good
 Social Contract –
people form gov’t &
society
Greatest figure of
Enlightenment.
 Believe d in Deism
– universe is like a
clock God made
 Freedom of
thought &
expression
(speech)
important
 Religious freedom
gov’t
 Separation of
powers
 Checks and
balances
 Heavily influenced
US Constitution
 Committed to
Enlightenment and the Economy
 Physiocrats rejected
mercantilism in favor of a policy
called laissez faire
 Physiocrats were Enlightenment
thinkers who focused on economic
reforms
 Laissez-Faire: allowing business to
operate with little or no
government (state) interference
 Real wealth comes from productive
land not gold and silver
 Supported free trade and opposed
tariffs
Adam Smith
Enlightenment and Women
 Women: Women were not equal and were
criticized for attempting to gain equality
 Salons: Men and women gather in living
rooms to discuss Enlightenment ideas (chat
rooms) – helped spread Enlightenment ideas
 Mary Wollstonecraft – considered founder of
the women’s rights movement
 Said “power of men over women was wrong,
just as the arbitrary power of monarchs was
wrong”
1. Scientific Method
 Medieval
 Base knowledge on
ancient intellectuals,
philosophers,
mathematicians & the
Bible, church teachings
 Believe things that
happen in the natural
world due to God’s favor
or lack thereof
 Scientific Method
 Standardized method
 Repeatable
 Can go back and look at
how someone came to
their conclusions
 Math is used more often
to study how, why things
happen
 Experimenting and
analyzing enable them to
keep searching for
answers
2.Influence on Enlightenment
 Scientific revolution gave people idea that human reason can
solve problems
 People apply the same processes of hypothesizing,
experimenting, etc., to society, religion, economics,
education, and governing
 People start questioning everything!
 3.Influence on U.S. Constitution
 Know what’s in your study guide already
4.Enlightenment leads to secular view
 People see that what they thought were mysteries of God in nature,
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were now explainable through mathmatics
People question Divine Right of monarchs
Union of church and state – don’t like it
Question unequal social classes
Ideas eventually lead to American, French and other revolutions in
1800s
 5.Spread of ideas
 Spread through Salons, pamphlets, Diderot’s
encyclopedias, newspapers, songs, books
 Art and Music change - become lighter, more elegant (Neoclassical)
 Mozart, Beethoven become some of the greatest opera composers
 Authors write fiction novels
6. Influence on rulers
 Some rulers embrace enlightenment ideas, but still want
absolute power – Fredrick the Great, Joseph II, Catherine the
Great (Enlightened Despots)
 They still held all the power, but did make some reforms. There
was resistance from nobles, and many reforms reverted after
their deaths.
 7.Don’t need to do this one