The Scientific Revolution

1. The Scientific Revolution 9th Grade World History

2. What exactly is a Revolution? • A revolution is an event that demonstrates a change. • Think of it this way…. • The Earth Revolves around the sun. • As it does throughout the year, the seasons Change. • The Scientific Revolution was a change in the way of human thinking.

3. When did this change occur? • Following the Renaissance, from roughly 1550-1700. • During the Renaissance, the philosophy of Humanism encouraged philosophers and artists to study the physical, natural world around them. • This study of “natural philosophy” became a focus on sciences such as physics, astronomy and biology.

4. How was this a scientific revolution? • During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, philosophers had studied the classical thinkers (Aristotle, Socrates, etc.) and accepted their ideas without questioning them. • Philosophers and Scientists decided to break away from classical ideas, and use their own observations and experiments to understand the world.

5. It all starts with astronomy • Before the Scientific Revolution, the accepted theory about the universe was the Ptolemaic Universe. • Ptolemy was an ancient philosopher who theorized that the earth was the center of the universe. (Geocentric) • The universe is a series of concentric spheres (same center) one inside the other with the Earth at the center.

7. Contradictions from Copernicus • Believed Ptolemy was wrong. • Studied an ancient Greek theory that the SUN was the center of the universe. Heliocentric THEORY • He even dedicated the book to the Pope. 

9. Questions from Copernicus • So if Copernicus was right that would mean…. • 1. The universe was much larger than originally believed. • 2. The earth was just another planet. • 3. We had NO idea where heaven is! (gasp!) • Copernicus’ ideas made everyone stop and think….maybe they were wrong…..maybe the church was wrong!

10. Kicking off with Kepler • Very good at math, he believed the key to understanding the universe was to use mathematics. • Believed there was a mathematical relationship between everything in space.

11. Kepler’s 3 laws: • 1. All planets travel in an elliptical orbit. (egg-shaped) • 2. A planet gains speed as it gets closer to the sun. • 3. There is a connection between the distance a planet is from the sun and the time it takes to orbit the sun (pluto takes longer than earth) • All of these mathematical conclusions proved Ptolemy wrong.

12. Getting in trouble with Galileo • Galileo decided to explore ideas about motion. • Rather than speculating (guessing or theorizing) about his ideas, he actually experimented with them. • For example: Galileo would roll balls down pieces of wood to show that an object in motion stays in motion until acted upon by a force. (Law of Inertia)

13. Inspiring the Inquisition • Galileo used the telescope to observe several new phenomena in space: • 1. That the moon is cratered and uneven, not perfect. Material substance not just pure orbs of light. • 2. Moons were orbiting Jupiter; This meant that there was more than one center of motion in the universe. • 3. Venus went through phases just like the moon, which meant it went around the sun. • All these discoveries contradicted the Aristotelian and Ptolemaic ideas, angering the church.

14. Fun facts about Galileo • Author of a book that was banned by the church as heretical. • Placed on house arrest for his teachings. • Still considered the most successful scientist of the Revolution. • Named the moons of Jupiter after the Medici family.

15. Y.T.T.W. • Do you feel Galileo should have taken his words back or not? • How would you have acted in his situation? Is your life more important than your beliefs?

17. “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulder’s of giants.” • Isaac Newton was inspired by the work of Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler and Galileo. • The printing press allowed Newton access to the ideas of these thinkers and the classics. • Newton used their many philosophies to create a major work on physics.

18. Sir Isaac Newton • English scientist, very advanced in math and physics. • Believed the universe operated on a set of mathematical principals (facts) that could also prove the existence of God. • Believed God was rational, therefore humans were also rational (able to make sense of the world).

19. Gravity • Law of Gravitation- Every object in the universe is attracted to every other object by a force called gravity. • Gravity- Could explain all motion in the universe. • God created the universe but other factors controlled it…….gravity

20. The Religious Reaction • New scientific ideas were a challenge to the authority of the church. • They used the Bible to prove their points and ideas. • Many scientists were considered heretics, and many became atheists because of this. • Galileo, for example, was put on house arrest for his ideas.

21. Banning the Books • In 1616, the Catholic Church created a list or “Index” of banned books that contradicted the ideas of the church. • Those written by Newton, Copernicus, and Galileo were included in the list.

22. Botany and Biology • Many other sciences experienced scientific revolutions. • Before the S.R, Galen, an ancient Greek physician, was the believed authority on human anatomy. • Dissection and experimentation by people like Leonardo Da Vinci (to create more lifelike work) and Andrea Vesalius proved much of his work wrong. • Vesalius’ book, “On the Fabric of Human Anatomy” became the main book on the human body.

23. Royal Support • Many kings and queens became patrons of the scientific revolution. Why? • 1. To lower the authority of the church, which monarchs struggled against. • 2. To aid in things like exploration and navigation to find new lands. • Queen Elizabeth of England established a school at Oxford for the study of math and navigation.

24. Scientific Philosophers • The scientific revolution didn’t just change knowledge, it changed how people gained their knowledge. • Rather than just accept ideas and create theories, the S.R. was about testing, experimenting and proving ideas.

25. Rene Descarte • Considered to be the first modern philosopher. • Thinking and writing about doubt and uncertainty • Accepted only those things his reason said were true.

26. Sense over Senses • Descarte believed that human senses used in observation can be tricked or deceived. • Believed that God was good and NOT trying to trick us so therefore the world could be understood through logic. • Rationalism-system of thought is based on the belief that reason is the chief source of knowledge.

27. “I think (doubt) therefore I am” • Cogito ergo sum • This is how Descarte used reasoning/logic to explain his existence and that of God. • For example; if he doubts that there is a god, he is acknowledging that god does exist if he can actually doubt him! 

28. Sir Francis Bacon • Different from Descarte • Believed that to gain knowledge you need empirical evidence (proof). • Believed human reasoning without proof could be flawed because many different things could affect or taint human knowledge. • A good scientist would study, record data, analyze it and make observations. Inductive Reasoning This became the scientific method.

29. The Scientific Method • Observation • Create a hypothesis or theory • Make a prediction about a test • Experiment to prove your theory. • Science became the new worldview during the S.R.

30. Effects of the Scientific Revolution • Knowledge was no longer based on the past, but was moving forward. • Systematic procedure for collecting and analyzing evidence.