The Scientific Revolution

1. The Scientific Revolution

2. What Was the Scientific Revolution? • A revolution in human understanding and knowledge about the physical universe • 17th century • Began with Kepler, Galileo • Ended with Newton

3. The BIG PICTURE: • The scientific revolution is historically important for three reasons: • it laid the basis for our modern view of the world as a rational, ordered place • it shifted the nature of discourse in "natural philosophy" from reason (deductive) to empirical (inductive) method • Finally, it affected the thinking of a wide range of people from poets and philosophers to practical men of politics and economics

4. “Science” Before the Scientific Revolution • Based almost entirely on reasoning • Experimental method or observation wasn’t used at all • Science in medieval times • Alchemy • Astrology • tradition A medieval alchemist

5. Factors Leading to the Scientific Revolution • Rise of universities • Contact with non-Western societies • The Renaissance • Exploration

6. Rationalism • Reason, not tradition, is the source of all knowledge • René Descartes (1596–1650) • French philosopher and mathematician • Cogito ergo sum (“I think, therefore, I am”) • Deductive reasoning René Descartes

7. Empiricism • The belief that experience is the only true source of knowledge • Roger Bacon • Shift toward empiricism a hallmark of the Scientific Revolution • Helped lead to the development of the scientific method Roger Bacon

8. Francis Bacon andthe Scientific Method • 1561–1626 • English philosopher and empiricist • Inductive reasoning • Argued for experimental methodology

9. The Scientific Method Science as a multiple-step process: 1. Observe an object or phenomenon 2. Develop a theory that explains the object or phenomenon 3. Test the theory with experiments

10. Roots of Scientific Thought: Aristotle • 4th century BCE Greek philosopher and scientist • Wrote several scientific works • His work laid the foundation for scientific study through the medieval era • Gravity/Theory of falling objects • Astronomy: Crystal spheres

11. Roots of Scientific Thought:Ptolemy • 2nd century CE Greek astronomer, mathematician, and geographer • The Almagest (Syntaxis) • Geocentric (earth-centered) model of the universe • Motion of the planets

12. Models of the Universe: Geocentric vs. Heliocentric • Heliocentric: the Sun is at the center of the universe; all heavenly bodies move around the Sun—including the Earth Geocentric: the Earth is at the center of the universe; all heavenly bodies move around the Earth

13. Nicholas Copernicus (1473–1543) • Polish astronomer and mathematician • Commentariolus (1514) • Concerning the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres (1543)

14. Tycho Brahe (1546–1601) • Danish astronomer • Amassed accurate astronomical data • Theorized a system distinct from both the Ptolemaic and Copernican ones • Argued that the Moon and Sun revolve around the Earth while other planets revolve around the Sun • BEST. DEATH. EVER.

15. Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) • German astronomer and mathematician • Student of Tycho • Didn’t agree with Tycho’s interpretation of data • Disagreed with Copernicus, claiming that other bodies moved in elliptical motion, as opposed to circular motions • Theorized three laws of planetary motion using Tycho’s data

16. Kepler’s Three Laws of Planetary Motion • Law of Ellipses: Planets orbit the sun in elliptical patterns • Law of Equal Areas: The speed of planetary motion changes constantly depending on the distance from the Sun • Law of Harmonies: Compares the movement of all the planets, claiming a similarity in their motion

17. Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) • Italian mathematician, astronomer • “Father of Science” • Telescopes and astronomical discoveries • Theory of falling objects; disproved Aristotle Galileo’s telescopic drawing of the moon

18. Dialogue on the Two Chief Systems of the World • Galileo’s major work • Written in 1632 • Argued in favor of the heliocentric model of the universe Frontspiece from the Dialogue; from left to right, the figures shown are Aristotle, Ptolemy, and Copernicus

19. Galileo vs. the Catholic Church • The church condemned heliocentric conceptions of the universe • The Roman Inquisition • Galileo’s trial • Galileo recants, put under house arrest 19th-century depiction of Galileo before the Inquisition tribunal

20. Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727) • English astronomer, physicist, and mathematician • Synthesized the works of Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo • The Principia

21. Newton’s Laws of Motion • First Law: Law of Inertia • Second Law: Fundamental Law of Dynamics • Third Law: Law of Reciprocal Actions

22. Medicine Before the Scientific Revolution • Based on tradition • The Church Illustration depicting a bloodletting, an accepted medical procedure before the Scientific Revolution

23. Ancient Medicine: Galen (131–201 CE) • Greek physician • On the Elements According to Hippocrates • “Bodily humours” • Two types of blood • On the Use of the Parts of the Body

24. Medieval Medicine: The Catholic Church • Provided for care of the poor and the sick • Minor clerics took on physician-like roles • Eventually, university-trained physicians displaced clerical physicians Clerics treat a royal patient with leeches

25. Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564) • Belgian anatomist • On the Fabric of the Human Body • Corrected many of Galen’s errors

26. William Harvey (1578–1657) • English physician • On the Movement of the Heart and Blood in Animals • Described the functioning of the heart and circulatory system • Disproved Galen’s theories

27. Chemistry Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) Antoine Lavoisier (1743–1794) Robert Boyle (1627–1691)

28. Carolus Linnaeus (1707–1778) • Swedish botanist • Classification and naming of flora and fauna

29. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck(1744–1829) • French biologist • Early theory of evolution • Philosophie Zoologique • Lamarck’s “laws”

30. Mathematics • Math symbols for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division • Analytical geometry: Descartes • Calculus: Newton  + - 

31. New Invention: The Telescope • Invented in the Netherlands • Galileo • Newton Illustration of Galileo at his telescope

32. New Invention: The Microscope • Hans Janssen • Anton Van Leeuwenhoek • Robert Hooke Hooke’s drawing of a flea (from Micrographia) A Janssen microscope, c.1600

33. New Invention: The Pendulum Clock • Invented by Christiaan Huygens, a 17th-century Dutch scientist • Allowed scientists to more accurately measure time Huygens’s design for a pendulum clock

34. New Invention: Barometer • Invented by 17th-century Italian physicist Evangelista Torricelli • The barometer measures air pressure Torricelli’s barometer experiment

35. New Invention: Thermometer • Invented in the 17th century by Santorio Santorio, an Italian scientist • Ferdinand II • Gabriel Fahrenheit • Anders Celsius Santorio Santorio Illustration depicting Santorio’s thermometer

36. New Invention: Mechanical Calculator • Invented by Wilhelm Schickard, a 17th-century German inventor • Gottfried von Leibniz’s “Step Reckoner” Wilhelm Schickard A 1624 sketch Schickard made of his calculator

37. The Significance of the Scientific Revolution • Abandonment of ancient and medieval systems • Development of the scientific method • The Enlightenment