Transcript Scientific Revolution

Bell Ringer
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Revolutions (thoughts or actions) begin with questions.
What do the words Revolution and Enlightenment mean?
What are their root words?
Why might people have difficulty accepting new ideas or
new ways of thinking?
Enlightenment thinkers asked questions about religion,
science and authority. One question led to another until
their world was turned upside down.
Look for these questions as you read Chapter 6.
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Middle Ages- Ancient Greek and
Roman texts or the Bible were the
basis of science.
 Tradition & Church teachings
viewed as facts
 Things are a certain way because
that is God intended!
 Ex. -World is flat, Earth is center of
the universe.
Religious Dogma: Ideas originating with pagan
Greek philosophers were incorporated into the
Catholic church and became dogma. To
challenge this view of the universe was to
challenge, not only science, but theology.
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Age of the Renaissance, Reformation, Exploration and………..
the SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION!
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Mid 1600’s – Early 1800’s
European explorers discovered new lands, peoples, plants & animals
thus Europeans knew there were unknowns to be discovered.
New technologies in exploration & new approaches in learning led to
the Scientific Revolution.
“Age of Reason” has begun! (Based on observation & questioning
accepted beliefs)
Developments in astronomy, physics, chemistry, and biology.
The printing press spread these ideas rapidly!
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The Aristotle/Ptolemy Universe
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Geocentric
 Earth was center of the universe placed
their by God
 moon, sun, planets, stars moved around
Earth
 Heaven lay beyond the 10th sphere
(orbit)
 Angels kept the spheres moving
The Church invested greatly in this
world-view
The Ptolemaic Universe : Ideas about uniform
circular motion and epicycles were catalogued
by Ptolemy in 150 A.D. in his book the
Almagest.
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Polish monk
Observed patterns of star & planet
movement
On the Revolutions of Celestial Bodies
(1543)
Heliocentric Theory
Called into question the literal truth of
the Scriptures
Copernicus waited until he was near
death to publish his findings
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major change in astronomy was that people accepted the
theory proposed by Nicolaus Copernicus’ (1473-1543) that the
sun rather than the earth was the center of the universe.
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Tycho Brahe- Studied planetary
movements for years and recorded
data backing up the theory.
Johannes Kepler, a German mathematician,
who went to Prague to become Brahe's
assistant, realized that the orbits of the planets
were not circles but ellipses
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Italian scientist
Improved the telescope
Made observations about the
planets, moons, sunspots
Wrote in the vernacular
Church is very upset!
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) proved the Copernican theory with
his telescope, challenged Aristotle's universe and its
theological-philosophical worldview, and laid the foundations
for dynamics (how objects move on the earth) & gravity.
Sunspots
Galileo observed sunspots that
moved, indicating that the Sun
was rotating on an axis and
that it was not made from a
perfect, unchanging substance.
He observed four points of light
that changed their positions
around the planet Jupiter and
concluded that they were
moons circling the planet as it
moved around its orbit.
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Written to address the conflict between
the Bible & heliocentric theory
Argued that the Bible must be
interpreted in light of scientific
knowledge
Argued for a non-literal interpretation
of the Bible
Galileo declared the Bible teaches how
to go to heaven, not how the heavens go
The letter began Galileo’s troubles with
the Catholic Church
1633 – Church forced Galileo to recant;
placed under house arrest
Galileo's challenge of the Church's authority got him into deep trouble with the
Inquisition. Late in his life, he was forced to recant his Copernican views publicly.
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What is the church accusing Galileo of doing?
According to the last sentence, what is the
church asking Galileo to do?
Based on the reading, what do you think the
words indictment and abjure mean?
Make a prediction about how Galileo might
respond to the church’s request.
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What does Galileo admit to doing?
What does he ultimately agree to?
Why do you think Galileo abjured?
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“I think, therefore I am”
He doubted everything until
proved by mathematics, reason
and logic
Descartes wished to develop a
method that could be used to yield
scientific truth
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Thought medieval thinkers relied
on the thoughts of the Ancients.
Experimental Method
 only true source of knowledge
Helped lead the development of
the Scientific Method
Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) By age 26, Newton demonstrated that
the motion of objects on the Earth could be described by three new
Laws of Motion and the Universal Law of Gravitation.
When he observed an apple fall from a tree, Newton thought: The apple is
accelerated as it moves from the tree toward the ground. There must be a
force that acts on the apple to cause this acceleration. Let's call the force
gravity. If the force of gravity reaches to the top of the highest tree, might it
not reach even further to the orbit of the Moon. Then, the orbit of the Moon
about the Earth could be a consequence of the gravitational force.
Newton’s First Law of Motion: An object in motion tends to stay in
motion and an object at rest tends to stay at rest, unless the
object is acted upon by an outside force
Free Fall
Air Resistance
Newton’s Second Law of Motion: The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting upon it and inversely proportional to its mass.
Newton’s Third Law of Motion: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
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The Englishman Robert Boyle (1627-1691) –
 Father of Modern Chemistry
 discovery that the arrangement of atoms determines the
characteristics of matter.
 Volume, temperature and gas affect each other.
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In biology, William
Harvey (1578-1657)
accurately demonstrated
how blood circulates
through the human body.
Late 1700’s – Edward
Jenner developed vaccine
for smallpox
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Zacharias Janssen – Dutch eyeglass maker created
the 1st microscope.
Gabriel Fahrenheit (German physicist) and Anders
Celsius (Swedish astronomer) individually made
the 1st mercury thermometers.
Evangelista Torricelli – Created the 1st mercury
barometer (air pressure; helps predict weather)
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Skepticism and Independent Reasoning:
For example, Descartes reached the extreme of skepticism by doubting his own
existence. Then, he realized that his own act of thinking proved his own
existence (I think, therefore, I am.)
Challenges to Religion: After the Revolution, God was viewed by many as
either a remote “master mechanic”, or his existence began to be doubted. Began
long adversarial relationship between science and religion
Questions about Humanity's Role in the Universe: By making humans the
inhabitants of a tiny planet circling the sun, the Copernican Universe reduced
the importance of humanity. It led people to begin to question the place of
humanity in creation. Contributions of these scientists made the universe
comprehensible for the first time
Gave Humanity Control of Nature: Some philosophers argued that by gaining
knowledge of the laws of nature, people could control nature. Through science
and technology, they could improve human life.
Challenges to Established Views of Women: The new scientific ideas challenged
the ancient and medieval beliefs about the physical and mental inferiority of
women. Nevertheless, traditional notions about women continued to dominate
Foundation Laid for the Enlightenment to Begin: Religion, superstition and fear
were replaced by reason and knowledge. Philosophers begin to question
accepted ideas of government and society.