Scientific Revolution

Scientific
Revolution

16th-17th Century

Leading up to the Scientific Revolution

Renaissance: 15th-16th
Century following the Middle
(Dark) Ages. Cultural rebirth,
that inspired curiosity in
everything.

People began to question
ideas that had universally
being accepted.

Leading up to the Scientific Revolution

Reformation: Occurred during the
1500s where many religious groups
separated from the DOMINANT Roman
Catholic Church.

People began to question the church,
and ask why/how do you know?

Reformation resulted in the
Protestantism (a branch of Christianity).

Scientific Revolution

New way of thinking about the physical world, using
reason, logic, and theory testing which ultimately led to
modern science in the 1500s.

This is the ancient
Greek astronomer
Ptolemy’s view of
the universe.

How does it differ
from ours?

Open Ended

How does Ptolemy's view of the universe different than our current view?

New Theories about the Universe

Geocentric: View that the earth was the center of the universe.

Catholic Church supported this ^...to go against the church was HERESY.

HERESY: Going against church teachings, one could be excommunicated or even
BURNED ALIVE!

Thought?

Why did so many people blindly believe the churches teachings? Think about time
period & the average person's education level.

Open Ended

Why did so many people blindly believe the churches teachings? Think about time
period & the average person's education level.

Copernicus

Nicolaus Copernicus in 1492 began to research our planetary system- because he
also believed that the EARTH WAS ROUND!

After 25 years, Copernicus came to the conclusion that the Earth WAS NOT the
center of the universe, but rather the SUN. This is called the HELIOCENTRIC
THEORY.

Are there flaws still?

New Theories about the Universe

Copernicus feared of being charged of heresy by the Catholic Church-therefore he held onto his
views for nearly 30 years before publishing them. He published them right before his death in
1543.

Copernicus Quick Notes:

-Earth is ROUND

-Heliocentric (Sun is center)

-Published work before death (afraid)

Multiple Choice

The _________believed that the earth was the center of the universe. Copernicus argued that the sun was the center of the universe, which is called the __________theory.

• Heliocentric, Geocentric

• Ptolemy, Geocentric

• Geocentric, Heliocentric

• Heliocentric, Ptolemy

Johannes Kepler & Brahe

Tycho Brahe in the late 1500’s provided mathematical evidence that supported Copernicus theory
(Heliocentric).

His assistant (Johannes Kepler) after his (Brahe) death, posted mathematical proof that the planets
orbited in ellipses (not circles) and at different speeds.

Kepler posted his findings because he was Protestant and not afraid of Catholic Church punishments.

Multiple Choice

Kepler was not afraid to post his work, because he was not under the Catholic Churches jurisdiction since he was...

• Catholic

• Protestant

• Hungry

• Proletariat

Challenging the Church

Galileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei helped invent the telescope and began
peering into the sky…

In his observations he discovered that moons orbit
other planets, specifically Jupiter…therefore not “all
Heavenly bodies” orbit the earth. In other terms…

EARTH IS NOT THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE!

Challenging the Church

Galileo went to Rome to persuade the church not to ban his ideas-the Pope
agreed under two conditions:

1)

He had to give arguments for and against Heliocentrism

2)

Pope’s view on the matter was included in the book

In his book, The Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systemshe used
two characters to debate his view & the churches (geocentric) views. The
character that defends the geocentric/Catholic church view is called Simplicio.

Simplicus means “simple minded” in Italian.

Challenging the Church

Catholic church banned the
book, took Galileo to trial for
HERESY and forced him to
RECANT.

Ultimately he did…

Challenging the Church

“I, Galileo Galilei, . . .swear that with honest heart and in good faith I curse. . . the said
heresies and errors as to the movement of the earth around the sun and all other heresies
and ideas opposed to the Holy Church; and I swear that I never assert or say anything either
orally or in writing, that could put me under such suspicion”

WHY?

Open Ended

Why would Galileo recant his findings, even if he knew they were correct? What does this show us about the Church during this time period?

Galileo Quick Facts

-Supported Copernicus Heliocentric Theory

-Credited with one of the first inventors of the telescope

-Punished by Catholic Church and forced to Recant
(1633)

-Discovered Law of Inertia=object remains at rest or in
straight line motion unless acted upon by an external
Force

-Law of Falling Bodies=All objects fall at the same
speed/rate, regardless of mass.

New Scientific Method

Francis Bacon-Our world can be understood through observable facts.
Observation and experimentation are the key components in understanding
the WHY.

Created the Scientific Method:

New Scientific Method

Rene Descartes- Known as one of the Fathers of modern philosophy.

-He agreed with Bacon that we should reject old assumptions, but believed truth
derived from mathematics/logic rather than experimentation.

Philosophy: Famous for his “I think therefore I am” statement.

Newton’s Universe-Isaac Newton

-Expanded on the findings of Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler

-Famously Newton was sitting under a tree (not in school because it was closed
due to the plague…sound familiar?) and came up with the THEORY OF GRAVITY

Newton believed that gravity not only held us to the ground, but also the entire
solar system in order (sun's gravity)

Newton’s Universe

Created CALCULUS to
prove his theory of gravity.

Also developed the three
scientific laws of motion

Chemistry

Robert Boyle-Father of Modern Chemistry

Prior to Boyle, Chemistry was called Alchemy-and alchemists believed that all
matter was comprised of four elements=earth, air, fire, and water.

This idea was UNCHALLENGED for over a THOUSAND YEARS.

Chemistry

Robert Boyle established Chemistry
as a pure science.

Discovered the existence of oxygen

Established Boyle’s Law: Explains
how volume, temperature, and
pressure of gas affect each other.

As astronomy, philosophy, and
mathematics advanced at an
incredible pace, so too did the
sciences of anatomy and
chemistry.

Investigating the Human Body

Most our knowledge regarding anatomy came from Galen an ancient Greek-who
made his discoveries dissecting dead animals.

Animals and human anatomies obviously have differences.

Andreas Vesalius made HUGE strides in understanding the human body by
dissecting humans.

Known as the
FATHER OF
ANATOMY

William Harvey

Early 1600s discovered that blood circulates throughout the body and the heart is
responsible for pumping blood.

Scientific Revolution

15th-17th Century

Time period where traditional ideas were challenged!

Nicolaus Copernicus: 1473-1543

Andreas Vesalius: 1514-1564

Francis Bacon: 1561-1626

Galileo Galilei: 1564-1642

Johannes Kepler: 1571-1630

William Harvey: 1578-1657

Rene Descartes: 1596-1650

Isaac Newton: 1643-1727

Robert Boyle: 1627-1691