AP European History
AP European History
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the knowledge of the world changed. The Scientific Revolution shook the foundations of the intellectual and theological traditions that had been formed during the Middle Ages. It would be a misrepresentation to classify the Scientific Revolution as either scientific or as a revolution. The science of the world didn't change, but rather the methodology of science, or the way man thought, underwent a transformation. In addition, the change took an extended period of time and was not revolutionary in the sense of the old being replaced immediately by the new; it was a gradual process of new ideas replacing old. Nevertheless, the Scientific Revolution permanently altered modern thought and the modern conception of the world around us.
The science of the Middle Ages, known then as natural philosophy, consisted of a mixture of Aristotelian, Ptolemaic, and Christian ideas about the world and universe. This natural philosophy, which supported the idea that God created a finite universe, became deeply rooted in and vigorously defended by Church orthodoxy. It was inconceivable to medieval scientists that the natural world could be examined outside the realm of religion and theology. After all, the universe was God's creation; he designed the universe and everything in it, so the truth about the nature of the universe must be compatible with the Christian religion and traditions. However, many of the ideas of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century thinkers were not only incompatible with but also contrary to the traditional Church dogma and, therefore, were strongly opposed by the Church.
For centuries, the intellectuals and theologians of Europe embraced the Ptolemaic concept of a geocentric universe, a universe with earth at the center. The ever-changing earth was thought to be composed of four basic elements: earth, water, fire, and air. Surrounding the imperfect earth were ten perfect crystal spheres that orbited the earth in circular orbits. Beyond the tenth sphere was heaven. For many, this was a logical, if not comfortable, arrangement. The entire finite universe revolved around the earth. The universe had limits, and man knew what and where those limits were. Beyond the limits of the universe was heaven, where God kept order in the universe. Is it any wonder that when these concepts were challenged, the Church reacted as if its very foundation was being attacked?
At the dawn of the Scientific Revolution, the accepted ideas about the universe were still based upon those of Aristotle and Ptolemy. These medieval ideas were accepted because they easily supported what could be seen with the naked eye and because they were compatible with Christian doctrine. However, medieval universities and Renaissance thought helped create a group of intellectuals who were not afraid to think for themselves, even if that thought diverged from traditional thinkers. Furthermore, Europeans were beginning to explore lands further and further away from home, and they needed more advanced navigational methods and instruments. This, combined with a new way of thinking, spurred the movement of the Scientific Revolution.
One of the first truly revolutionary minds of the Scientific Revolution was Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543). Copernicus spent much of his early life studying church law and astronomy. It was during his study of astronomy that he became fascinated by the heliocentric universe, an ancient Greek idea that placed the sun at the center of the universe. This idea, of course, contradicted contemporary scientific thought and challenged hundreds of years of traditional thought. Although he came to believe in a heliocentric rather than geocentric universe, Copernicus did not publish his work for fear of ostracism and ridicule. Rather, his work was published posthumously. The implications of the theories of Copernicus were immense. His theory implied that the universe was actually unimaginable in size, contrary to the traditional idea of a finite universe and that the earth was no longer the center of the universe. This greatly reduced the importance of earth in the grand scheme of the universe. Religious leaders across Europe, including both Calvin and Luther, criticized Copernicus for his ideas, which, according to them, directly contradicted the teachings of the Bible. The Catholic Church reacted a little slower but finally declared his work false in 1616.
Copernicus paved the way for other thinkers such as Tycho Brahe (1546-1630). This Danish scientist spent twenty long years observing the stars and collecting data. His lack of mathematical genius prevented him from using the data to develop theories and laws. Brahe’s assistant, however, possessed the mathematical ability necessary to formulate scientific laws based upon the mountains of Brahe's research data. Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) used Brahe's work and findings to develop three very important natural laws. First, he said the orbits of the planets were elliptical and not circular. Second, Kepler said the planets move at different speeds in their orbits. Third, he said the time it takes for a planet to complete its orbit of the sun is relative to its distance from the sun. These three laws smashed the Aristotelian and Ptolemaic concepts of the universe to which Europe had clung for centuries, and he proved these laws mathematically.
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) continued the break with tradition in his findings as well. A genius who became a math professor at age 25, Galileo used observation instead of speculation as he developed his theories. Among other things, Galileo worked with laws of motion and discovered Jupiter's moons. He destroyed the idea that the planets were mere crystal spheres and proved that the heavenly bodies were not always as they appeared to the naked eye. After the publication of his Dialogue on the Two Chief Systems of the World (1632), Galileo was arrested, tried for heresy, and imprisoned. This episode occurred only a few years after the pope had instructed Galileo that he could continue to write about the possible systems of the world that might exist, as long as he did not say in his writings which of those actually did exist. Galileo's trial has come to represent the conflict between science and religion both during and after the Scientific Revolution.
The greatest achievement of the Scientific Revolution was the synthesis of Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo into a single system of thought. Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) developed a system of mathematical laws known as universal gravitation. Based on mathematics, Newton determined that every body in the universe is attracted to every other body in the universe in a mathematical relationship. He also asserted that the attraction of these bodies is based upon the amount of matter of the bodies and the distance between them.
The Scientific Revolution changed not only the knowledge of the times but also the methodology of obtaining knowledge. The two men most responsible for the development of the methodology were Francis Bacon (15611626) and René Descartes (1596-1650). Although Bacon and Descartes contrasted each other concerning methods of acquiring knowledge, the combination of their ideas results in the modern scientific method. Bacon, an English writer, championed a new experimental method of acquiring knowledge. He rejected the Aristotelian idea of speculative reasoning and advocated the inductive method. He believed that it was important to observe something in order to determine its nature and to learn more about it. Bacon's method is of ten referred to as empiricism. Descartes, a French mathematician who developed analytic geometry, advocated deductive reasoning. Descartes had great faith in the ability of the human mind. Therefore, Descartes method was to doubt everything, then use logic and reason to deduce the nature of things and the scientific laws that govern those things. Descartes reduced all substances to matter and mind, or the physical and the spiritual, which is a concept known as Cartesian dualism. The modern scientific method is a combination of the thinking of Bacon and Descartes. The scientific method employs both observation and logical thinking in the development of scientific theories and laws.