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The Scientific Revolution

How did the Scientific Revolution change the way people understood the world?

Introduction

Between 1500 and 1700, modern science emerged as a new way of gaining
knowledge about the world. This major shift in thinking became known as the
Scientific Revolution. Before this time, Europeans relied on two main sources for
their understanding of nature. One was the Bible and religious teachings. The
other was the work of classical thinkers, especially the philosopher Aristotle.

During the Scientific Revolution, scientists challenged traditional teachings about

nature by asking fresh questions and answering them in new ways. Inventions like
the telescope exposed a universe no one had imagined before, while careful
observation revealed errors in accepted ideas about the physical world.

A good example is Aristotle's description of falling objects. Aristotle had said that
heavier objects fall to the ground faster than lighter ones. Although this idea
seemed logical, the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei (gal-uh-LEE-oh gal-uh-LAY)
questioned it.

According to his first biographer, Galileo performed a demonstration in the city of

Pisa, where he was teaching. He dropped two balls of different weights from the
city's Leaning Tower. The results shocked the crowd of students and professors
since they expected the heavier ball to land first. Instead, the two balls landed at
the same time.

Galileo's demonstration is an application of the scientific method. As you will

learn, the scientific method uses both logic and observation to help people
understand the natural world.

In this lesson, you will learn about the origins of the Scientific Revolution and how
it changed the way people understood the world. You will meet some of the key
scientists of the period and find out about their major discoveries and inventions.

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Social Studies
Vocabulary

geocentric theory

gravity

heliocentric theory

hypothesis

mass

rationalism

scientific method

Scientific Revolution

1. Roots of the Scientific Revolution

Humans have asked questions about nature since ancient times. What was
different about the Scientific Revolution of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries?
What factors helped it arise?

During the Middle Ages, two major sources guided most Europeans' thinking
about the natural world. The first was the Bible because, for Christians, the Bible
was the word of God. Therefore, whatever the Bible seemed to say about nature
must be true.

The second source was the teachings of Aristotle, a Greek philosopher who had
written about logic in the 300s B.C.E. In the late Middle Ages, philosophers like
Thomas Aquinas combined Aristotle's thinking with Christian faith by arguing that
reason, or logical thought, could be used to support Christian beliefs. He held that
the existence of God, for example, could be proven by reason.

During the Renaissance, many thinkers began to question the conclusions of

earlier thinkers. For example, Renaissance scholars rediscovered the cultures of

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ancient Greece and Rome. Arab, Christian, and Jewish scholars in the Muslim
world translated many classical works and made advances of their own in such
fields as medicine, astronomy, and mathematics.

From the works of these scholars, Europeans learned about a greater variety of
ideas. Many European philosophers were influenced by Greek rationalism, which
was the belief that reason, or logical thought, could be used to discover basic
truths about the world. Renaissance thinkers also observed nature directly. The
Renaissance physician Vesalius dissected corpses to test ancient ideas about the
body. Trust in reason and observation became a key part of modern science.

Additionally, the Age of Exploration helped inspire the growth of science. For
instance, in the 2nd century C.E., Ptolemy had stated that there were only three
continents: Europe, Africa, and Asia. However, explorers who visited the Americas
proved him wrong. Such discoveries encouraged Europeans to question existing
knowledge.

Gradually, scientists developed a new method for probing nature's mysteries.

Their work led to many dramatic discoveries.

2. Copernicus and Kepler: A New View of the Universe

The Scientific Revolution began with the work of the Polish astronomer Nicolaus
Copernicus. His work led to a new view of the universe.

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For nearly two thousand years, most people considered Earth the center of the
universe. According to this geocentric theory, the sun, stars, and planets—
everything believed to be the universe—traveled around a motionless Earth.
Aristotle had taught this theory. The Bible also seemed to support it since, in one
Bible story, God stops the sun from moving across the sky. Additionally, the
geocentric theory seemed to make obvious sense because the sun and stars do
appear to travel around Earth.

Aristotle had also taught that all heavenly bodies move in circles. Unfortunately,
this belief made it difficult to explain the observed movements of planets, such as
Mars and Jupiter. In the 2nd century C.E., Ptolemy created a complicated theory
to account for this.

Both ancient and medieval writers, including Muslim scientists, found problems
with Ptolemy's theory. In the early 1500s, Copernicus tackled these issues when
he used observations and mathematics to propose a very different idea. According
to his heliocentric theory, Earth and the other planets travel in orbits around the
sun, which is at the center of this solar system. Earth also turns on its own axis
every 24 hours, explaining why heavenly objects seem to move around Earth.

Like Ptolemy, Copernicus had trouble predicting the movement of planets with
perfect accuracy, but he still believed his theory was simpler and more satisfying
than Ptolemy's. In 1543, he described his idea in a published book. However, the
book convinced very few people and was even attacked by some Church officials
and scientists.

Then, in the early 1600s, German scientist Johannes Kepler expanded on

Copernicus's theory. After studying detailed observations, Kepler realized that the
orbits of the planets were ovals, not circles. With this insight, he wrote precise
mathematical laws describing the planets' movements around the sun.

Kepler's laws coincided beautifully with actual observations, proving that the
Copernican theory was correct. Once the theory was accepted, people would
never again hold the same view of Earth's place in the universe.

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3. Galileo and the Copernican Theory

Galileo Galilei lived at the same time as Johannes Kepler. Galileo explored many
questions, but he was especially interested in problems of motion. As you have
read, he disproved Aristotle's theory that heavy objects fall faster than lighter
ones. He made other discoveries about motion, as well. For example, he used
mathematics to describe the path of a projectile, or something that is thrown or
shot.

Galileo's most notable discoveries came when he turned his curiosity toward the
sky. What he learned there made him a champion of the Copernican theory.

Galileo's Discoveries In 1609, Galileo heard about an invention from the

Netherlands: the telescope. A telescope uses glass lenses to make distant objects
appear much closer.

Galileo decided to build his own telescope, so he learned how telescopes worked
and how to grind glass for lenses. Soon he was building more and more powerful
telescopes.

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Galileo began studying the sky through a telescope and noticed things no one had
seen before. He saw that the moon's surface was rough and uneven, and he
discovered four of the moons that revolve around the planet Jupiter.

Galileo also observed the planet Venus. To the naked eye, Venus resembles a
bright star, but Galileo noticed something new. You know from looking at the
moon that it goes through phases. It takes on what appear to be different shapes,
from a thin sliver to the full moon. With his telescope, Galileo could see that
Venus also passed through phases. Sometimes it was brightly lit, while at other
times it was partially dark.

Galileo's discoveries contradicted the traditional view of the universe. For

example, Aristotle had taught that the moon was perfectly smooth, but Galileo
observed that it wasn't. Although Aristotle had said that Earth was the only center
of motion in the universe, Galileo saw moons moving around Jupiter. Aristotle
believed that Venus and other planets traveled around Earth. However, Galileo
realized that the phases of Venus meant that it was traveling around the sun.

Conflict with the Church Galileo's discoveries supported the Copernican

heliocentric theory and led him into a bitter conflict with the Catholic Church.
Church leaders viewed the Copernican theory as wrong and dangerous because
the idea that Earth was at the center of the universe was part of their system of
religious belief.

Church officials feared that attacks on the geocentric theory could lead people to
become skeptical of the Church's teachings. In 1616, the Catholic Church warned
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Galileo against teaching the Copernican theory.

Galileo refused to be silenced and, in 1632, he published a book calledDialogue on

the Two Chief World Systems. The book described an imaginary conversation about
the theories of Ptolemy and Copernicus. Although Galileo did not openly take
sides, the book was really a clever argument for the Copernican theory. The
character who upheld the geocentric theory was portrayed as foolish, while the
one who believed the heliocentric theory was logical and convincing.

Galileo's Dialogue caused an uproar. In 1633, the pope called Galileo to Rome to
face the Catholic court, known as the Inquisition.

At Galileo's trial, Church leaders accused him of heresy and demanded that he
confess his error. Initially Galileo resisted, but eventually the court forced him to
swear that the geocentric theory was true, and he was forbidden to write again
about the Copernican theory.

Galileo's Influence However, the Church's opposition could not stop the spread
of Galileo's ideas. Scientists across Europe read his Dialogue, which helped convert
many to the Copernican theory.

Galileo's studies of motion also advanced the Scientific Revolution. Like Kepler, he
used observation and mathematics to solve scientific problems. Galileo's theory of
motion describes how objects move on Earth, while Kepler's laws describe the
movements of the planets. The next scientist you will meet united these ideas in a
single great theory.

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4. Isaac Newton and the Law of Gravity

Isaac Newton was born in England in 1642, the same year Galileo died. Newton
was a brilliant scientist and mathematician whose greatest discovery was the law
of gravity.

In later life, Newton told a story about his discovery. He was trying to figure out
what kept the moon traveling in its orbit around Earth. Since the moon was in
motion, why didn't it fly off into space in a straight line? Then Newton saw an
apple fall from a tree and hit the ground and realized that when objects fall, they
fall toward the center of Earth. He wondered if the same force that pulled the
apple to the ground was tugging on the moon. The difference was that the moon
was far away, so Newton reasoned that the force was weaker there but still strong
enough to bend the moon's motion into an oval orbit around Earth.

This was Newton's great insight. A single force explained a falling apple on Earth,
as well as the movements of heavenly bodies. Newton called this force gravity.

Newton stated the law of gravity in a simpleformula. All physical objects, he said,
had a force of attraction between them. The strength of the force depended on
the masses of the objects and the distance between them. Mass is a measure of

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the amount of matter in an object. For example, the moon and Earth tug on each
other. At a certain point in space, these “tugs” cancel each other out. The result is
that the moon is trapped in its orbit around Earth. In contrast, an apple has a small
mass compared to Earth and is very close to Earth, so gravity pulls it toward
Earth's center.

In 1687, Newton published a book known as thePrincipia, or Principles, which

presented the law of gravity and described three laws of motion. Newton's laws
provided an explanation for what earlier scientists had observed. For example,
others had shown that the planets moved around the sun, but Newton's laws
explained why. Just as gravity kept the moon traveling around Earth, it kept the
planets traveling around the sun.

Newton's laws dramatically changed people's view of the universe. Many people
began to view the universe as a beautifully designed machine. Some compared it
to a well-built clock. People needed only to discover how it worked.

5. The Scientific Method

A key outcome of the Scientific Revolution was the development of thescientific

method. Two philosophers who influenced this development were Francis Bacon

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and Rene Descartes (reh-NAY dey-KAHRT).

Francis Bacon was born in England in 1561. Bacon distrusted much of the
traditional learning of the Middle Ages and argued that people could gain
knowledge only if they rid their minds of false beliefs. He outlined a method of
scientific investigation that depended on close observation.

Rene Descartes was born in France in the year 1596. Descartes prized logic and
mathematics. To gain knowledge that was certain, he suggested, people should
doubt every statement until logic proved it to be true. Descartes also saw the
physical universe as obeying universal mathematical laws.

These ideas helped create a new approach to science.Eventually, scientists

developed this approach into the scientific method, which combines logic,
mathematics, and observation into five basic steps:

1. The scientist states a question or problem.

2. The scientist forms a hypothesis, or assumption, that might explain the
problem.
3. The scientist designs and conducts an experiment to test the hypothesis.
4. The scientist measures the data, or information, produced by the
experiment and records the results.
5. The scientist analyzes the data to determine whether the hypothesis is
correct.

Galileo's demonstration with falling objects illustrates how this method works.
Galileo wondered whether objects of different weights fall at the same speed. He
formed a hypothesis that they did, then designed and conducted an experiment to
test it. He dropped a heavy and a light ball together from the same height off a
tower and observed that they landed at the same time, which showed that his
hypothesis was correct.

Scientists still use this basic method today. An advantage of the scientific method
is that any trained scientist can repeat what another has done. In this way,
scientists can test each others' ideas.

In one way, the spread of the scientific method marked a separation from the past.
Fewer and fewer people looked to traditional authorities for the answers to
scientific problems, but that did not mean they discarded all their old beliefs. For
example, thinkers such as Descartes and Newton were deeply religious. For many,
science was a way to better understand the world God had made.

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6. Key Inventions

The Scientific Revolution spurred the invention of new tools for studying the
world. These tools, such as the telescope, helped scientists discover new facts and
measure data more accurately.

Microscope Scientists use microscopes to make small objects appear much

larger. The microscope was invented by Dutch lens makers in the late 1500s. In
the mid-1600s, Dutchman Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (LAY-ven-hook) designed
his own powerful microscopes and became the first person to see bacteria.
Leeuwenhoek was amazed to find a tiny world of living things and exclaimed, “All
the people living in our United Netherlands are not so many as the living animals
that I carry in my own mouth this very day!”

Barometer Another important tool developed in this period was the barometer,
which measures changes in the pressure of the atmosphere. Evangelista Torricelli
(tawr-ih-CHEL-ee) invented the barometer in the 1640s. He filled a glass tube with
a liquid metal called mercury, and then placed the tube upside down in a dish.

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Over the next few days, Torricelli watched the tube and observed that the height
of the mercury did not stay the same. The column of mercury moved up and down
vertically as the pressure in the atmosphere changed. The barometer soon proved
to be a valuable tool in studying and predicting the weather.

Thermometer Galileo likely made the first thermometer. In the early 1700s,
however, a German scientist, Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, made thermometers more
accurate. He put mercury in a glass tube, and as the mercury grew warmer, it
expanded and rose up the tube. The height of the mercury provided a measure of
temperature. Additionally, Fahrenheit designed a new temperature scale. In the
United States, we still measure temperature using Fahrenheit degrees.

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Lesson Summary

In this lesson, you learned about the Scientific Revolution. This movement
marked a major shift in the way people thought about the natural world.

The Roots of the Scientific Revolution Several factors contributed to the birth of
the Scientific Revolution. Renaissance thinkers questioned traditional learning and
observed nature for themselves. Translations of classical texts and some new
thinking exposed scholars to new ideas. Discoveries by explorers showed that
accepted ideas could be wrong.

Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo The Scientific Revolution began when Copernicus
proposed the daring idea that Earth and the other planets travel around the sun.
Kepler built on this heliocentric theory by correctly describing the planets' orbits.
Galileo's discoveries about motion and his observations of the planets supported
the Copernican theory, although it brought him into conflict with the Catholic
Church.

Newton and the Law of Gravity Newton took all this work a giant step forward.

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His law of gravity explained why planets orbited the sun. Newton also showed
that the same laws applied everywhere in the known universe.

The Scientific Method The ideas of Bacon and Descartes helped to shape the
scientific method, which proved to be a powerful way of testing ideas about
nature.

Key Inventions New tools, such as the microscope, the barometer, and the
thermometer, also aided scientific progress. They helped scientists discover new
facts and more accurately measure and collect data.

European Missionaries and the Spread of Christianity (1500–1750)

Missionaries have spread Christianity since the days of the Roman Empire.By the
time Rome fell in 476 C.E., much of Europe was Christian. One famous missionary,
Saint Patrick, had even brought the Christian faith to Ireland.

During the Middle Ages, Catholic monks carried Christianity to central and
northern Europe. Missionaries from the Byzantine Empire brought Orthodox
Christianity to Russia.

In Asia, medieval missionaries made converts as far away as India and China. But
Christianity soon died out in most of Asia. By the late 1400s, it was mostly a
European religion.

The period between about 1500 and 1750 brought a dramatic change.During this
time, Christianity became the first religion to spread around the world.

Why did this happen? One reason was the energy unleashed by the Reformation

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and Counter-Reformation. In particular, much Catholic missionary work grew out
of the Counter-Reformation. Jesuits and other religious orders were dedicated to
making converts to Catholicism.

The second major reason for the spread of Christianity was the Age of
Exploration. By the 1500s, Europeans were traveling the seas to almost every part
of the globe. Missionaries followed the European conquerors, traders, and
colonists.

Most of the European missionaries during this era were Catholic. That was partly
because two Catholic countries, Spain and Portugal, took the lead in exploration.
Later, France also sent Catholic missionaries overseas.

Protestants were slower to start missions. Some early missionaries did follow
traders and colonists from Protestant countries such as the Netherlands and
England. But in general, Protestant missions became much more active in the
1800s.

Let's take a closer look at how missionaries spread Christianity during the early
modern era. As you will see, the story follows the patterns set by European
exploration and colonization.

Missionary Activity in Africa

Missionary activity in Africa was limited during the early modern era.Some
Catholic missionaries worked in Portuguese settlements on the coasts. Protestant
missionaries came to the southern tip of the continent.

West Africa

The Portuguese began setting up outposts on the coasts of Africa in the 1400s.In
West Africa, Jesuits and other Catholic missionaries started a number of missions.
Most of them had limited success.

One thriving mission was in the kingdom of the Congo. It made many converts. In
the 1500s, the mission produced African priests and one African bishop.
Eventually, however, this Christian community died out.

Cape Town

In 1652, the Dutch built a settlement called Cape Town at the southern tip of
Africa. Cape Town was a stopping point for Dutch trading ships traveling to India
and eastern Asia. In the 1700s, Protestant missionaries in Cape Town worked

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among local Africans. Protestantism continued to thrive in this area into modern
times.

Missionary Activity in Asia

Christian missionaries were more active in Asia than in Africa.First came Catholics
who worked in areas where Portugal and Spain controlled trade routes and
colonies. In the 1600s, the Netherlands became a leading trade power in Asia.
Protestant missionaries worked where the Dutch started colonies and trading
posts.

India and Ceylon

In 1542, a Jesuit named Francis Xavier arrived in Goa on the west coast of India.
Goa was the center of Portuguese trading in Asia. Xavier became known as “the
Apostle of the Indies.” Over the next 10 years, he started many missions in India
and other parts of Asia. Other Catholic missionaries worked in India through the
1700s.

From India, Xavier went to Ceylon, a large island off India's southern coast. (Today
it is called Sri Lanka.) Catholic missionaries worked in Ceylon until the 1600s,
when the Dutch took over the island. The Dutch outlawed Catholic worship and
worked to convert the local people to Protestantism.

In 1706, Denmark sent Protestant ministers to a trading post on the southeast

coast of India. They started a Lutheran community that has lasted into modern
times. Many more Protestant missionaries would come to India during the 1800s.

Japan, China, and Southeast Asia

Catholic missionaries followed Portuguese traders to Japan, China, and southeast

Asia. Francis Xavier reached Japan in 1549. Catholic missionaries worked there
until the 1630s, when the Japanese government ended contact with foreigners.

Many Catholic missionaries entered China by way of Macao. Macao was a

Portuguese colony on China's southeastern coast. One Jesuit, Matteo Ricci,
started a mission in Beijing, the capital city of China. Catholics continued to make
converts in China through the 1700s.

Catholic missionaries from various countries also worked in southeast Asia.In the
1660s, a group of French priests formed the Paris Society for Foreign Missions.
The society started missions in modern-day Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and
Vietnam.

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The East Indies

To the south of the Asian continent lies a vast archipelago, or group of islands.
Europeans referred to these islands as the East Indies. The modern country of
Indonesia is part of this area.

As in other parts of Asia, Catholic missionaries were the first to reach the East
Indies. Francis Xavier started a number of missions there in the 1540s. Other
Catholic missionaries worked out of Portuguese trading posts. Some traveled
south from the Philippine Islands, which were controlled by Spain.

Late in the 1500s, the Dutch arrived. They soon drove the Portuguese out of most
of the archipelago. Under Dutch rule, Protestant ministers built churches and
schools, and made many converts.

The Philippines

In the 1560s, Spain began its conquest of the Philippine Islands. The Philippines
became Spain's only colony in Asia. The Spanish started a number of missions to
convert the native people to Catholicism. By 1750, they counted over a million
Catholics in the islands.

Missionary Activity in the Americas

Christianity's largest expansion during the early modern era came in the Americas.
Spain, Portugal, and France all brought Catholicism to their vast possessions. In
English colonies, most missionaries were Protestant.

The West Indies

Europeans called the islands of the Caribbean Sea “the West Indies.” Spain took
control of most of the West Indies following Columbus's first voyage in 1492. The
arrival of Europeans was a disaster for the native people of the islands. Most soon
died from disease and mistreatment. They were replaced by white colonists and
enslaved Africans. Catholic missionaries worked to baptize people who were
enslaved and often tried to improve their treatment.

Beginning in the 1600s, the British took over part of the West Indies, including the
large island of Jamaica. The Church of England sent missionaries to work among
the colonists and enslaved Africans. Later, other Protestant churches also
established themselves in the British West Indies.

South America

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Portugal and Spain created vast colonies in South America in the 1500s.Portugal
claimed most of eastern South America. Spain claimed the western part of the
continent as well as much of the northern coast. The largest settlements were in
Brazil (Portugal) and Peru (Spain). Catholic missionaries worked in all these
Spanish and Portuguese possessions.

New Spain: Central America, Mexico, Florida, and the American Southwest

Spain's empire in the Americas included a vast region called “New Spain.” It
included Central America, Mexico, Florida, and much of the southwestern part of
what became the United States. Catholic priests built missions in all these areas to
convert Native Americans. In California, Junipero Serra began a chain of missions
in the 1700s that stretched from San Diego to San Francisco Bay. The famous
Alamo in Texas was built as a Franciscan mission in 1722.

French Canada and the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys

In the 1600s, France claimed eastern Canada as well as a huge part of the future
United States. The French explored the St. Lawrence River, the Great Lakes
region, and the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys. French Catholic missionaries
roamed this vast wilderness, seeking to convert Native Americans. One of them,
Jacques Marquette, started missions in present-day Michigan. He was also among
the first Europeans to travel the Mississippi River.

The English Colonies

The 13 English colonies in North America were largely Protestant. Missionaries

from various Protestant churches came to the colonies from Great Britain,
Germany, the Netherlands, and other countries.

Most of the missionaries came to minister to the colonists. Some, however,

worked among Native Americans and enslaved Africans. In time, there were
missions to the Native Americans in all 13 colonies.

One famous Protestant missionary was an Englishman, John Eliot. In the 1600s, he
became known as “the Apostle to the Indians.” He wrote a catechism (a work of
religious instruction) to teach Native Americans. It was the first book printed in a
Native American language. He also published a Native American translation of the
Bible.

By 1750, missionaries had spread Christianity to every inhabited continent. Often,

Europeans exploited native peoples even as they tried to convert them to
Christianity. They believed that they were bringing a superior culture and religion

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to other parts of the world. Missionaries believed this as well, and they have been
criticized for their part in the destruction of native cultures. At the same time, a
number of missionaries protested the mistreatment of non-Europeans and tried to
improve their lives.

The Spirit of Innovation

As the Scientific Revolution was taking place and the scientific method was taking
form, another important change was happening. This second change was an
invisible change, but one with far-reaching consequences. It was a change in the
way people thought about knowledge, information, and techniques used in work.
To learn more about this change, you will first read a selection and then do a
virtual gallery walk.

A Society of Guilds

Prior to the Scientific Revolution, much of the work that people did was organized
by craft guilds. You may remember that craft guilds created products, set
standards for their craft, and taught the craft to young people who joined the
guild. Someone entered a guild as an apprentice and worked his or her way up to
journeyman. Upon mastering the craft, the journeyman became a master.

But there was another thing that guilds did. They guarded the secrets of their
trade, keeping information within the guild. That is, they treated their expertise as
valuable. The Republic of Venice was the first state to adopt a patent statute
(1474) to provide legal protection for intellectual property, things created by the
human mind, such as inventions and special techniques used in creating products.
Most guilds didn't rely on the law to protect their trade secrets. Instead they relied
on other techniques, like membership rules.

Old Knowledge

Prior to the Scientific Revolution, most schools in Europe focused on ancient

knowledge as their curriculum. The seven-part curriculum had two sections. The
trivium, or three parts, included Latin grammar, rhetoric, and logic. The quadrivium,
or four parts, included arithmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy. Classes mostly
had a single format. Teachers read from approved texts, and students took notes.
The purpose of the highest degree awarded was to certify teachers who would
teach the same subjects to new students.

Today, both instructors and people getting a Ph.D., or doctorate degree, must
contribute to knowledge and understanding. They are expected to provide new

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observations, research, insights, or interpretations. Clearly the way people thought
about knowledge, information, and techniques has changed. Let's examine the
influences that led to the change.

Empiricism

The word empirical means “based on experience or observation.” So empiricism is a

contrasting approach to rationalism, which means “based on reason.” Empiricism is
a school of thought that is often considered to originate with John Locke (1632–
1704). In his Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Locke proposes that ideas
come from experience. That is, ideas come from information that we receive from
our senses of taste, touch, sight, smell, and hearing.

Empirical observations are the basis for conclusions made byinduction, a process
of reasoning from particular truths to general truths. The scientific method often
relies on extended empirical observations in carefully controlled circumstances
(experiments). The results of these observations are then analyzed to see whether
or not they support the hypothesis being tested.

In the fourth rule in his Principia, Isaac Newton states that:

In experimental philosophy we are to look upon propositions

inferred by general induction from phenomena as accurately or very
nearly true, notwithstanding any contrary hypotheses that may be
imagined, till such time as other phenomena occur, by which they
may either be made more accurate, or liable to exceptions.

We can see the close connection between the theory of empiricism and the
scientific method.

Institutions of Scientific Knowledge

With the creation of such institutions as the Royal Society of London (1660) and
the British Museum (1753), the work and methods of scientists became more
visible to the public. The Royal Society was designed to collect and evaluate new
knowledge. Shortly after its founding (1665) the Society committed to share this
knowledge through a periodical. That Isaac Newton was the president from 1703
to 1727 further demonstrates the close connection between empiricism and
science in the 18th century. The purpose of the British Museum was to maintain
the collections of three scholars, “not only for the inspection and entertainment of
the learned and the curious, but for the general use and benefit of the public.”

In 1694, the founding of the Halle University in Prussia changed the nature of the
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university. Although started by Lutherans, the school was dedicated to empirical
inquiry, rather than thinking within the sphere of religion. That is, the idea of
academic freedom, or exploration that was not restricted by religion or other
boundaries, got its start. This university was an important example of the
coexistence of traditional religious belief with a scientific outlook. A scientific
approach and unfettered investigation were emphasized. Some have called it “the
first modern university.”

There are three other important things to know about Halle University. It was the
first European university to accept an African student (1727). It was the first
school in Germany to award an M.D. to a woman (1754). And the founder
Frederick III of Brandenburg, who also founded academies of arts and sciences,
provided governmental support for scientific inquiry. As time went on more and
more universities combined teaching of traditional subjects with research.

Universities also spread to the Western Hemisphere during this period. The first
western universities were started by the Spaniards, who created universities in
Santo Domingo (1538) and Mexico (1539) in the 16th century. In the 17th century,
colonists with religious affiliations, European rulers, and colonial legislatures
established five colleges in what is now the United States:

• Harvard (founded 1636 with an endowment from the Massachusetts Bay

Company)
• College of William and Mary (chartered in 1693 by William III and Mary II of
England)
• Yale (chartered by the colonial legislature of Connecticut in 1701)
• Princeton (founded in 1746)
• Columbia University (founded as King's College in 1754)

The Public's Engagement with Science

In England, a unique combination of events created an atmosphere in which public

participation in experimenting reached new heights. First, a process called
enclosure enabled landlords to group parcels of land that had been separated in
the manorial system. Second, people with this much land had the resources to
experiment and the means to gain the knowledge they needed. With the new
ideas about empiricism and scientific method, experimentation became a
widespread approach to agriculture. Young, a leading expert on agriculture at the
time, started a monthly journal, called Annals of Agriculture in 1784. King George III
was one of the contributors, under the pseudonym “Farmer George.”

A second way in which the public of England became engaged with innovation

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was brought about by the shortage of wood and a new law. In 1688, Parliament
passed an act giving the owner of land the ownership of minerals beneath the
surface. Beneath the surface in much of England was coal. So many people
undertook coal mining. The result? Annual coal production increased 15 times
over from about 1550 to about 1700.

Inventions

In this environment, inventions in a number of areas took place, some closely

related to the particular developments we have explained. There were inventions
that solved the problems of public experimenters. Other inventions aimed at
creating more precision for scientific observations. Still others were aimed at
various government needs.

Inventions that Solved Public Problems People who were enthusiastic about
mining on their property found that rain water gathering in the mining shafts was
a problem. It was in trying to solve this problem that inventors developed the
steam engine. In 1706, the first pump that attempted to solve this problem was
invented by Thomas Newcomen. It was not efficient. But it became the basis on
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which James Watt made improvements resulting in an efficient steam engine in
the later 1760s.

The lack of wood translated into a lack of charcoal, which was required for the
method of iron production used in the 17th century. With the increase in mines,
there was plenty of coal, but raw coal couldn't be used for smelting. But in about
1709, Abraham Darby found a way to smelt iron with coke, which can be made
from coal. At first, the method was not shared, but when it spread, it made coal
even more desirable and reduced the price of iron.

In agriculture, inventors worked on better ways to prepare land for growing crops.
An iron moldboard plow by inventor Joseph Foljambe in Rotherham England,
patented in 1730, was the first commercially successful iron plow, meaning that
the inventor made money from it. Being able to earn money from inventions
encouraged inventors to spend time trying to develop new and better products.

Inventions that Made Observations More Precise Some inventors focused on

increasing precision in existing tools. Astronomy required accurate clocks so that
the precise time of observations could be recorded. Dutch astronomer Christiaan
Huygens invented clocks with pendulums to regulate their motion, making them
more precise, in 1656. John Harrison's marine chronometer (invented in
successive stages through the 1760s) increased the accuracy of measuring time at
sea. This improved the ability to accurately calculate longitude. Gabriel
Fahrenheit's improved thermometer (1714) is another example of a move toward
precision.

Inventions that Moved Toward Standardization Precision allowed for the

possibility of standardization, repeatedly making products that were the identical.
For example, in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, shoemakers began to
standardize footwear sizes. Standardization made it easier to make parts and
replacement parts for equipment and clothing. A customer who knew his or her
size could purchase a ready-made pair of shoes rather than having his or her feet
measured.

Standardization also took other forms. Drills, repeated actions undertaken by

groups acting in sync, were introduced to the military in the late 17th century.
Other military standardizations begun at the same time included the creation of
regiments, permanent army units all the same size, ranks, the hierarchy of officers,
and commands. Uniform colors were introduced about this time, with a law
requiring specific colors for French regiments passed in 1685. For instance, the
palace guards were all attired in blue. Uniforms meant that both other army
members and the public could immediately recognize the role a soldier held.

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A Lasting Change

It is not only the way our contemporary universities are organized that comes
from the time of the Scientific Revolution. The scientific method is taught as early
as grade school in some places. The 21st century is a time of start-ups, new
businesses designed to meet new needs. Digital technology is an area in which
there are new inventions every week—whether it is devices, apps, or add-ons.
How people think about their careers and their hobbies—how they spend their
time and their lives—is still affected by the changes we have seen.

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