The Scientific Revolution

INTRODUCTION: The period between 1300 and 1600 was a time of great
change in Europe. The Renaissance, a rebirth of learning and the arts,
inspired a spirit of curiosity in many fields. Scholars began to question ideas
that had been accepted for hundreds of years. Meanwhile, the religious
movement known as the Reformation prompted followers to challenge
accepted ways of thinking about God and salvation. While the Reformation
was taking place, another revolution in European thought had begun, one
that would permanently change how people viewed the physical world.
The Roots of Modern Science
Before 1500, scholars generally decided what was true or false by referring
to an ancient Greek or Roman author or to the Bible. Few European scholars
challenged the scientific ideas of the ancient thinkers or the church by
carefully observing nature for themselves.
 The Medieval View: During the Middle Ages, most scholars believed
that the earth was an immovable object located at the center of the
universe. According to that belief, the moon, the sun, and the planets
all moved in perfectly circular paths around the earth. Common sense
seemed to support this view. After all, the sun appeared to be moving
around the earth as it rose in the morning and set in the evening.
This earth-centered view of the universe was called the geocentric theory.
The idea came from Aristotle, the Greek philosopher of the fourth century
B.C. The Greek astronomer Ptolemy (TOL•a•mee) expanded the theory in
the second century A.D. In addition, Christianity taught that God had
deliberately placed the earth at the center of the universe. Earth was thus a
special place on which the great drama of life unfolded.
 A New Way of Thinking: Beginning in the mid-1500s, a few scholars
published works that challenged the ideas of the ancient thinkers and
the church. As these scholars replaced old assumptions with new
theories, they launched a change in European thought that historians
call the Scientific Revolution. The Scientific Revolution was a new
way of thinking about the natural world. That way was based upon
careful observation and a willingness to question accepted beliefs.
A combination of discoveries and circumstances led to the Scientific
Revolution and helped spread its impact. During the Renaissance, European
explorers traveled to Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Such lands were
inhabited by peoples and animals previously unknown in Europe. These
discoveries opened Europeans to the possibility that there were new truths
to be found. The invention of the printing press during this period helped
spread challenging ideas—both old and new— more widely among Europe’s
thinkers.
The age of European exploration also fueled a great deal of scientific
research, especially in astronomy and mathematics. Navigators needed
better instruments and geographic measurements, for example, to
determine their location in the open sea. As scientists began to look more
closely at the world around them, they made observations that did not
match the ancient beliefs. They found they had reached the limit of the
classical world’s knowledge. Yet, they still needed to know more.
 A Revolutionary Model of the Universe: An early challenge to
accepted scientific thinking came in the field of astronomy. It started
when a small group of scholars began to question the geocentric
theory.
 The Heliocentric Theory: Although backed by authority and common
sense, the geocentric theory did not accurately explain the movements
of the sun, moon, and planets. This problem troubled a Polish cleric
and astronomer named Nicolaus Copernicus (koh•PUR•nuh•kuhs). In
the early 1500s, Copernicus became interested in an old Greek idea
that the sun stood at the center of the universe.
After studying planetary movements for more than 25 years, Copernicus
reasoned that indeed, the stars, the earth, and the other planets revolved
around the sun. Copernicus’s heliocentric, or sun-centered theory still
did not completely explain why the planets orbited the way they did. He also
knew that most scholars and clergy would reject his theory because it
contradicted their religious views. Fearing ridicule or persecution, Copernicus
did not publish his findings until 1543, the last year of his life. He received a
copy of his book, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies, on his
deathbed.
While revolutionary, Copernicus’s book caused little stir at first. Over the
next century and a half, other scientists built on the foundations he had laid.
A Danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe (TEE•koh brah), carefully recorded the
movements of the planets for many years. Brahe produced mountains of
accurate data based on his observations. However, it was left to his followers
to make mathematical sense of them.
After Brahe’s death in 1601, his assistant, a brilliant mathematician named
Johannes Kepler, continued his work. After studying Brahe’s data, Kepler
concluded that certain mathematical laws govern planetary motion. One of
these laws showed that the planets revolve around the sun in elliptical orbits
instead of circles, as was previously thought. Kepler’s laws showed that
Copernicus’s basic ideas were true. They demonstrated mathematically that
the planets revolve around the sun.
 Galileo’s Discoveries: An Italian scientist named Galileo Galilei
built on the new theories about astronomy. As a young man, Galileo
learned that a Dutch lens maker had built an instrument that could
enlarge far-off objects. Galileo built his own telescope and used it to
study the heavens in 1609. Then, in 1610, he published a small book
called Starry Messenger, which described his astonishing observations.
Galileo announced that Jupiter had four moons and that the sun had
dark spots. He also noted that the earth’s moon had a rough, uneven
surface. This shattered Aristotle’s theory that the moon and stars were
 made of a pure, perfect substance. Galileo’s observations, as well as
his laws of motion, also clearly supported the theories of Copernicus.
Conflict with the Church: Galileo’s findings frightened both Catholic and
Protestant leaders because they went against church teaching and authority.
If people believed the church could be wrong about this, they could question
other church teachings as well. In 1616, the Catholic Church warned Galileo
not to defend the ideas of Copernicus. Although Galileo remained publicly
silent, he continued his studies.
Then, in 1632, he published Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World
Systems. This book presented the ideas of both Copernicus and Ptolemy, but
it clearly showed that Galileo supported the Copernican theory. The pope
angrily summoned Galileo to Rome to stand trial before the Inquisition.
Galileo stood before the court in 1633. Under the threat of torture, he knelt
before the cardinals and read aloud a signed confession. In it, he agreed that
the ideas of Copernicus were false.

P R I M A RY SO U R C E
With sincere heart and unpretended faith I abjure, curse, and detest the
aforesaid errors and heresies [of Copernicus] and also every other error
. . . contrary to the Holy Church, and I swear that in the future I will never
again say or assert . . . anything that might cause a similar suspicion
toward me.
GALILEO GALILEI, quoted in
The Discoverers

Galileo was never again a free man. He lived under house arrest and died in
1642 at his villa near Florence. However, his books and ideas still spread all
over Europe. (In 1992, the Catholic Church officially acknowledged that
Galileo had been right.).
The Scientific Method
The revolution in scientific thinking that Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo
began eventually developed into a new approach to science called the
Scientific method. The scientific method is a logical procedure for
gathering and testing ideas. It begins with a problem or question arising from
an observation. Scientists next form a hypothesis, or unproved assumption.
The hypothesis is then tested in an experiment or on the basis of data. In the
final step, scientists analyze and interpret their data to reach a new
conclusion. That conclusion either confirms or disproves the hypothesis.
 Bacon and Descartes: The scientific method did not develop
overnight. The work of two important thinkers of the 1600s, Francis
Bacon and René Descartes (day•KAHRT), helped to advance the new
approach. Francis Bacon, an English statesman and writer, had a
passionate interest in science. He believed that by better
 understanding the world, scientists would generate practical
knowledge that would improve people’s lives. In his writings, Bacon
attacked medieval scholars for relying too heavily on the conclusions
of Aristotle and other ancient thinkers. Instead of reasoning from
abstract theories, he urged scientists to experiment and then draw
conclusions. This approach is called empiricism, or the experimental
method.
In France, René Descartes also took a keen interest in science. He
developed analytical geometry, which linked algebra and geometry.
This provided an important new tool for scientific research. Like Bacon,
Descartes believed that scientists needed to reject old assumptions
and teachings. As a mathematician, however, he approached gaining
knowledge differently than Bacon. Rather than using experimentation,
Descartes relied on mathematics and logic. He believed that
everything should be doubted until proved by reason. The only thing
he knew for certain was that he existed—because, as he wrote, “I
think, therefore I am.” From this starting point, he followed a train of
strict reasoning to arrive at other basic truths.
Modern scientific methods are based on the ideas of Bacon and
Descartes. Scientists have shown that observation and
experimentation, together with general laws that can be expressed
mathematically, can lead people to a better understanding of the
natural world.
 Newton Explains the Law of Gravity: By the mid-1600s, the
accomplishments of Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo had shattered the
old views of astronomy and physics. Later, the great English scientist
Isaac Newton helped to bring together their breakthroughs under a
single theory of motion. Newton studied mathematics and physics at
Cambridge University. By the time he was 26, Newton was certain that
all physical objects were affected equally by the same forces. Newton’s
great discovery was that the same force ruled motion of the planets
and all matter on earth and in space. The key idea that linked motion
in the heavens with motion on the earth was the law of universal
gravitation. According to this law, every object in the universe attracts
every other object. The degree of attraction depends on the mass of
the objects and the distance between them.
In 1687, Newton published his ideas in a work called The Mathematical
Principles of Natural Philosophy. It was one of the most important scientific
books ever written. The universe he described was like a giant clock. Its
parts all worked together perfectly in ways that could be expressed
mathematically. Newton believed that God was the creator of this orderly
universe, the clockmaker who had set everything in motion.
The Scientific Revolution Spreads
As astronomers explored the secrets of the universe, other scientists began
to study the secrets of nature on earth. Careful observation and the use of
the scientific method eventually became important in many different fields.
  Scientific Instruments: Scientists developed new tools and
instruments to make the precise observations that the scientific
method demanded. The first microscope was invented by a Dutch
maker of eyeglasses, Zacharias Janssen (YAHN•suhn), in 1590. In the
1670s, a Dutch drapery merchant and amateur scientist named Anton
van Leeuwenhoek (LAY•vuhn•HUK) used a microscope to observe
bacteria swimming in tooth scrapings. He also examined red blood
cells for the first time.
In 1643, one of Galileo’s students, Evangelista Torricelli
(TAWR•uh•CHEHL•ee), developed the first mercury barometer, a tool for
measuring atmospheric pressure and predicting weather. In 1714, the
German physicist Gabriel Fahrenheit (FAR•uhn•HYT) made the first
thermometer to use mercury in glass. Fahrenheit’s thermometer showed
water freezing at 32°. A Swedish astronomer, Anders Celsius
(SEHL•see•uhs), created another scale for the mercury thermometer in 1742
Celsius’s scale showed freezing at 0°.
 Medicine and the Human Body: During the Middle Ages, European
doctors had accepted as fact the writings of an ancient Greek
physician named Galen. However, Galen had never dissected the body
of a human being. Instead, he had studied the anatomy of pigs and
other animals. Galen assumed that human anatomy was much the
same. A Flemish physician named Andreas Vesalius proved Galen’s
assumptions wrong. Vesalius dissected human corpses and published
his observations. His book, On the Structure of the Human Body
(1543), was filled with detailed drawings of human organs, bones, and
muscle.
In the late 1700s, British physician Edward Jenner introduced a vaccine to
prevent smallpox. Inoculation using live smallpox germs had been practiced
in Asia for centuries. While beneficial, this technique could also be
dangerous. Jenner discovered that inoculation with germs from a cattle
disease called cowpox gave permanent protection from smallpox for
humans. Because cowpox was a much milder disease, the risks for this form
of inoculation were much lower. Jenner used cowpox to produce the world’s
first vaccination.
 Discoveries in Chemistry: Robert Boyle pioneered the use of the
scientific method in chemistry. He is considered the founder of modern
chemistry. In a book called The Sceptical Chymist (1661), Boyle
challenged Aristotle’s idea that the physical world consisted of four
elements—earth, air, fire, and water. Instead, Boyle proposed that
matter was made up of smaller primary particles that joined together
in different ways. Boyle’s most famous contribution to chemistry is
Boyle’s law. This law explains how the volume, temperature, and
pressure of gas affect each other.
The notions of reason and order, which spurred so many breakthroughs in
science, soon moved into other fields of life. Philosophers and scholars
across Europe began to rethink long-held beliefs about the human condition,
most notably the rights and liberties of ordinary citizens. These thinkers
helped to usher in a movement that challenged the age-old relationship
between a government and its people, and eventually changed forever the
political landscape in numerous societies.

MAJOR STEPS IN THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION

 1566 Marie de Coste Blanche publishes The Nature of the Sun and
Earth.
 1543 Copernicus publishes heliocentric theory. Vesalius publishes
human anatomy textbook.
 1609 Kepler publishes first two laws of planetary motion.
 1610 Galileo publishes Starry Messenger.
 1620 Bacon’s book Novum Organum (New Instrument) encourages
experimental method.
 1590 Janssen invents microscope
 1628 Harvey reveals how human heart functions.
 1637 Descartes’s book Discourse on Method sets forth his scientific
method of reasoning from the basis of doubt.
 1643 Torricelli invents barometer.
 1660 England establishes Royal Society to support scientific study.
 1662 Boyle discovers mathematical relationship between the pressure
and volume of gases, known as Boyle’s law.
 1674 Leeuwenhoek observes bacteria through microscope.
 1714 Fahrenheit invents mercury thermometer.
 1687 Newton publishes law of gravity.
 1666 France establishes Academy of Sciences.
 1633 Galileo faces Inquisition for support of Copernicus’s theory.