Intellectual Revolutions that Defined Society

Introduction

This section provides students about the different intellectuals who made significant
contributions to science that propelled scientific and technological revolutions. Emphasized is
the importance of these intellectual revolutions in shaping and transforming society.

Specific Objectives

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

- Discuss paradigm shifts through history;

- Explain how intellectual revolution changed how humans see the world; and
- Select a revolutionary scientist and present a persuasive speech representing his/her
theory

Lesson Proper

Intellectual revolution refers to series of events that led to the emergence of modern science and
more current scientific thinking across critical periods in history. It reveals how society was
transformed by science and technology for it has a lot of improvements in astronomy, chemistry,
mathematics and physics.

It is also the period where paradigm shifts occurred and where widely held and accepted
scientific beliefs were challenged and opposed. According to Wootton, as cited by McCarthy:
historically, it is the “replacement of Aristotelian ethics and Christian morality by a new type of
decision making which may be termed instrumental reasoning or cost-benefit analysis”.

A. COPERNICAN REVOLUTION

During the early times, people were fascinated by the heavenly bodies like the
stars, moons, and planets. They also used to wonder what created days and nights. The
invention of the telescope allowed people to get a glimpse of outer space, but it also
piqued their interest in learning more about what was out there.
Claudius Ptolemy, an Egyptian-Greek astronomer, mathematician, and
geographer, introduced the geocentric model in the 6th century. It described the absolute
perception of the universe with the Earth as its center, thought to be accurate by most
people and was widely accepted at the time.
 Figure 1. Geocentric Model Figure 2. Heliocentric Model
In the geocentric model, the Sun In the heliocentric (Sun-centered)
and the other six visible objects in model, the Earth is just one out of
the sky revolve around the Earth. many planets, all of which orbit the
Sun in elliptical orbits.

The Copernican Revolution marked the transition from the belief that the Earth
was the center of the universe to the heliocentric model of the universe where the sun is
the center. Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish mathematician and astronomer, proposed that the
sun was stationary in the center of the universe and the earth revolved around it.
Copernicus' heliocentric model shifted the Earth away from the center of the Solar
System and introduced the concept of the Earth rotating on its own axis, resulting in day
and night. The Earth, along with other heavenly bodies, revolves around the sun.
People were skeptical of the heliocentric model because they were taught that the
Earth came first, before everything else. Copernicus was accused of heresy and even
persecuted as a result. They stood firm in their beliefs and refused to accept the
heliocentric model of the universe as correct.
The following intellectuals contributed to the gradual shift from geocentric to
heliocentric thinking:
a. Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer, observation of the star in the constellation
Cassiopeia
b. Johannes Kepler, German astronomer, stated that the planets move in elliptical
orbits and the sun at the center;
c. Galileo Galilei developed telescope and observed Venus
d. Isaac Newton’s Law of gravitation

People eventually accepted heliocentrism, which marked the birth of modern

astronomy and resulted in the transformation of society's thoughts and beliefs.

B.
C. DARWINIAN REVOLUTION

The Darwinian Revolution began with Charles Darwin's book "On the Origin of
Species”. This book introduced the “Theory of Evolution” which emphasizes that
organisms result from evolution or a change in the heritable characteristics of biological
populations over successive generations.
 He proposed that organisms arise and evolve through the natural selection of
slight inherited variations that improve an individual's ability to compete, survive, and
reproduce.

Figure 4. Darwin's finches

A sketch of four species of finches observed by British
Figure 3. Charles Darwin naturalist Charles Darwin made during his visit to the
Charles Darwin leaning against a column on Galapagos Islands. Beak length and robustness varied
the veranda of Down House in 1881. between species, which supported the idea that each species
Hulton Archive/Getty Images evolved to exploit different habitats and food sources.
© Photos.com/Thinkstock
Darwin's theory of evolution, like Copernicus', was met with opposition from
society. The idea of evolution, according to critics, contradicts the church's teachings that
the source of life is a powerful creator.
The theory arose when the majority of the population believed and accepted the
biblical account of Earth's creation.
People became enraged as a result of this. Some believed that the theory
explained the origin of life, while others, including the religious and faithful, did not.
This caused a debate between science and religion. It took some time for people
to realize that Darwin's theory of evolution was not in conflict with the church's
teachings, and that the two could coexist.

D. FREUDIAN REVOLUTION

The field of psychology was considered more of an art rather than science and
was classified under philosophy (McNamara, Valverde, & Beleno III, 2018).
However, because of Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist, the perception of
society to psychology changed. In the 19th century, Freud developed his theory of
psychoanalysis.
Psychoanalysis is the study of human behavior. Freud's theory explained that
many conscious and unconscious factors (Figure 5) could influence behavior and
emotions. He also argued that personality is a product of three conflicting elements: id,
ego, and superego. (Figure 6). This theory places great emphasis on the role of
unconscious psychological conflicts in shaping behavior and personality.
 Figure 5. Freud compared the mind to an iceberg.

Figure 6. Freud’s Three Components of Personality

His works were highly acclaimed, two of which can be related to learners’
development, specifically the “Three Components of Personality” and “Five
Psychosexual Stages of Development.”
These three revolutionizing theories are just some of the many scientific ideas that
transformed and molded societies and beliefs.
 The changes they brought to the perspectives and perceptions of the scientific
community and the public are evidences of science and technology’s link to humanity.
Through scientific research and experimentations, people will continue to deepen their
understanding of the world and the universe

References/Additional Resources/Readings

McCarthy, D. (2019, July 19). The Imaginative Conservative. Retrieved August 18, 2021, from
https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2019/07/power-pleasure-profit-david-wootton-
daniel-mccarthy.html
McLeod, S. A. (2019). Psychoanalysis. Simply Psychology.
https://www.simplypsychology.org/psychoanalysis.html
McNamara, D., Valverde, V., & Beleno III, R. (2018). Science, Technology and Society. Quezon
City: C&E Publishing, Inc.
Jones, A. Raymond (2021, January 20). Ptolemy. Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ptolemy
Rabin, Sheila, "Nicolaus Copernicus", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2019
Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL =
<https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2019/entries/copernicus/>.
Westman, R. S. (2021, June 1). Johannes Kepler. Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johannes-Kepler
https://www.simplypsychology.org/Sigmund-Freud.html