The Scientific Revolution

I.  Background of the Scientific Revolution
II. Changing views of the universe
   A. geocentric view -- Aristotle, Ptolemy
   B. heliocentric theory -- Copernicus
        i . Challenge to the old order
III.  Revolutionary thought
       People in Astronomy
    A.  Copernicus    (1473 - 1543)
        i. On the Revolution of the Heavenly Orbs, 1543
        ii. the heliocentric theory of the universe
         A Sun Centered Solar System
        iii. the Ptolemaic conception of the universe
    B. Tycho Brahe     -- (1546-1601)
    C. Johann Kepler   -- (1571-1630)
         On the Motion of Mars, 1609
        i. Kepler's Laws of Motion:
       ii. elliptical orbits
       iii. planets move faster as they approach
            the sun
        iv. length of orbit is proportional to the
             planet's distance from the sun
     D.  Galileo    (1564-1642)  --
        Dialogues on the Two Chief Systems
        of the World , 1632
       i.  believed knowledge came from experimentation
       ii. proved the truth of the Copernican model
       iii. Jupiter's moons and the new emphasis on
             observation
       iv. sun spots
       v. condemned by the church
            -- forced to recant, agreed not of to teach
           heliocentric theory
     E. Isaac Newton  -- (1642-1727)  Isaac Newton 
        i. Principia-- law of gravitation
       ii. synthesized previous systems
       iii. gravity and inertia helped explain
            planetary motion
       iv. bodies obey laws of motion
      * every body continues in a state of rest,
         or in a uniform motion in a straight line,
         unless it is compelled to change that state
         by forces impressed on it.
      * The Change of Motion is proportional
         to the motive force impressed, and is in
         the direction of the straight line in which
         that force is impressed.
      * To every action there must be an equal
         and opposite reaction.
      * the mechanical universe and the impact
         of science on religion -- deism
IV.  Advances in Medicine
    A. Influence of Galen
    B. Paracelsus
    C. Vesalius
    D. William Harvey
V.  The Philosophers
    A.  Rene Descartes     (1596-1650)
      i. Discourse on Method  1637
      ii.  problems with our belief systems
      iii. the need for a certain foundation upon
           which the erect our system of knowledge
      iv. clear and distinct ideas
      v.  cogito ergo sum -- rationalism
    B. Francis Bacon   (1561-1626)
        i. The Advancement of Learning, 1605
           Novum Organum, 1620
            and empiricism
       ii. the critique of old forms of knowledge:
            attacked the belief that most truth had
            already been discovered
            believed that scholars relied too much
            on the ancients: Plato etc
            medieval scholasticism
            deductive logic
         iii. his new system -- inductive logic
             (from specific truths to more
               general claims)
         iv. emphasis on experience vs.
              preconceived notions
V.  The Spread of Scientific Knowledge
   A. scientific societies
   B. The impact of science on society
        i.  Locke's natural rights theory
            of government
        ii. The Laws of Nature in politics
        iii. cause and effect
              -- checks and balances
Two Treatises on Government, 1690
Essay Concerning Human Understanding, 1690

 
  Developments in Astronomy and Physics