The Scientific Revolution, which is a modern term to describe the precursor to contemporary science, refers to a period of changing doctrinal beliefs and using a more scientific approach to find out logical truth. Factors such as the Renaissance, Reformation, weakening of the Roman Catholic Church, are some major factors which lead to the Scientific Revolution. Furthermore, this powerpoint will cover a series of "scientists" or philosophers who had the courage to change the mentality of Europe during the 1400s up until 1727.

1. A Precursor of Modern Science
The ScientificThe Scientific
RevolutionRevolution
Edice Hua
Europe in the Age of Discovery (HIST2152-1)
Mr. Joseph Sampson
18th
April, 2017
Edice Hua
Europe in the Age of Discovery (HIST2152-1)
Mr. Joseph Sampson
18th
April, 2017

2. “They realized
that to confine
theirattentions
to terrestrial
matters would
be to limit the
human spirit”
-Stephen Hawking, on
themastersof the
European Renaissance
Stephen Hawking (1942-present)
English theoretical physicist, cosmologist
and Director of Research in Cambridge.
He is diagnosed with neuro-muscular
dystrophy that is related to amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis but his condition did not
stop him from achieving his goals.

3. Content of Presentation
1.What is Revolution?
2.Why is the Scientific
Revolution Significant?
3.Factors leading to the
Scientific Revolution
4.Historical timeline of the
Scientific Revolution
i. Main contributors and their
ideologies
5. References

4. 1. What is a Revolution?
• A Revolution refers to a
complete change, or an
overthrow of a government,
country, a social system, etc.
George Orwell (1903-1950)
famous English Journalist
and Author
•There are different types of
Revolution. Political, social,
cultural and intellectual
Revolution
•There are different types of
Revolution. Political, social,
cultural and intellectual
Revolution

5. 2. Why is the Scientific
Revolution Significant?
What is the Scientific Revolution?What is the Scientific Revolution?
• Scientific Revolution of 1543-1687 is a shift of
religious or traditional beliefs to more of a
scientific statement with the use of experiments
and observations. It began with Copernicus
and ended with Sir Isaac Newton.
Why is it so important?Why is it so important?
i. It is the emergence of Modern Science
ii. It gave rise to Physics, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry which
transformed the views about society and nature.
iii. Unlike political revolutions that could change drastically in a
short period of time, the Scientific Revolution took a long
process of discoveries and achievements to correct
philosophical errors during the early1500s to late 1600s.
i. It is the emergence of Modern Science
ii. It gave rise to Physics, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry which
transformed the views about society and nature.
iii. Unlike political revolutions that could change drastically in a
short period of time, the Scientific Revolution took a long
process of discoveries and achievements to correct
philosophical errors during the early1500s to late 1600s.

6. 3. What are some factors that
lead to the Scientific
Revolution?
i. Weakening of the Catholic Church
ii. The Reformation which is the segregation which divided the Roman
Catholic Church and basically ended the old unity of the political
Christian World.
iii. Renaissance Europe was overwhelmed with a general doctrinal
passivity
iv. Little change to scientific knowledge accrued over the Middle Ages
(500-1350 AD). Philosophers wanted to know more about existence.
v. Lack of experimentation and scientific inquiry; more emphasis
placed on Greco-Roman teachings

7. 4.Historical Timeline of the
Scientific Revolution
i. First of all, the timeline of the Scientific Revolution varied
dramatically over the past 50 years. Why?
ii. Well, because there are numerous scientists that discover some
things even before the Scientific Revolution.
iii. More so, there were scientists that discover some phenomena even
before notable scientists at that time.
iv. However, most historians will agree that it was based on belief in a core
transformation which began in cosmology and astronomy and then shifted
to physics (some historians have argued that there were parallel
developments in anatomy and physiology, represented by Vesalius and
Harvey).

8. • Until the mid 1500’s, European scholars
accepted and believed the teachings of
Ptolemy, an ancient Greek astronomer.
• Ptolemy taught that the Earth was the
center of the universe.
Ptolemy
(87-140 A.D.)
Prior to the Scientific Revolution
• It was not until some startling discoveries
caused Europeans to change the way they
viewed the physical world.
•People felt this was common sense, and
the geocentric theory was supported by
the Church.

9. Prior to the Scientific Revolution…
Ptolemy’s geocentric model
of the solar system:
1. Earth
2. Moon
3. Mercury
4. Venus
5. Sun
6. Mars
7. Jupiter
8. Saturn
• Notice, the Earth is first, and not the
sun, as it should be.

10. ““To know thatTo know that
we know whatwe know what
we know, andwe know, and
to know that weto know that we
do not knowdo not know
what we do notwhat we do not
know, that isknow, that is
truetrue
knowledge.”knowledge.”
- Nicolaus- Nicolaus
CopernicusCopernicus

11. Nicolaus CopernicusNicolaus Copernicus
1473-1543 German Mathematician and Astronomer
• Was the first to postulate heliocentric cosmology, or the
idea that the Earth was not located in the center of our
Universe
• He instead proposed that planets rotated about the Sun
• Widely considered to be the founder of Astronomy
• Some of the greatest works that Copernicus produced were
the treatise De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium (On the
Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres, 1543) and his
manuscript Commentariolus (Little Commentary)
• Copernicus was castigated because of his radical ideas,
which he lacked the evidence and means to support
himself with

12. The Copernican Heliocentric Model

13. • Many scientists of the
time also felt that if
Ptolemy’s reasoning
about the planets was
wrong, then the whole
system of human
knowledge could be
wrong.
Reaction to Copernicus
• Most scholars rejected his theory
because it went against Ptolemy,
the Church, and because it called
for the Earth to rotate on its axis.

15. Medicine
• In 1543 Andreas Vesalius, Netherlandish
doctor, published On the Structure of the
Human Body.
• Vesalius’ book was the first
accurate and detailed book
on human anatomy.
•Skeletal, circulatory and
muscular system were
impressive contributions by
Vesalius.

16. Drawings done by Vesalius

17. “I much prefer
the sharpest
criticism of a
single intelligent
man to the
thoughtless
approval of the
masses.”
- Johannes
Kepler

18. Johannes KeplerJohannes Kepler
Father of Planetary Motion - 1571-1630
• Renowned for his “celestial mechanics”, based upon how he believed
that Earth and the other planets travel about the sun in elliptical orbits
• Made grand contributions to the fields of optics, integral calculus and
geometry
• Created three laws through which planetary motion could be
calculated:
– 1st
Law of Ellipses
– 2nd
Law of Equal Areas
– 3rd
Law of Harmony

19. “All truths are easy to
understand once they
are discovered; the
point is to discover
them.”
- Galileo Galilei

20. Galileo Galilei
1564-1642 Astronomer and Scientist
 Was an early supporter of experimentation and empiricism
 Rose to prominence within the field of mathematics to earn his
place at the University of Pisa, where he would make many of
his famed scientific discoveries
 Made heavy contributions to the fields of physics, creating
branches of mechanical engineering like kinematics and
dynamics and authoring the Law of Inertia
 After observing the orbital patterns of the moons of Jupiter,
Galileo became a champion of the Copernican idea of a
heliocentric universe
 After publishing his Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief
World Systems in 1632, Galileo was accused of heresy and was
forced to renounce his views. He spent the remainder of his
life under house arrest
 Galileo assembled the first telescope which allowed him to
see mountains on the moon and fiery spots on the sun.

21. “It is not enough to
have a good mind; the
main thing is to use it
well.”
- Rene Descartes

22. • Though he was considered a failure of a
scientist, Descartes still holds his place as
one of the greatest intellectual minds of the
Scientific Revolution
• Closely associated with the Renaissance
philosophical movement, Descartes was
an advocate for rationalism and deductive
reasoning (Cogito ergo sum)
• Perhaps his greatest achievements were in
the field of mathematics, where he linked
geometry with algebra
• Was a pioneer of metaphysics, a branch
of cognitive physics focused on the nature
of existence and the universe (mind versus
matter)
• Descartes was one of the most influential
figures of this time period; his scientific,
mathematic and philosophical
achievements became the foundation on
which Newton would build on
Rene DescartesRene Descartes
1596-16501596-1650
French philosopher,
mathematician and
scientist
,

23. “All we know is still infinitely
less than all that remains
unknown.”
- William Harvey

24. William HarveyWilliam Harvey
1578-1657
• The first Western European to detail
the function of systemic circulation
in the cardiovascular system, the
property of blood being pumped
through the body by the heart
• Through empirical data gathered by
dissection, Harvey was able to
disprove the previously-accepted
Galenical views of human anatomy
• His observations included the belief
that the blood circulating through
our veins and arteries is uniform and
consistent
• Helped to accurately map out the
human physiology
English Physician

25. • Venal valves had
already been discovered,
but here Harvey shows
that venal blood flows only
toward the heart. He
ligatured an arm to make
obvious the veins and their
valves, then pressed blood
away from the heart and
showed that the vein
would remain empty
because it was blocked by
the valve.

28. Galileo’s
Telescope

29. “Science is but an
image of the truth.”
- Francis Bacon

30. Francis Bacon 1561-1626
• One of the greatest contributors to
empiricism, the concept that
experimentation and gathered
experience will equate to
knowledge
• Had a prolific career as an attorney
and civil servant
• Bacon was a staunch believer in
the empirical method
• Through his own reasoning and
evaluation of the works of others,
Bacon was able to consolidate
scientific methodology into the
Bacononian Method, or simply the
Scientific Method
English philosopher, statesman,
jurist, scientist, orator and author

31. • By the early 1600s, a new approach to science had emerged,
known as the Scientific Method.
Scientific Method – painstaking method
used to confirm findings and to prove or
disprove a hypothesis.
• Scientists observed nature, made hypotheses, or educated
guesses, and then tested these hypotheses through
experiments.
• Unlike earlier approaches, the scientific method did not rely
on the classical thinkers or the Church, but depended upon a
step-by-step process of observation and experimentation.

32. 1. State the problem
2. Collect information
3. Form a hypothesis
4. Test the hypothesis
5. Record & analyze data
6. State a conclusion
7. Repeat steps 1 – 6
Scientists soon discovered that the
movements of bodies in nature closely
followed what could be predicted by
mathematics.
• The scientific method set Europe on the
road to rapid technological progress.

34. • In the 1600s Robert Boyle
distinguished between individual
elements and chemical compounds.
It was until the 1800s where Russian
chemist Dimitri Mendeleev formed
the periodic table.
Chemistry
Robert Boyle 1627-1691
• Boyle also explained the effect of
temperature and pressure on gases.
English Chemist

35. Robert Boyle’s first
air pump

37. Anton von Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723)
• A Dutch inventor who perfected the
microscope and became the first human
to see cells and microorganisms.
Medicine
Using his handcrafted microscopes, he was
the first to observe and
describe microorganisms, which he originally
referred to
as animalcules (Latin animalculum = "tiny
animal").
Most of the "animalcules" are now referred to
as unicellular organisms though he observed
multicellular organisms in pond water. He
was also the first to document microscopic
observations
of muscle fibers, bacteria, spermatozoa,
and blood flow in capillaries.

40. “If I have seen further
than others, it is by
standing upon the
shoulders of giants.”
-Sir Isaac Newton

41. Sir Isaac NewtonSir Isaac Newton
• Newton’s contributions to the Scientific Revolution were so
diverse and crucial that he is widely considered to be the
most important scientist of all time
• Combining the teachings of Kepler and Galileo with his own
ideas, Newton was able to formally validate the Copernican
view of heliocentric cosmology
• Newton was fanatically religious; he authored more Biblical
texts than he did scientific ones
• Newton is perhaps best known for his theories of Universal
Gravitation and his Three Laws of Motion
• He used math to prove the existence of gravity - a force
that kept planets in their orbits around the sun, and also
caused objects to fall towards the earth.
• His Philosophia Naturalis Principia Mathematica, often
called the Principia, is viewed as the most influential text
written during the Scientific Revolution
1642-17271642-1727
English Mathematician
and Physicist

42. "The whole of science"The whole of science
is nothing more thanis nothing more than
a refinement of whata refinement of what
we once thought waswe once thought was
right. Imagine whatright. Imagine what
we will all knowwe will all know
tomorrow."tomorrow."
- Albert Einstein- Albert Einstein

43. ReferencesReferences
 Burns, William E. The scientific revolution: an encyclopedia.
Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2001.
 Cohen, H. Floris. The scientific revolution: a historiographical
inquiry. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2011.
 Kuhn, Thomas S. The structure of scientific revolutions.
Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2015.
 Principe, Lawrence. The scientific revolution: a very short
introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.
 Shapin, Steven. The scientific revolution. Chicago: Univ. of
Chicago Press, 2004.
 Young, Mitchell. The scientific revolution. San Diego, CA:
Greenhaven Press, 2006.