The Scientific Revolution between the 16th and 17th centuries profoundly changed Europeans' worldview. Key figures like Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, and Newton applied mathematics and experimentation to develop scientific theories like heliocentrism and the laws of motion and gravity, undermining the geocentric Aristotelian view. This emphasized empirical evidence over religious authority and established individual intellect over collective wisdom, laying the foundations for the Enlightenment.

1. Toward a New World View
The Scientific Revolution

2. Introduction
 There were profound changes in the
world-view of Europeans in the late 16th
and early 17th centuries.
 The primary cause was the Scientific
Revolution. (1543-present)

3. Introduction
 The most
profound
change in
human
history?

4. Introduction
 The new intellectual climate differed
from the medieval world-view:
 Rejection of authority.
 Best knowledge was practical.
 Demystification of the universe.

5. Introduction
 Intellectuals in this era differed from their predecessors by
combining mathematics and experiment.

6. Roots of the Scientific Revolution
 Ancient Egypt

7. Introduction
 China –
movable
type, paper,
astronomy

8. Introduction
 Islamic Empire:
– medicine,
preservation of
Greek texts,
astronomy,
mathematics

9. Introduction
 Medieval Europe

10. Introduction
 The Aristotelian-
Ptolemaic Universe
 Geocentric/Earth
Centered

12. Introduction
 10 separate,
transparent, crystal
spheres
 First 8 held the moon,
sun, planets, stars.
 2 added during Middle
Ages.
 Heaven lay beyond the
10th sphere.
 Angels kept the spheres
moving.

13. Introduction
 Sublunar world
 4 Elements:
Earth, water;
fire, air.
 Uniform force
moved objects
until something
stopped it.

14.  The
Great
Chain
of
Being

15. Introduction
 The Church
invested
greatly in this
world-view.

16. Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)
 Polish monk.
 Observed patterns
of star and planet
movement.
 On the Revolutions
of Celestial Bodies
(1543)

17. The Scientific Revolution
 Heliocentrism

18. The Scientific Revolution
 Called into question the literal truth of the Scriptures.
 Copernicus waited to publish his findings.

19. The Heliocentric (Copernican) Universe

20. The Scientific Revolution
 Niccolo Tartaglia
was the first to apply
mathematics to the
investigation of the
trajectory of
cannonballs.
 His work was later
validated by Galileo's
studies on falling
bodies.

21. The Scientific Revolution
 Gian Battista Benedetti
proposed a new doctrine of
the speed of bodies in free
fall.
 The speed depends on the
difference between the
specific gravity of the body
and that of the medium it
falls through.

22. The Scientific Revolution
 Tyco Brahe was a Danish
nobleman who set the stage
for modern astronomy by
building an observatory and
collecting data.
 He was known for his
accurate and
comprehensive
astronomical and planetary
observations.

23. Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
 Italian
scientist.
 Improved the
telescope.
 Formulated
Laws of
Motion and
Inertia.

24. The Scientific Revolution
 Proved the
Copernican view of
the universe.
 Moon
 Planets
 Stars
 Sunspots
 Wrote in the
vernacular.

25. Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina
of Tuscany (1615)
 Written to address the
conflict between the Bible
and heliocentric theory.
 Argued that the Bible must
be interpreted in light of
scientific knowledge.
 Argued for a non-literal
interpretation of the Bible.
 Galileo declared the Bible
teaches how to go to
heaven, not how the
heavens go.
 The letter began Galileo’s
troubles with the Church.

26. The Scientific Revolution
 1633 – Church arrested Galileo and charged him with heresy.
 He was forced to recant and was placed under house arrest.

27. The Scientific Revolution
 Johannes Kepler
formulated three laws
of planetary motion
that proved the
relationship between
the planets in a sun-
centered solar system.

28. The Scientific Revolution

29. René Descartes (1596-1650)
 French
mathematician and
philosopher.
 A transitional
figure between the
medieval past and
modern science.

30. The Scientific Revolution
 A rationalist.
 Promoter of deductive
reasoning, predicting
particular results from
general principles.

31. Discourse on Method (1637)
 Descartes wished to
develop a method that could
be used to yield scientific
truth.
 Argued that abstract
reasoning and math were a
more reliable path to truth;
our senses could deceive us.
 Cogito ergo sum (“I
think, therefore I am”)

32. The Scientific Revolution
 Isaac Newton
integrated the
astronomy of
Copernicus and
Kepler with the
physics of Galileo.

33. Prinicipia Mathematica 1687
 Newton formulated a
set of mathematical
laws to explain motion
and mechanics.
 A key feature was the
law of universal
gravitation.

34. The Scientific Revolution
 Contributions
made by these
scientists made
the universe
comprehensible
for the first time.

35. Scientific Revolution
 The individual became much more important;
collective authority was not the source of
wisdom…individual intellect was.

36. The Scientific Revolution
 After the
Revolution, God
was viewed by
many as either a
remote master
mechanic, or his
existence began to
be doubted.

37. The Scientific Revolution
 Began long
adversarial
relationship
between
science and
religion.

38. The Scientific Revolution
 The Scientific
Revolution laid the
foundation for the
Enlightenment of
the 18th Century.