The Scientific Revolution represented a major change in approaches to science that began in the 16th and 17th centuries. Key aspects included increasing use of observation and experimentation rather than just speculation; applying mathematics and the scientific method; and a shift away from reliance on religious authority and tradition. Major figures like Copernicus, Galileo, Harvey, Vesalius, and Newton helped establish new theories and methods that rejected older views and fundamentally changed how science was done. Their work laid the foundation for modern science.

1. The Scientific
Revolution

4. What is the
“Scientific Revolution?”
• Increasing number of discoveries and
inventions
• A shift in traditional
ways of thinking
about the world
• Shaped the way
we do science
today

5. What is “Science?”
What characteristics distinguish science
from what is not science?
What kinds of things would it make you
think of if you heard someone say:
“What an unscientific view”
or
“That was the scientific way to approach it”?

6. Medieval Science:
Natural Philosophy
• Relied on speculation
and theorizing rather
than observation
• Dominated by
common sense, myth
and folklore
• Included alchemy and
magic

8. Case Study: The Black
Death
• Data/Observations:
– Nasty black lumps
were forming on
people
– People were becoming
sick
– People were dying
– The world was falling
into disorder and
chaos

9. Q: What is happening? Why is this happening?
A: The witches are to blame

10. Q: What is happening? Why is this happening?
A: The Jews are to blame

11. Q: What is happening? Why is this happening?
A: It is the apocalypse, the world is ending

12. Q: What is happening? Why is this happening?
A: We are to blame, God is punishing us

13. Case Study: The Black
Death
• Sources of
Knowledge
– Common
Sense
– The Bible
– Folklore
– Superstition
and Magic

14. Medieval Science:
One with the Church
• Time of miracles and
supernatural
• Nature seemed irregular
and inconsistent
• Studied science to learn
more about God
• Bible, not human
observation, was ultimate
truth

15. Medieval Science:
One with the Church
• Church - dominant
authority on what is true
and not true
• Most schools - religious
institutions
• Church decided official
curriculum
• Most scholars -
members of clergy

16. But then things changed . . .
WHY?

17. Causes of the Scientific
Revolution
• Recovery of ancient texts during the
Renaissance
• Need to solve navigational problems in
sea voyages
• Rise of non-religious universities
• Better instruments

18. Scientific Method
• A logical procedure
for gathering and
testing ideas
• Use consistency,
observation, reason
and repeatability
• New way to form
knowledge and
authority

19. Nicolaus Copernicus
• Argued that the sun
was at the center of
the universe, not the
Earth
• Used mathematics to
support this idea

20. Geocentric Theory Heliocentric Theory

21. Galileo Galilei
• Used telescope to make
reliable observations
• Confirmed Copernicus’
heliocentric theory
• Wrote his theories in
Italian
• Church put him on trial
before the Inquisition

22. William Harvey
• Discovered that blood is
recycled through the
heart, rather than
converted from food
• His research is the
starting point of
physiology - how the
body functions

23. Andreas Vesalius
• Dissected human
bodies, not just animals
• Made detailed sketches
of the dissected bodies
• His research is the
starting point of modern
anatomy

26. Isaac Newton
• Used mathematics to demonstrate
that two objects pull towards one
another
• Applied this theory to argue that
force keeps the planets in orbit
around the sun, rather than spirits
and divinities
• His research is the starting point
for astronomy, engineering and
physics

27. What made this a “Revolution?”
Inventions and discoveries were not new
to the world, they had been done by many
cultures since ancient times . . .

28. Impacts of the Scientific
Revolution
• An international community of scholars
was created
• The Scientific Method helped scientists
understand the world
• Led to a shift in the way people thought
about everything: The Enlightenment

29. Is Science ultimately more
beneficial or harmful?