Scientific Revolution Dbq

During the seventeenth century, the scientific revolution in Europe was at its peak, changing people’s lives through the new techniques of the scientific method. Citizens of western civilizations had previously used religion as the lens through which they perceived their beliefs and customs in their communities. Before the scientific revolution, science and religion were intertwined, and people were taught to accept religious laws and doctrines without questioning; the Church was the ultimate authority on how the world worked. However, during this revolution, scientists were inspired to learn and understand the laws of the universe had created, a noble and controversial move toward truth seeking. The famous scientists of the time, such as Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo and Newton, were known to be natural philosophers, intending to reveal God’s mystery and understand (through proof) the majesty of God. Throughout previous centuries, people had hypothesized how the world and natural phenomenon may work, and new Protestant ideals demanded constant interrogation and examination. Nevertheless, some of these revelations went against the Church’s teachings and authority. If people believed the Church could be wrong, then they could question everything around them, as well. As a result, the introduction of the scientific method, a process by which scientists discovered and proved new theories, was revolutionary because it distinguished what could be proved as real from what was simply

Galileo is concerned with obtaining the truth about the world we live in, whether religion provides an answer or science. This is evident in the letter when he is discussing the “celestial bodies” concerning the work of Copernicus. Galileo believes that it would be wholly unjustified to ban Copernicus’ work after it has been confirmed over the years, he puts it: “in my judgement to be a contravention of the truth” if this were to occur. Basically Galileo believes if something is true, the basis of the truth either, religious or scientific is equally creditable. He further states that if scientific fact is unattainable, it must be a thing of faith and religion; “where human reasoning cannot reach” and there “is no science but only opinion of faith” the truth must be in the Scripture. This is demonstrated in the letter “whether the stars are animate” or “whether or not the heavens are spherical”. Galileo believes that ultimately that the science behind a phenomena will

Scientists and scholars such as Nicolaus Copernicus, Rene Descartes, and Francis dedicated their lives to scientific progress. Even though much of their careers were spent on improving human understanding of the world, many of their discoveries, due to their aberrative nature, faced challenges from third parties such as the Church. During the period between 1550 and 1750, they, alongside many other scholars, fueled the Scientific Revolution, introduced new perceptions of the universe and mankind to all levels of society, restructured long believed religious views, philosophical ideas, and thus lay the foundation to a new European perspective.

During the Scientific Revolution scientists such as Galileo, Copernicus, Descartes and Bacon wrestled with questions about God, human aptitude, and the possibilities of understanding the world. Eventually, the implications of the new scientific findings began to affect the way people thought and behaved throughout Europe. Society began to question the authority of traditional knowledge about the universe. This in turn, allowed them to question traditional views of the state and social order. No longer was the world constructed as the somewhat simple Ptolemaic Model suggested. The Earth for the first time became explicable and was no longer the center of the universe. Many beliefs that had been held for hundreds of years now proved to be

The Scientific Revolution was when modern science was essentially established, which came along with the major scientific discoveries took place at the time. Some major scientists that contributed to this major era include Nicholas Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, Galileo Galilei, and Isaac Newton. The scientific revolution took place following the Renaissance, from the mid-1500’s until about 1700. This revolution took place throughout Europe. This occurred because, following the Renaissance and the reformation, people became very curious and wanted to understand how the Earth worked. It was almost as if, being that this occurred after the reformation, that they wanted to either confirm or refute the church’s claims. The significance of the scientific revolution was one of great proportions, it changed mankind’s understanding the importance of science, and of how the Earth and solar system function.

However, it is the human's job to produce “the happiness of the good and the punishment of the evil” (Document 12). This, promotes the fact that our minds are stronger than we think. John Calvin supported astronomy (Document 2). Calvin supported this because of its connections to Moses and the book of Genesis. However, he also went against the Catholic Church and supported astronomy probably because he was Protestant and just wanted to support what the Catholic Church disagreed with. The Church didn’t want to let Galileo spread his ideas about the moon because they knew that it discredited many of their beliefs (Document 3). The church didn’t want Galileo to prove them wrong so that others would stop going to Church. The Pope made Galileo recant what he had said. The church did this to make sure that more people didn’t stop going to church which was their source of money. Walter Charleton, an English Doctor and natural philosopher said that “It appears so impossible that atoms.... could fix themselves into so vast and symmetrical a structure as the World. The creation and arrangement can be connected to no other cause, but to an Infinite Wisdom and Power” (Document 8). In this document, Walter Charleton states how far science can go and only God could have made such an amazing object which is our

1). Copernicus came from Poland, a very Catholic nation, which explains his choice to dedicate his book to Pope Paul III. John Calvin, a theologian who founded the Calvinist sect of Protestantism, was very fond of astronomy, saying that it shows the wisdom of God (Doc. 2). Other religious figures condemned the work of scientists, like Giovanni Ciampoli, who in a letter to Galileo insisted that Galileo censure facts due to the disagreement of church doctrines to the findings of Galileo (Doc. 3). Other philosophers merged their ideas on the sciences to religious beliefs to please the church and their own traditional beliefs. In a book by Walter Charleton, an English doctor and philosopher, he states that the creation of atoms and arrangement of them could only be achieved by a higher power (Doc. 8). His occupation as a doctor may have led him to this conclusion as the human body is a very complex machine, and it seemed that only God would be capable of engineering such an organism. Another philosopher, Gottfried Leibniz, compares God to an engineer manipulating his machines, further affecting the work of scientists by meshing religious and scientific ideas (Doc. 12). Many scientists’ works were condemned by the church at this time for blasphemy, so many turned to deism, where God made the Universe like a clock and let it run on its own. Many scientists’ work during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was

The scientific revolution started in around 1543. The scientific revolution was a time period where there were developments in math,biology,chemistry,and astronomy. This led to people such as Nicholas Copernicus and Issac Newton creating things such as calculus and the idea of a heliocentric solar system. These people were key figures in the scientific revolution. Because of this time period of learning everyone from the rich to the poor were effected during and after the Scientific Revolution.

Galileo Galilei, a distinguished polymath that contributed to the commence of modern sciences was accounted to be a heretic. In the year, 1609, the astronomer proposed a new theory reckoned as heliocentrism, the idea that claims that the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun. His theory contradicted the belief of the Catholic Church who under the influence of the Bible, believed in the theory geocentrism, therefore accounting him as a heretic. Galileo Galilei is not a heretic because his theories were based on clear empirical observations, that scientifically proved his ideas. Galileo Galilei was believed to be a heretic for opposing the belief of the Catholic Church, despite him being scientifically correct.

The Scientific Revolution changed society with the birth of “modern science”; it changed the way people thought about the physical world around them. The same spirit of inquiry that fueled the Renaissance, led scientists to question traditional beliefs about the workings of the universe. The conflict all began with Copernicus’ heliocentric model being introduced to the world- going against the Church’s traditional teachings. Nicolaus Copernicus developed the heliocentric model of the universe- stating that the sun is the center, and that other planets revolve around it. Despite his calculations, people disagreed and kept on believing in Ptolemy’s geocentric model.

Throughout the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Europeans’ world view was affected by several scientific breakthroughs. This period of achievement is referred to as the Scientific Revolution. The Scientific Revolution was not a single event, rather a series of events with contributions from many people. Some of its main causes include individuals, the book written by Nicolaus Copernicus, and the loss of power by the Catholic church. During this period, scholars made lasting contributions that continue to affect the modern world.

During the 14th century, reforms in culture began developing and eventually led to the rebirth of society. In the Renaissance, people began to shift their focus on the advancements of the individual and human society as a whole. These secular views led people to becoming more educated and break off from the corrupt church. This is the spark of what led into the Scientific Revolution because people wanted to expand their knowledge in a greater procedure. People started to use empiricism in their scientific methods to reach a final decision. This is also known as the Age of Reason, even though people are skeptical of all things that are unproven by mathematics and science. Both religious and political institutions were led by supporters of the development and advancement of science, considering that it would benefit in furthering their position and political interests. WIthin reason, society still had limitations on the ability of people to speak freely of their ideas and be taken seriously.

In 1543 Nicholas Copernicus, a Polish Canon, published “On the Revolution of the Celestial Orbs”. The popular view is that Copernicus discovered that the earth revolves

During the 14th century, the worldview of people was extremely superstitious, little was known about the human body, medicine, the universe, or simple laws of science that seem very rudimentary to us today. People during this time had complete faith in the Catholic Church and those who said any different were deemed heretics. However, these things started changing as time marched on into the 15th century. As time went on, the worldview of intellectual people started changing from ecclesiastical and sectarian mindsets who listened to a classical authority, to one based on inquiry and observation of the natural world. This time period of advancements in art and science was labeled The Renaissance and The Scientific Revolution by modern historians.

Scientific revolutions do more than present new findings. They literally change the paradigm of science, or the way in which knowledge is understood and aligned with other knowledge that has also been scientifically supported. When this happens, there becomes a new or better way of understanding the world around us or the topic at hand. (Fernandez-Armesto, __).