CHAPTER 16: TOWARD A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH
The Scientific Revolution and the Emergence of Modern Science
I. Background to the Scientific Revolution
A. Late Medieval scholastic philosophers had advanced mathematical
and physical thinking in many ways
B. The subjection of these thinkers to a strict theological framework
and their unquestioning reliance on a few ancient authorities,
especially Aristotle & Galen, limited where they could go
C. Medieval scholars made use of Latin translations of Aristotle, Galen
& Ptolemy to develop many of their positions in the fields of
physics, medicine, & astronomy
D. Renaissance scientist mastered Greek which exposed them to
different works by past masters
E. Copernicus, founder of heliocentrism, found that Philolaus and a
number of ancients believed that the earth moved not the sun
F. Renaissance artists desire to imitate nature led them to rely upon a
close observation of nature which in turn impacted scientific study
G. The 15th & 16th centuries witnessed a proliferation of books
dedicated to machines & technology which espoused the belief that
innovation in techniques was necessary
H. The Scientific Revolution of the 17th Century was based upon the
intellectual and scientific accomplishments of previous centuries
I. The origins of the Scientific Revolution can be traced to the work of
a very small number of great European intellectuals
J. According to Da Vinci mathematics was the key to understanding
the nature of things
K. Scholars devoted to Hermeticism believed in seeing the world as a
living embodiment of divinity where humans could use mathematics
and magic to dominate nature
L. Possible influences and causes of the Scientific Revolution include:
mathematical and naturalistic skills of Renaissance artists, the
humanists rediscovery of Greek mathematicians and thinkers, and
the Hermetic belief in magic and alchemy
II. Toward a New Heaven: A Revolution in Astronomy
A. The greatest achievements in science during the 16th and 17th
Centuries came in astronomy, mechanics, and medicine
B. The Ptolemaic conception of the universe was also known as the
geocentric conception
C. Nicholaus Copernicus (1473-1543)
1. The general conception of the universe before Copernicus
was that the earth was the stationary center and heavenly
spheres orbited it
2. Born in Poland
3. Received a doctorate in canon law and studied in both
Poland and Italy
4. Focus was on mathematics and astronomy
5. Published On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres in
1543 which attacked the Ptolemaic concept of an earth-
centered universe
6. Ideas of Copernicus were nearly as complicated as
Ptolemy’s
a. using elaborate astronomical and mathematical
calculations Copernicus argued that the universe
consisted of eight spheres with the sun motionless in
the center
b. Planets revolved around sun and moon revolved
around earth
c. Ideas immediately condemned, especially by
Protestant leaders like Luther who condemned the
discovery as contrary to their notions of creation
D. Tycho Brahe (1546-1601)
1. Danish nobleman
2. Outfitted castle with a library , observatory, and instruments
to more accurately observe astronomical sites. (Uraniborg)
E. Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
1. Germany’s best-known astronomer
2. Used data to derive laws of planetary motion that confirmed
Copernicus’s heliocentric theory but that showed the orbits
were elliptical
3. Friend of Galileo and members together of a new European
scientific community maintaining contact through letters
and new publications
4. Ideas gained acceptance despite disproving the great
Aristotle’s conviction that the motion of planets was steady
and unchanging
F. Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
1. Came from a lesser Pisan noble family (Italian)
2. Abandoned medicine for his true love, mathematics
3. Taught mathematics at prestigious university at Padua
4. Was first European to make systematic observations of the
