CH 15: Cultural Transformations:

Religion & Science, 1450-1750

Scientific Revolution

Before the Enlightenment:

In the late 1500's, a revolution began. This period of great

change is known as the “Scientific Revolution.”

For centuries, mankind had been progressing, but very slowly – especially in

the area of science. Medicine was primitive, people's idea of the universe was

very limited and restricted by religious belief, man's idea of how nature

functioned was limited by superstition and fear, and human beings did not

even have a basic understanding of how and what they breathed, how they

saw or heard, or what ideas or tools were necessary to figure these puzzles

out.

Starting in the late 1500's, men like Kepler,

Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Leibniz, & others began

to explain to mankind the nature of both the seen &

the unseen universe.

To do this, they devised new methods of calculation &

measurement, & perhaps more importantly, they

introduced what we know as the “Scientific Method.”

For centuries, humans had taken as absolute truth

that which they appeared to see & perceive, & that

which had been passed down to them from prior

generations – without dispute.

The men of the Scientific Revolution questioned

everything, & to do this, they observed, measured,

experimented & formulated hypotheses & theories about

why things were the way they were, & set about proving or

disproving their hypotheses, or the ideas of the ages.

The World Changed:

It was not only in science that reason & close

observation triumphed over ignorance &

unquestioned tradition. Ideas about human

society, government, religion & culture

began to be questioned. Intellectuals in the

late 17th & early 18th century thought that if

people had been so wrong about the nature of

the universe, perhaps they could be wrong

about a great many other things, including

perhaps most importantly, the rights of man.

These thinkers, known to us as the “Philosophes”

(French word for “philosophers”) ushered in an age

called the Enlightenment – for during this time,

many people in Europe & North America came to

see that they had been living in the unquestioned

darkness of tyranny & ignorance for many centuries.

So, yes... the Scientific Revolution & the

Enlightenment are closely tied together. They

influenced each other. And as we will come to

find in this chapter, they changed the world.

Ideas of the Scientific Revolution & The Enlightenment laid the foundation for a modern worldview based on rationalism & secularism

Enlightenment thought led some rulers to advocate such natural rights as equality before the law & freedom of religion

Galileo

Anton van Leeuwenhoek

Rationalism

Reason is the chief source of knowledge.

While some Europeans were actively

attempting to spread the Christian faith to

distant corners of the world, others were

nurturing an understanding of the

cosmos very much at odds with

traditional Christian teaching.

Europe’s Scientific Revolution: Vast intellectual & cultural transformation, took place between mid 16th & early 18th cent

Men of science would no longer rely on external authority of the Bible, the Church, the speculations of ancient philosophers, or received wisdom of cultural tradition.

For them, knowledge would be acquired through a combination of careful observations, controlled experiments, and the formulation of general laws, expressed in mathematical terms.

Saw themselves as departing radically from older ways of thinking.

“The old rubbish must be thrown away,” wrote a 17th cent. English scientist. “These are the days that must lay a new Foundation of a more magnificent Philosophy.”

★ Copernicus from Poland

★ Galileo from Italy

★ Descartes from France

★ Newton from England

★ & many others

Long-term significance can not be understated.

In Europe: fundamentally altered ideas about the place of humankind within the cosmos & sharply challenged both the teachings & the authority of the Church.

Over past several centuries, The Scientific Revolution has substantially eroded religious belief & practice in the West, particularly among the well educated.

Scientific ways of thinking challenged:

★ ancient social hierarchies

★ political systems

★ played a role in revolutionary upheavals of the modern era

However, science also was used in other ways, trying to justify the world through ‘natural methods’ was not a smooth transition:

★ Tried to legitimize racial inequalities

★ Tried to legitimize gender inequalities

Tied to the technological innovations of the Industrial Revolution, science fostered both the marvels of modern production & the horrors of modern means of destruction.

By 20th century, science had become so widespread that it largely lost its association with European culture & became the chief symbol of global modernity.

Louis XIV – “The Sun King” A source of light to all his people

Created: Royal Academy of

Science

1654-1715: 72 years & 110 days Reign is longest of any monarch of a major country in European history. He became one of

the most powerful French monarchs & consolidated a system of absolute monarchical rule in France that endured until the French

Revolution.

On his deathbed, "Do not follow the bad example which I have set you; I have often undertaken war too lightly and have sustained it

for vanity. Do not imitate me, but be a peaceful prince, and may you apply yourself principally to the alleviation of the burdens of

your subjects."

Louis's detractors have argued that his considerable foreign, military, and domestic expenditure impoverished and

bankrupted France. His spending in the sciences & arts, plus war = a debt that would only spiral until France was on the brink of

Revolution.

Of course, Louis could never have realized what his legacy would be. He was both

funding the scientific revolution that would help lead to The Enlightenment (more a

movement of political freedom for people & artistic expression) & bankrupting his

country. Both led to Revolution:

French Revolution would depose the last true Monarch of France, his

grandson, Louis XVI.

Andreas Vesalius wrote

“On The Fabric of the Human Body”

Presented a careful & accurate examination of human

anatomy. 1536, 22 yr-old medical student & part-time

body snatcher. It was illegal, dangerous, & a challenge

to long established ideas to look inside the human body.

Vesalius boiled the body, as if making stew, and

attempted to get the human remains down to bone only.

Then he tried to piece it back together again.

This was unheard of in his time. He was determined to

understand the human condition and began looking at

internal organs and circulatory systems.

Andreas Vesalius was challenging the work of

Galen.

Vesalius was dismissed as a madman. How

could they challenge Galen? After 3,000+ years,

Galen’s work was about to be toppled. Vesalius

found over 200 major mistakes. He correctly

identified all the major organs. His work would be

a major breakthrough. Internal medicine &

surgical procedures - improved instantly.

Intellectuals of Sci. Rev. & Enlightenment paved the way for

3 major developments:

1. Scientific Method

Techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting & integrating previous knowledge. Method of inquiry based on empirical or measurable evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning.

2. Democracy Rule of the people, “natural rights” & individual worth ideas that challenged, checked, & toppled centuries of European monarchy.

3. Separation of Powers

A system of checks & balances that strongly influenced the writing of the Constitution of the U.S. (Montesquieu)

Charles

Montesquieu

Establishment of universal male suffrage,

France, 1848

Nicholas Copernicus: First to argue that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the universe.

Copernicus & his conversation with God.

Galileo “The Father of Modern Physics"

Galileo: ordered to stand trial on suspicion of heresy, 1633

Tried by the Holy Office, he was found:

"Vehemently suspect of heresy", forced to recant, & spent

the last 9 years of his life under house arrest near Florence.

While Galileo was under house arrest that he wrote one of his

finest works: Two New Sciences

Oct 1992: Pope John Paul II expressed regret for how the

Galileo affair was handled

YouTube: Galileo & Gingerich - A new analysis of a 400-year-old scrap of paper on which Galileo recorded some early observations from his telescope reveals the moment that he decided he had to speak out. The revelations on the paper shattered assumptions about humanity's place in the cosmos, sparked the scientific revolution, and, by raising the ire of the Catholic Church, sealed Galileo's own fate.

The Scientific Revolution

Telescope, microscope, & printing press open a whole new world.

Scientific Revolution

The study of mathematics in the Renaissance contributed to the scientific achievements of the 16th & 17th centuries.

The great scientists of the day believed that the secrets of nature were written in the language of mathematics.

UNIVERSAL LAW OF GRAVITATION:

Showed how one law could explain could explain all motion in the universe.

Newton Michio Kaku: The Universe in a Nutshell (42 min)

Neil deGrasse Tyson: Science & Religion