Factors That Led to the Scientific Revolution

There are three factors which led to the scientific revolution, technology, mathematics and the renaissance.

During the renaissance, Europeans were fascinated with technological invention. The architects, navigators, engineers, and weapons experts of the Renaissance were important pioneers of a new reliance on measurement and observation that affected many things, including how problems in physics were addressed. Interest in experimentation was also growing among anatomists. Thus, during the sixteenth and seventeenth century, many new instruments were invented which helped make scientific discovery possible; the telescope, the thermometer, the vacuum pump, the barometer, and the microscope. These made new scientific discoveries possible. The printing press had an indirect but crucial role in spreading innovative ideas quickly and easily.

Mathematics developed as a response to the demands of the sciences, which grew up in the late sixteenth century. It was fundamental to the scientific achievements of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, was promoted in the Renaissance by the rediscovery of the works of ancient mathematicians and the influence of Plato, who had emphasized by the importance of mathematics in explaining the universe. While mathematics was applauded as the key to navigation, military science and geography the Renaissance also held the widespread belief that mathematics was the key to understanding the nature of things. However, few mathematical advances had effects as immediate as the study of optics. As the importance of observation of the natural had grown, Scientists had constantly sought the magnification of observed subjects. It was not long before the principles of geometry were applied to the field of optics. The culmination of these efforts was the introduction of the telescope and microscope by Galileo in 1609, both of which revolutionized natural science.

The Renaissance encompassed another revival of learning based on classical sources, the development of linear perspective in painting, and educational reform. The Renaissance saw developments in most intellectual pursuits, but is perhaps best known for its artistic aspect and the contributions of such artists as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Renaissance artists have also been credited with making an impact on scientific study. Their desire to imitate nature led them to rely on a close observation of nature. Their accurate renderings of rocks, plants, animals, and human anatomy established new standards for the study of natural phenomena. At the same time, the ‘scientific” study of the problems of perspective and correct anatomical proportions led to new insights. Renaissance artists were frequently called on to be practicing mathematicians as well. One other renaissance development that contributed to the rise of modern science was the developing amalgamation between the worlds of the artisan and the intellectual. During the fifteenth century, the worlds of theorization and mechanical engineering came together, and Renaissance artists such as Leonardo da Vinci bridged both areas of endeavor. Not only were they marvelous craftsmen, but they also investigated the laws of perspective and optics(physics), worked out geometric methods for supporting the weight of enormous architectural domes(physics and mathematics), studied the dimensions and details of the human body (Biology) , and devised new and more effective weapons for war(technology).