Isaac Newton And The Scientific Revolution

Isaac Newton was a product of his time period. He was born in the midsts of the scientific revolution, a time when a strong emphasis was placed on learning and disciplines such as physics (Hatch, Robert A. "The Scientific Revolution"). Newton was strongly influenced by these scientific trends, as they would eventually become fields in which he specialized in. The movement started when Copernicus’s heliocentric viewpoint was first proposed, and ended with Newton’s death in the early 1700s (Hatch, Robert A. "The Scientific Revolution"). By being alive towards the end of the scientific revolution, Newton had a tremendous advantage. He could follow the paths of other scientists, elevating his understanding of physics and astronomy by using their
The people that he met and interacted with also shaped his character. Take Isaac Barrow for example. He acted as the father figure Newton never had while growing. Newton’s father died before he was born, so he looked to Barrow as a role model and a friend. Barrow believed that truths should be proven, not accepted for a fact, and it is evident that Newton took this belief to heart. While studying optics, he stuck a needle in his eye to determine if different people see different colors, which could potentially skew his measurements. In his famous Principia, Newton writes, “In experimental philosophy, propositions gathered from phenomena by induction should be taken to be either exactly or very nearly true notwithstanding any contrary hypotheses, until yet other phenomena make such propositions either more exact or liable to exceptions.” (Principia Book 3, Rules Reasoning Number 4). What Newton is conveying is that something proven through measurement should be considered true until proven otherwise; experimentation yields truth. This philosophy is very similar to Barrow’s, and it establishes a clear connection between Isaac Barrow and Isaac
"Sir Isaac Newton”). In the 1680’s, mathematicians were having trouble determining how the planets move - Edmond Halley was among them (Hatch, Robert A. "Sir Isaac Newton”). In 1684, Halley visited Newton to discuss this matter with him (Hatch, Robert A. "Sir Isaac Newton”). Upon arriving, Newton told Halley that he had misplaced his calculations; despite this, he was still able to determine the elliptical motion of celestial bodies (Hatch, Robert A. "Sir Isaac Newton”). After hearing this, Halley convinced Newton to expand upon his notes and to publish them (Hatch, Robert A. "Sir Isaac Newton”). Newton heeded Halley words and worked to compile his thoughts. From August 1684 to spring 1686, the three-book set of the Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica was published (Hatch, Robert A. "Sir Isaac Newton”). By building upon Newton’s work, Halley was able to then successfully predict the next appearance of a comet, now known as Halley’s comet (Hatch, Robert A. "Sir Isaac