Scientific Revolution- Ap Euro
How did the developments in scientific thought from Copernicus to Newton create a new conception of the universe and of humanity’s place within it?
The Scientific Revolution was a time of scientific questioning in which tremendous discoveries were made about the Earth. It has been referred to as “the real origin both of the modern world and the modern mentality” (Mckay, 596) and caused the foremost change in the world-view. This revolution occurred for many reasons. Universities were established in Western Europe in order to train lawyer’s doctors and church leaders and philosophy became a major study alongside medicine, law, and theology. The Renaissance stimulated scientific progress because mathematics was improved, texts were recovered, and scientific investigations were supported. Also, new scientific instruments had been developed, such as the thermometer, microscope, telescope and more. These instruments caused observations to be more accurate which helped circulate knowledge, thus causing a Scientific Revolution. The changes and developments of scientific thought from Copernicus to Newton created a new conception of the universe as well as humanities place within it. The constant change of scientific ideas made by Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, Galileo and Newton created the new conception of the universe. In the 1500s, the traditional European ideas about the universe were based on Aristotle’s ideas, which said a motionless Earth was at the center of the universe and ten separate transparent crystal spheres moved around it. Heaven was beyond these spheres. The reason this was accepted was because it not only gave an explanation for what was actually seen by the eye but also established a home for Christians as well as for God. With this theory, which was accepted by the church, humans were at the center of the universe and were an important link in a “great chain of being.” At this time, science truly reinforced religious thought and these
The Scientific Revolution was a time of scientific questioning in which tremendous discoveries were made about the Earth. It has been referred to as “the real origin both of the modern world and the modern mentality” (Mckay, 596) and caused the foremost change in the world-view. This revolution occurred for many reasons. Universities were established in Western Europe in order to train lawyer’s doctors and church leaders and philosophy became a major study alongside medicine, law, and theology. The Renaissance stimulated scientific progress because mathematics was improved, texts were recovered, and scientific investigations were supported. Also, new scientific instruments had been developed, such as the thermometer, microscope, telescope and more. These instruments caused observations to be more accurate which helped circulate knowledge, thus causing a Scientific Revolution. The changes and developments of scientific thought from Copernicus to Newton created a new conception of the universe as well as humanities place within it. The constant change of scientific ideas made by Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, Galileo and Newton created the new conception of the universe. In the 1500s, the traditional European ideas about the universe were based on Aristotle’s ideas, which said a motionless Earth was at the center of the universe and ten separate transparent crystal spheres moved around it. Heaven was beyond these spheres. The reason this was accepted was because it not only gave an explanation for what was actually seen by the eye but also established a home for Christians as well as for God. With this theory, which was accepted by the church, humans were at the center of the universe and were an important link in a “great chain of being.” At this time, science truly reinforced religious thought and these