The Scientific Revolution

I. The idea of science--Bacon and Descartes.

II. The contrasts: medieval and early modern world views.

A. Ptolemaic (second century CE) view of universe. Basically preserves and extends Aristotle´s views.
B. Earth the motionless center of the universe, each planet moved in an exact, circular orbit at uniform speed, as stated by Aristotle.
C. Also Aristotle´s ideas on motion:

1. A body would remain in movement only as long as a moving force actually in contact with it.
2. Uniform force applied to a body moves it at a constant speed. (But a cannonball keeps going after losing contact with the initial force; falling bodies move at constantly accelerating speed though equal force applied to it.)

D. Platonic notion of hierarchy of living things in universe--the great chain of being.

III. Scientists.

A. Copernicus, born in Poland of German and Polish background, in 1473 (died 1543).
B. Tycho Brahe (Danish), 1546-1601.
C. Johannes Kepler, born in 1571, from a minor German noble family, assistant to Brahe.
D. Galileo, contemporary of Kepler´s, 1564-1642.
E. Newton, born 1642.

1. Synthesis of mechanics and astronomy into one comprehensive system. Synthesizes achievements of Kepler and Galileo, to show that laws of planetary and terrestrial motion two aspects of same laws.
2. Law of gravity:

a. Every particle of matter exerts over every other body an attractive force proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
b. This law stood for two hundred years. Now clear that it does not hold in the world of subatomic structures or the macro physical universe as now understood.

3. The law of gravity especially a universal law that explained the whole structure of the universe and unified the realms of heaven and earth, and unified physical reality with mathematical astronomy.
4. Three laws of motion:

a. Inertia: Every body continues in its state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change that state by forces acting upon it.
b. Acceleration: Change of motion of a body proportion to the force acting upon it, and takes place along the straight line along which the force acts.
c. To every action, an equal and opposite reaction; or, actions of two bodies upon each other always equal and opposite.

5. Application of these ideas of mechanics to astronomy.

IV. Other arenas of knowledge:

A. Vesalius (Flemish) published in 1543 The Structure of the Human Body, which reinvigorates study of anatomy. Begins to question received wisdom of Galen (second century CE).
B. William Harvey, On the Movement of the Heart and Blood, 1628.
C. Leeuwenhoek, using microscope, sees blood corpuscles, spermatoza, and bacteria. Sees previously hidden matter.
D. Efforts to catalogue new flora and fauna, spurred by New World discoveries.
E. Calculus--Leibniz and Newton.

V. The Methodology: Francis Bacon (1561-1626) and René Descartes (1596-1650).

VI. The discourse of science--the formation of an international community.

VII. Implications--Aristotelian-Christian view of the stable, finite, earth-centered world overthrown.