Essays on Scientific Revolution

Robert Boyle, Tycho Brahe, Nicolaus Copernicus, René Descartes, Johannes Kepler

Scientific Revolution is the name given to a period of drastic change in scientific thought that took place during the 16th and 17th centuries. It replaced the Greek view of nature that had dominated science for almost 2,000 years.

The Scientific Revolution was characterized by an emphasis on abstract reasoning, quantitative thought, an understanding of how nature works, the view of nature as a machine, and the development of an experimental scientific method.

The Scientific Revolution started in astronomy. Although there had been earlier discussions of the possibility of Earth’s motion, the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus was the first to propound a comprehensive heliocentric theory. Copernicus’s book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri VI (“Six Books Concerning the Revolutions of the Heavenly Orbs”), published in 1543, became a standard reference for advanced problems in astronomical research, particularly for its mathematical techniques.

The French philosopher René Descartes established the mechanical philosophy. Later Isaac Newton was able to synthesize two important components of the Scientific Revolution, the mechanical philosophy and the mathematization of nature. Galileo’s contributions to the science of mechanics were related directly to his defense of Copernicanism. He developed the foundations for a new physics that was both highly mathematizable and directly related to the problems facing the new cosmology.

The sudden emergence of new information during the Scientific Revolution called into question religious beliefs, moral principles, and the traditional scheme of nature. It also strained old institutions and practices, necessitating new ways of communicating and disseminating information. Prominent innovations included scientific societies and scientific papers.

c. 1400 - c. 1690

Europe

Robert Boyle, Tycho Brahe, Nicolaus Copernicus, René Descartes, Johannes Kepler

Scientific Revolution is the name given to a period of drastic change in scientific thought that took place during the 16th and 17th centuries. It replaced the Greek view of nature that had dominated science for almost 2,000 years.

The Scientific Revolution was characterized by an emphasis on abstract reasoning, quantitative thought, an understanding of how nature works, the view of nature as a machine, and the development of an experimental scientific method.

The Scientific Revolution started in astronomy. Although there had been earlier discussions of the possibility of Earth’s motion, the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus was the first to propound a comprehensive heliocentric theory. Copernicus’s book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri VI (“Six Books Concerning the Revolutions of the Heavenly Orbs”), published in 1543, became a standard reference for advanced problems in astronomical research, particularly for its mathematical techniques.

The French philosopher René Descartes established the mechanical philosophy. Later Isaac Newton was able to synthesize two important components of the Scientific Revolution, the mechanical philosophy and the mathematization of nature. Galileo’s contributions to the science of mechanics were related directly to his defense of Copernicanism. He developed the foundations for a new physics that was both highly mathematizable and directly related to the problems facing the new cosmology.

The sudden emergence of new information during the Scientific Revolution called into question religious beliefs, moral principles, and the traditional scheme of nature. It also strained old institutions and practices, necessitating new ways of communicating and disseminating information. Prominent innovations included scientific societies and scientific papers.