-Scientific Revolution: (mid 16th-early 18th century)
- created by: Copernicus (Poland), Galileo (Italy), Descartes (France), Newton (England), etc.
-became symbol of global modernity
The Question of Origins: Why Europe?
-by 12th & 13th cent., evolved legal system based on the idea of a "corporation" (collective group of people treated as a unit)
-universities provided freedom to study away from philosophy and theology [West]
- major figures in S.R. trained and affiliated with universities
-Islam rejected science (viewed with great suspicion)
- Quran held all knowledge
-China primarily focused on civil service examinations and emphasized humanistic & moral texts of classical Confucianism
-Arab medical texts, astronomical research, & translations of Greek classics played major role in birth of European natural philosophy
-uncertainties about established views fertile emergence
- Reformation contributed: challenge to authority, mass literacy, & affirmation of secular professions
Science as Cultural Revolution
-S.R. was revolutionary because it fundamentally challenged the understanding of the universe
-initial breakthrough came from Nicolaus Copernicus
- scientists built off his insight
-Grand unifying idea of early modern science: the heavens and the earth, long regarded as separate/distinct spheres, were not so different
-universe functioned on its own (scientific principles)
- everything functions as a machine
-males dominated transformation
- few women could take part because they had relatives
- Margaret Cavendish: wrote 6 texts & only woman to attend a university that created scientific learning
- Maria Winkelman discovered a comet but husband took credit and wasn't allowed to work on it after her died
-conflict with the church
- Giordano Bruno burned at stake / Galileo renounced his scientific belief
- not all bad: Newton saw no contradiction between both his beliefs
- science prevailed in describing universe, but religion concerned truth of human salvation, righteous behavior, larger purposes
Important Scientists:
-Nicolaus Copernicus (Polish; 1473-1543): sun is center of solar system, earth rotates on its axis, earth and planets revolve around the sun
-Galileo Galilei (Italian; 1564-1642): developed improved telescope; discovered: sunspots, mountains on moon, Jupiter's moons; experimental work on velocity of falling objects
-Issac Newton (English; 1642-1727): synthesized earlier finding around the concept of universal gravitation; invented calculus; formulated concept of inertia and laws of motion
Science and Enlightenment
Comparison
Science:
-quest to understand reality
-pre scientific = faith based
- disagree on:
- evolution, geology created 6,000yrs ago, immunizations, climate change
Enlightenment:
-progress/what went into it
-liberty
-equality
-checks & balances (anti-monarchical)
-other countries fed into the development in Europe
-Galileo helped proved Coperinus's beliefs
-Science: seeking truth through facts -> science of human sciences = enlightenment
- purpose was to have progress
- bad outcome = control
- who decides what is "better' /"utopia"
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