TERM 1
Scientific Thought in 1500
DEFINITION 1
One of the most important disciplinesnatural philosophy,
based primarily on the ideas of Aristotlefocused on
fundamental questions about the nature of the universe, its
purpose, and how it functioned.
TERM 2
Origins of the Scientific Revolution
DEFINITION 2
The scientific revolution drew on long-term d evelopments in European culture, as
well as borrowings from Arabic scholars. The development of universities boosted
philosophers inquiries as they pursued a bod y of knowledge and tried to arrange
it meaningfully with abstract theories. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries
leading universities established new profess orships of mathematics, astronomy,
and physics within their faculties of philosop hy, bringing the application of critical
thinking to scientific problems. The Renaiss ance also stimulated scientific
progress through the translation of ancient wo rks. Renaissance patrons played a
role in funding scientific investigations, as th ey did for art and literature. The rise
of printing provided a faster and less expensiv e way to circulate knowledge
across Europe. Navigational problems were cr itical in the development of many
new scientific instruments, which permitte d more accurate observations and
often led to important new knowledge. Cen turies-old practices of astrology,
magic, and alchemy remained important trad itions for participants in the
scientific revolution.
TERM 3
The Copernican Hypothesis
DEFINITION 3
The desire to explain and thereby glorify Gods handiwork led to the first great
departure from the medieval system. The Po lish cleric Nicolaus Copernicus
(14731543) felt that Ptolemys cumbersome and occasionally inaccurate rules of
astronomy detracted from the majesty of a pe rfect creator. Copernicus theorized
that the stars and planets, including the earth , revolved around a fixed sun, but
he did not publish his On the Revolutions o f the Heavenly Spheres until 1543, the
year of his death. The Copernican hypothesis had enormous scientific and
religious implications, not only suggesting a universe of staggering size but also
that the earthly world was quite different from the heavenly one. Protestant
leaders Martin Luther and John Calvin attacked the idea that the earth moved but
the sun did not, and they condemned Cope rnicus. In 1572 a new star appeared
and shone very brightly for almost two years, which seemed to contradict the
idea that the heavenly spheres were unchan ging and therefore perfect.
TERM 4
Brahe, Kepler, and Galileo: Proving
Copernicus Right
DEFINITION 4
Scholars in many fields sought answers to lo ng-standing problems, sharing their
results in a community that spanned Europe and developing better ways of
obtaining knowledge about the world. The En glish politician and writer Francis
Bacon (15611626) was the greatest early pro pagandist for the new experimental
method. Bacon argued that new knowledge had to be pursued through empirical
research and set about formalizing the empir ical method into the general theory
of inductive reasoning known as empiricism . In an intellectual vision in 1619, Ren
Descartes (15961650) saw that there was a perfect correspondence between
geometry and algebra and that geometrical sp atial figures could be expressed as
algebraic equations and vice versa. Descartes s discovery of analytic geometry
provided scientists with an important new to ol. All occurrences in nature could be
analyzed as matter in motion and, according to Descartes, the total quantity of
motion in the universe was constant. Desca rtess greatest achievement was to
develop his initial vision into a whole philoso phy of knowledge and science; his
reasoning ultimately reduced all substances to matter and mind, a view of the
world known as Cartesian dualism.
TERM 5
Science and Society
DEFINITION 5
The rise of modern science had many cons equences, as the international
scientific community, in which personal su ccess depended on making new
discoveries, became competitive. The new scientific community became closely
tied to the state and its agendas, as governm ents intervened to support and
sometimes to direct research. At the same time, scientists developed a critical
attitude toward established authority that woul d inspire thinkers to question
traditions in other domains. New rational me thods for approaching nature did not
question Catholic Church was initially less h ostile to science than Protestant and
Jewish leaders, but that changed with the tria l of Galileo in 1633. Protestant
countries became very supportive of science , especially those countries lacking a
strong religious authority that could impose re ligious orthodoxy on scientific
questions. traditional inequalities between th e sexes, however, and the new
academies that furnished professional creden tials did not accept female
members. Noteworthy exceptions included universities and academies in Italy
that offered posts to women, who worked a s botanical illustrators, and female
intellectuals who fully engaged in the philos ophical dialogue of the time. Because
science had relatively few practical economic applications, the scientific
