scientific beliefs that have been widely accepted were opposed
replacement of Aristotelian ethics and Christian morality by a new type of decision making which may be termed instrumental reasoning or cost-benefit analysis
BIRTH OF MODERN SCIENCE
Ancient Greeks
the first to explain the world in terms of natural laws rather than myths about gods and heroes
passed on the idea of the value of math and experiment in science
Aristotle
most influential figure in Western science until the 1600's
created a body of scientific theory
theories relied very little on experiment, which left them vulnerable to anyone who chose to perform such experiments
Church had grafted his theories onto its theology, thus making any attack on Aristotle an attack on the tradition and the Church itself
Renaissance scholars
uncovered other Greek authors who contradicted Aristotle
Found contradicting authorities
encouraged skepticism, freethinking, and experimentation
Pattern of development
Copernicus
The first person who started this slow process of dismantling Aristotle's cosmology
reinforce the process of finding new explanations, which would lead to the work of Kepler and Galileo
led to many new questions and theories about the universe until
Isaac Newton would take the new data and synthesize it into a new set of theories that more accurately explained the universe
Copernican Revolution
A major shift in scientific thought that challenged the prevailing geocentric model of the universe
By placing the sun at the center of the universe and having the earth orbit it, Copernicus reduced the unwieldy number of epicycles from 80 to 34.
Greeks as Plato and Pythagoras who believed in a heliocentric (sun centered) universe
150 years after Copernicus' death in 1543
achieved a new model of the universe that worked
Tycho Brahe
using only the naked eye, tracked the entire orbits of various stars and planets.
kept extensive records of his observations, but did not really know what to do with them.
Successor was Johannes Kepler
Johannes Kepler
was a brilliant mathematician who had a mystical vision of the mathematical perfection of the universe
realized that Brahe's data showed the planetary orbits were not circular
his calculations showed that those orbits were elliptical
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
first to successfully use math to define the workings of the cosmos
Using his telescope, he saw the sun's perfection marred by sunspots and the moon's perfection marred by craters
He also saw four moons orbiting Jupiter
Book: The Starry Messenger (1611)
Reported these findings
Church tried to preserve the Aristotelian and Ptolemaic view of the universe by clamping down on his book
1632 - Galileo published his next book
Dialogue on the Great World Systems
dialogue presenting both views "equally"
Galileo got his point across by having the advocate of the Church and Aristotelian view named Simplicius (Simpleton).
He was quickly faced with the Inquisition and the threat of torture
Galileo's work was the first comprehensive attack on the Aristotelian/Ptolemaic cosmic model
Isaac Newton
Theory of gravity
his work also completed the fusion of math promoted by Renaissance humanists, Aristotelian logic pushed by medieval university professors, and experiment to test a hypothesis
Invention of calculus made math a much more dynamic tool in predicting and manipulating the laws of nature
Book: Principia Mathematica (1687)
often seen as the start of the Enlightenment (1687-1789).
DARWINIAN REVOLUTION
The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin (1859)
ushered in a new era in the intellectual history of humanity.
accumulated evidence demonstrating that organisms evolve and discovered the process, natural selection, by which they evolve
Natural Theology (1802) by the English theologian William Paley
elaborated the argument-from-design as a forceful demonstration of the existence of the Creator.
The functional design of the human eye, argued Paley, provided conclusive evidence of an all-wise Creator.
The Bridgewater Treatises (published between 1833 and 1840)
were written by eminent scientists and philosophers
to set forth "the Power, Wisdom, and Goodness of God as manifested in the Creation."
FREUDIAN REVOLUTION
Sigmund Freud
was born in 1856, before the advent of telephones, radios, automobiles, airplanes
died in 1939
Before psychoanalysis, which Freud invented, mental illness was almost universally considered 'organic'
Psychoanalysis has had an enormous impact on the practice of psychiatry
SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION IN MESOAMERICA
Meso-America
region from Mexico to Guatemala, Belize and parts of Honduras and El Salvador
isolated from the accumulated scientific knowledge of Africa, Asia and Europe
Maya civilization
most advanced Mesoamerican civilization
knew how to make paper and had pictorial script called Maya hieroglyphs
that allowed them to record all knowledge on long strips of paper folded harmonica-style into books.
Book: The Dresden Codex
contains predictions of solar eclipses for centuries and a table of predicted positions of Venus
The Aztec:
kept their own script and languages but assimilated all they could learn from Maya society
Their manuscripts describe how the Maya performed their astronomical observations
Architecture:
The Maya was first to use pitched ceilings in their buildings after the invention of the corbelled vault
Aztec city builders also understood the need for public sanitation; public latrines were found along all highways
ASIAN SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
Japan most notable country in Asia in terms of scientific and technological achievement (electronics and automobile products)
Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and China together produce a staggering 90% of the world’s digital gadgets
South Korea’s cultural popularity around the world has caused a number of startup’s to emerge working within the digital and technology sectors
Taiwan - turning to software and content development.
SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION IN MIDDLE EAST
greatest advances were made in Mesopotamia
development of astronomy seems to have been greatly accelerated by that of astrology
Engineering and architecture
Egyptians pyramids and temples of granite and sandstone
Babylonians - development of such practical arts as irrigation
Egyptians and Mesopotamians wrote no theoretical treatises
Alphabet greatest invention of the ancient Middle East
Early Hyksos period (17th century BC)
the Northwestern Semites living in Egypt adapted hieroglyphic characters
Scientific Revolution in Africa
Advancements in fields of astronomy, physics, and mathematics