Scientific revolution: witchcraft

• Ptolemy's view of the universe

  The earth was the centre of the universe and planets moved in an epicycle
• Limits of Copernicus's findings

  • Theoretical conclusions based on empiricism
  • Still believed that all motions must be circular
  • The book stated that he was just simply stating a theory (he did not publish it himself) and only 10 intellectuals at the time accepted the theory
• Influence of Tycho Brahe

  • Observed a supernova in 1573
  • Observed a number of comets in 1588 and published his findings
  • Planets moved independently through space
• Kepler's law of planetary motion

  1. Released 'Astronomia Nova' in 1609

  2. First law - planets travel in elliptical orbits around the sun

  3. Second law - planets travel in a non-consistent speed depending on the sun

  4. Third law - distance from a planet to the sun, cubed, is proportional for the time it takes to orbit, squared
• Kepler's career


  • Witnessed the Great Comet in 1577
  • Able to adopt the heliocentric view of Copernicus - avoids reliance on Ptolemaic spheres and epicycles
  • Became Brahe's assistant in 1600
  • Offered a teaching position in 1594
• Kepler and religion


  • Deeply religious
  • Religious devotion informed much of what he did
  • Believed God created the universe to a specific mathematical model
  • Believed the universe God created would be faultless
  • Stated that relationships between heavenly bodies he discovered were so perfect that only God could have made it
  • Saw astronomy as his religious duty
• Galileo's scientific breakthroughs

  • Discovered Jupiter's moons (previously though only Earth could have moons)
  • Tides were caused by the Earth's rotation speeding up and slowing down as it rotated on its axis (Catholic church argued as it was contradictory of the teachings of the Bible)
  • Concluded that the natural motion of the moon is circular around the earth
  • Discovered new stars (previously thought there was a finite number of stars)
  • Earth's moon has seas and mountains (thought the moon was made out of a mystical element)
• Newton's achievements


  • Enrolled at Trinity College
  • Intense period of study in the 1660s
  • Demonstrated Kepler's law of planetary motion could be proved mathematically
  • First law of motion - every object will remain at rest unless an external force compels it to change direction
  • Second law of motion - external force of an object is equal to the mass of the object times its rate of acceleration
  • Third law of motion - every action has an equal opposite reaction
• Newton's similarities to other thinkers

  • Pythagoras - stated that followers of him had a rudimental understanding of gravity
  • Kepler - proving Kepler's law of planetary motion
  • Huygens - influenced many of Newton's ideas about gravity (very similar to the seconf law of motion)
• Bacon's method


  • Involved rejecting ant preconceived theories or conclusions (inductive reasoning)
  • Concluded heat is a form of motion (kinetics)
  • 'Tables of Instances' - writing observations
  • Royal Society 34 years after his death
• Royal Society 1660


  • Included men from all intellectual areas of study
  • Became well-respected for using Baconian methods
  • Able to discuss ideas - Marcello Malphigi helped William Harvey with his theory of circulation
  • Did public demonstrations (dissections)
  • Dissenters could join
• Similarities of Hobbes and Locke

  • Both were materialists
  • Both were involved and critical of politics
  • Both concluded that phenomena had never been proven to go against the laws of nature
  • Both concluded that things only consist of matter
  • Both didn't completely rule out the existence of spirits (Hobbes said they were too fine to see/ Locke believed in astrology)
• Differences of Hobbes and Locke

  • Hobbes had an immediate impact whilst Locke had a delayed impact
  • Hobbes believed in deductive reasoning whilst Locke was an empiricist
  • Hobbes advocated for a strong government led by a single leader whilst Locke was a liberal
  • Hobbes believed people are born bad whilst Locke believe people are born good
• Newton criticisms -his involvement with alchemy – became obsessed with alchemy (wrote over 1 million words on it)/ believed in supernatural forces/ became obsessed with finding hidden meanings in the Bible – thought the world would end in 1948 
• Criticisms of Bacon - ‘Tables of Instances’ - allowed for supernatural evidence to be used as long as it was observed – reverting back to the logic used by those who studed natural magic/ believed in telepathy and that dead bodies would recreate the death if they are taken near the murderer 
• Royal Society criticisms – many took interest in alchemy/ Jospeh Glanvill argued for the existence of witchcraft/ reliant on funding from wealthy people/ Boyle supported Valentine Greatrakes work of healing – didn’t doubt it