Essay on The Scientific Revolution - 1098 Words

There were three major revolutions at work during the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries, the scientific revolution, the enlightenment revolution and the political revolution. All of these revolutions have shaped western thought and ideals to this day and continue even in this age to shape western thoughts and ideals. What brought us to our thinking of today? Which, if any of the three, were the most important in shaping our thoughts on science, politics, and our social structures? Or were each an independent revolution without consequences on the others? The scientific revolution and the change in thought that it produced was the foundation for the enlightenment revolution, and in turn the enlightenment revolution was the†¦show more content†¦He came up with multiple mathematical laws, with the integral one being the law of universal gravitation. Two other very important people in the progress of the scientific revolution were Francis Bacon (1561-1626) and Rene Descartes (1596-1650). Bacon formalized the empirical method, also known as empiricism. Empiricism is the theory of inductive reasoning that calls for acquiring evidence through observation and experimentation rather than reason and speculation. Descartes’ theory was Cartesian dualism. Descartes thought that you should doubt everything that could be doubted and then use deductive reasoning from self-evident principles to understand scientific laws. Both of these men’s theories make up the modern scientific method. (McKay, 2009, pp. 493-499) The enlightenment was heavily influenced by the scientific revolution. So much so that two of its three core concepts are the use of reason and the scientific method, along with progress. The new world view brought about by the scientific revolution brought people to believe that the same principles could be used to ascertain all aspects of life. Enlightenment thinkers believed if they could define the laws of human existence they could better their societies and therefore better the people. People began to question the unquestioned beliefs basedShow MoreRelatedThe Scientific Revolution1531 Words   |  6 PagesIn the book â€Å" The Scientific Revolution: A Very Short Introduction†, Lawrence Principe discusses the general occurring events of the scientific revolution, and overviews various in-depth details in relation to those events. People at the time highly focused on the meanings and causes of their surrounds, as their motive was to â€Å"control, improve and exploi t† (Principe 2) the world. In his work, Principe has successfully supported the notion that the Scientific Revolution stood as a period in time whereRead MoreScientific Discoveries Of The Scientific Revolution1548 Words   |  7 PagesScientific Revolution The Scientific Revolution refers to a time in history when developments in the sciences took off and changed the view of society regarding the earth and nature. Some of the relevant topics of this time were mathematics, astronomy, biology, physics and chemistry. Typically, the scientific revolution is considered the time in Europe starting around the end of the Renaissance period and lasting through the late 18th century. Between 1543 and 1700, Europe underwent many changesRead More The Scientific Revolution Essay1129 Words   |  5 Pages During the Scientific Revolution scientists such as Galileo, Copernicus, Descartes and Bacon wrestled with questions about God, human aptitude, and the possibilities of understanding the world. Eventually, the implications of the new scientific findings began to affect the way people thought and behaved throughout Europe. Society began to question the authority of traditional knowledge about the universe. This in turn, allowed them to question traditional views of the state and social order. NoRead MoreThe Scientific Revolution And Enlightenment1267 Words   |  6 PagesThe Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment, which spanned from the late 1500’s to 1700’s, shaped today’s modern world through disregarding past information and seeking answers on their own through the scientific method and other techniques created during the Enlightenment. Newton’s ‘Philsophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica’ and Diderot’s Encyclopedia were both comp osed of characteristics that developed this time period through the desire to understand all life, humans are capable of understandingRead MoreEssay on The Scientific Revolution1263 Words   |  6 Pagesadvances. The Scientific Revolution began with a spark of inspiration that spread a wild fire of ideas through Europe and America. The new radical ideas affected everything that had been established and proven through religious views. The scientific revolution was more radical and innovative than any of the political revolutions of the seventeenth century.1 All of the advances that were made during this revolutionary time can be attributed to the founders of the Scientific Revolution. The revolutionRead MoreThe Scientific Revolution And The Enlightenment1528 Words   |  7 Pagessecularism to better themselves and understand the universe. As the sciences became more popular, skepticism about religious grew. A significant root of the Enlightenment was the Scientific Revolution (1500-1700) which pressed the use of reasoning, inquiry, and scientific method in order to arrive that the truth. The scientific revolution was an attempt to better understand our world through the use of reason and logic. It was characterized by numerous achievement including the shift from a geocentric (Earth-centered)Read MoreEssay on The Scientific Revolution1344 Words   |  6 PagesIn the centuries preceding the Scientific Revolution people attempted to understand natural phenomena through the lenses of doctrine and philosophical speculation. Scientists were content with to rely on a synthesis of Aristotelian framework and dogma in attempt to describe the world. During the Scientific Revolution scientists began to embrace empiricism as a way to better understand the intricacies of nature. Unlike today scientists during the Scientific Revolution didn’t see a dichotomy betweenRead MoreThe Scientific Revolution and Its Impact1291 Words   |  5 Pages Throughout the Scientific Revolution, scientists and natural philosophers created a new scientific world by questioning popular ideas and constructing original models. During the 1500s and 1600s, the concept of individualism, the principle of being independent and self-reliant, began to be applied to one’s life. People began to have individual thoughts and started to disagree with commonly believed ideas promoted by the Church. As this way of thinking expanded throughout Europe, scientists lookedRead MoreThe Scientific Revolution Essay1165 Words   |  5 PagesThe Scientific Revolution When comparing the views presented by both Aristotle and Copernicus, one must consider the circumstances under which these men lived to understand the differences. The most obvious of these is the time in history. Aristotle came almost 2000 years earlier in the astronomy field. While Copernicus had set out to glorify the great religion of his time, Aristotles views came 200 years before Christ was even born! Although the book gives the impression nothing of significanceRead MoreThe Scientific Revolution Of The Human History Essay1102 Words   |  5 Pages Scientific Revolution: An Important Event in the Human History The moments when I write these words are history, so we could say history deals with the past. However, the past has not passed completely. The future will also be history. History is a very dynamic notion and concept. What is history is really hard to define. Change is central to history. Yet, history is not only about details. There are certain things that demonstrate true history. These events have varied in time and space. Among