To what extent were the scientific discoveries, inventions and formulations in the social, economic, political and intellectual realities of the 17th century Europe.
Introduction-The scientific revolution was the emergence of modern science during the early modern period, when developments in mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology, and chemistry transformed societal views about nature. The scientific revolution began in Europe toward the end of the Renaissance period, and continued through the late 18th century, influencing the intellectual social movement known as the Enlightenment. While its dates are disputed, the publication in 1543 of Nicolaus Copernicus ‘s De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) is often cited as marking the beginning of the scientific revolution. The term ¨Scientific Revolution¨ was first given wide significance through Herbert Butterfield´s series of lectures on "The Origins of Modern Science" delivered for the History of Science Committee in Cambridge in 1948. The Scientific Revolution is traditionally assumed to start with the Copernican Revolution (initiated in 1543) and to be complete in the "grand synthesis" of Isaac Newton's 1687 Principia. Much of the change of attitude came from Francis Bacon whose "confident and emphatic announcement" in the modern progress of science inspired the creation of scientific societies such as the Royal Society, and Galileo who championed Copernicus and developed the science of motion.
Science and Enlightenment- Science came to play a leading role in Enlightenment discourse and thought. Many Enlightenment writers and thinkers had backgrounds in the sciences, and associated scientific advancement with the overthrow of religion and traditional authority in favor of the development of free speech and thought. Broadly speaking, Enlightenment science greatly valued empiricism and rational thought, and was embedded with the Enlightenment ideal of advancement and progress. At the time, science was dominated by scientific societies and academies, which had largely replaced universities as centers of scientific research and development. Societies and academies were also the backbone of the maturation of the scientific profession. Another important development was the popularization of science among an increasingly literate population. The century saw significant advancements in the practice of medicine, mathematics, and physics; the development of biological taxonomy; a new understanding of magnetism and electricity; and the maturation of chemistry as a discipline, which established the foundations of modern chemistry.
Inventions- Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) published On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres in 1543, which advanced the heliocentric theory of cosmology. Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564) published De Humani Corporis Fabrica (On the Structure of the Human Body) (1543), which discredited Galen's views. He found that the circulation of blood resolved from pumping of the heart. He also assembled the first human skeleton from cutting open cadavers. The French mathematician François Viète (1540–1603) published In Artem Analycitem Isagoge (1591), which gave the first symbolic notation of parameters in literal algebra. William Gilbert (1544–1603) published On the Magnet and Magnetic Bodies, and on the Great Magnet the Earth in 1600, which laid the foundations of a theory of magnetism and electricity. Tycho Brahe (1546–1601) made extensive and more accurate naked eye observations of the planets in the late 16th century. These became the basic data for Kepler's studies. Sir Francis Bacon (1561–1626) published Novum Organum in 1620, which outlined a new system of logic based on the process of reduction, which he offered as an improvement over Aristotle's philosophical process of syllogism. This contributed to the development of what became known as the scientific method. Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) improved the telescope, with which he made several important astronomical observations, including the four largest moons of Jupiter (1610), the phases of Venus (1610 – proving Copernicus correct), the rings of Saturn (1610), and made detailed observations of sunspots. He developed the laws for falling bodies based on pioneering quantitative experiments which he analyzed mathematically. Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) published the first two of his three laws of planetary motion in 1609. William Harvey (1578–1657) demonstrated that blood circulates, using dissections and other experimental techniques. René Descartes (1596–1650) published his Discourse on the Method in 1637, which helped to establish the scientific method. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723) constructed powerful single lens microscopes and made extensive observations that he published around 1660, opening up the micro-world of biology. Christiaan Huygens (1629–1695) published major studies of mechanics (he was the first one to correctly formulate laws concerning centrifugal force and discovered the theory of the pendulum) and optics (being one of the most influential proponents of the wave theory of light). Isaac Newton (1643–1727) built upon the work of Kepler, Galileo and Huygens. He showed that an inverse square law for gravity explained the elliptical orbits of the planets, and advanced the law of universal gravitation. His development of infinitesimal calculus (along with Leibniz) opened up new applications of the methods of mathematics to science. Newton taught that scientific theory should be coupled with rigorous experimentation, which became the keystone of modern science.
Social context- There are alternative ning the origins of modern sciences. Scholars, who discount the relationship between social needs and the rise of science, include A.Koyre, Arthur Koestler, etc. A.Koyre gives credit to the unparalleled insights of individuals. He thought that scientific developments were more accidental and considered the Scientific Revolution as almost the personal creation of a single man- Galileo. marxist writers have provided social interpretation to explain the development of modern science. Boris Hessen links the scientific development to the needs of the bourgeois class. Marxist scholars argue that the rise of modern science should be seen in context to the contrmporary social change. Edgard Zilsel is one of the important contributors to the idea that modern science was the product of the changing society.
Economical context-Mathematics and astronomy were the branches of science that pushed forward the Scientific Revolution. The main reason for that was the economy. Trade was the principal source of income at the time and patrons were interested in obtaining new tools to ensure safer navigation and in having precise charts of the sky to read the stars. New navigational devices such as mariner's astrolabes, quadrants, compasses and nocturnals were designed and produced [Macpherson 1805]. To make observations and to record the exact position of the stars in the sky, astronomers used new and improved armillary spheres and celestial globes. The use of new tools to obtain exact observations reached its zenith with the invention of the telescope, improved by Galileo who, turning it to the skies, observed and described the Moon, the Sun, Jupiter and the Milky Way and whose optical mechanism was described by Kepler.
Political context- Another source of patronage during the 17th century were the princely courts. The courts provided support to the sciences, not only securing a livelihood for the natural philosopher, but giving him a forum where his ideas could be heard and discussed. Emperors and courtesans surrounded themselves with mathematicians, natural philosophers and, above all, astrologers that, knowing the position of stars and planets, would predict the outcome of battles, the fate of new-born children or the fortune of marriages. This was the case of the astronomer Tycho Brahe and the mathematician Johannes Kepler, both employed in the court of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, who used their knowledge of astrology to obtain the favour of the emperor so that they could pursue their true interest in obtaining precise astronomical observations and understanding the motion of the planets and their orbits.
Religious context- The natural philosophers of the 17th century aspired to grasp the laws of nature with the aim of understanding God's mind. They described their discoveries with a desire to glorify the Creator, placing their findings and deductions within the context of the religious systems and philosophical doctrines of the times. Similarly, philosophers had the need to follow the new system in science, to adapt their discourses to the new discoveries. It was different for the religious establishment; Christian authorities reacted to the new science rejecting its discoveries and accusing some natural philosophers of heresy. For centuries the Catholic Church had worked to 'Christianise' ancient philosophies, for instance to accept the teachings of Aristotle, Ptolemy and Galen, shaping them so that their writings were compatible with the Scriptures and could be read according to the doctrines of the Church. The new system of science and philosophy questioned the authority of these thinkers of the past, debated their ideas, and refused some of their claims. To some branches of the church, this challenge to the traditional science was taken as an attack on Christianity. Some orders applauded the new concepts in natural philosophy, admitted the benefits that experimentation provided, played with telescopes and other new inventions such microscopes and barometers, but worked hard to give an Aristotelian patina to the role of experience in natural philosophy. Many members of the Society of Jesus (usually called the Jesuits) pursued mathematical and scientific research and, although historically their teachings have been considered as obscurantist and conservative, putting a stick in the spokes of the new science, recent evidence based on an examination of the archives of the Order, have shown that several Jesuits made significant contributions to the scientific culture of the 17th century.
Impacts- The use of the Scientific Method resulted in discoveries in medicine, physics, and biology. The Enlightenment changed the way people lived as political and social scholars began to question the workings of society and government. Rene Descartes said that human reason was capable of discovering and explaining the laws of nature and man. Thomas Hobbes based his theories on government on his belief that man was basically greedy, selfish, and cruel. John Locke's theories were that all men have natural rights of life, liberty, and property. Baron de Montesquieu states that government should divide itself according to its powers, creating a judicial, legislative, and executive branch. Voltaire believed that freedom of speech was the best weapon against bad government. Jean Jacques Rousseau stated that people were basically good, and that society, and its unequal distribution of wealth, were the cause of most problems. People began to question religion and looked to math and science to explain the universe. Women became more involved with the new science. Scientific colleges were created. Christopher Hill elaborates his argument by citing the examples of Gresham College.
