Scientific Revolution & Emergence of a Scientific Community

These vocabulary flashcards cover the main people, institutions, concepts, and legacies of the Scientific Revolution as discussed in the lecture.

Scientific Revolution

17th-century transformation in understanding the natural world through observation, experimentation, and mathematics.

Scientific Community

International network of scholars sharing methods and findings to advance knowledge of nature.

Nicolaus Copernicus

Polish cleric who proposed the heliocentric model placing the sun at the center of the universe.

Tycho Brahe

Danish astronomer whose precise naked-eye observations of the heavens laid groundwork for later laws of planetary motion.

Johannes Kepler

German mathematician who formulated the three laws describing elliptical planetary orbits.

Galileo Galilei

Italian astronomer who used the telescope to support heliocentrism and pioneered experimental physics.

Sir Isaac Newton

English scientist who unified celestial and terrestrial mechanics with his laws of motion and universal gravitation.

Seven Liberal Arts

Medieval university curriculum of grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy.

Academic Society

Non-university institution where scholars met to exchange research; early engines of scientific collaboration.

Royal Society of London

English scientific academy founded in 1662 under royal patronage; issued the journal Philosophical Transactions.

Philosophical Transactions

First permanent scientific journal (1665) publishing peer research from the Royal Society.

French Academy of Sciences

Scientific body established in 1666 by Louis XIV to promote research in France.

Louis XIV "Sun King"

French monarch who styled himself after the sun, echoing heliocentrism; patron of science and arts.

Queen Christina of Sweden

17th-century monarch who invited thinkers like René Descartes to her court for intellectual exchange.

Frederick the Great

18th-century Prussian king who fostered Enlightenment learning and hosted leading scientists.

Mechanistic Universe

Newton’s view of the cosmos as a self-running machine governed by natural laws rather than divine intervention.

Laws of Motion

Newton’s three principles explaining the relationship between force, mass, and movement of objects.

Universal Gravitation

Newton’s theory that every mass attracts every other with a force proportional to mass and inversely to distance squared.

Deism

Belief that God created the universe, set it in motion, and no longer intervenes in its workings.

Royal Observatory, Greenwich

English astronomical center founded in 1675 to improve navigation and support scientific research.

Faustian Myth

Cultural motif of seeking hidden knowledge to gain power over nature, inspired by Faust legend.

Promethean Myth

Symbol of harnessing nature’s power for humanity, derived from Prometheus giving fire to mankind.

Giordano Bruno

Italian thinker and early supporter of an infinite universe; executed for heretical ideas, later seen as a martyr for science.

Alchemy

Pre-modern practice blending chemistry and magic, aiming to transform matter (e.g., base metals into gold).

Innovation (Scientific)

Value placed on continual creation of new methods, ideas, and technologies following the Scientific Revolution.

Separation of Science from Theology

Post-revolution movement to treat natural philosophy as distinct from religious and philosophical studies.

Paradigm Shift

Fundamental change in worldview resulting from the adoption of scientific methods and discoveries.

Enlightenment

18th-century intellectual movement applying scientific reasoning to society, politics, and human institutions.

Empiricism

Reliance on observation and experiment as sources of knowledge, championed by scientists like Newton.

Heliocentrism

Model positioning the sun at the center of the solar system, first widely advanced by Copernicus.