Scientific Revolution Reading Questions

Until the Scientific Revolution, Europeans relied on what combination for an understanding of motion and matter? Thinkers in the Scientific Revolution then brought what combination to their experimentation?

Combination of ideas from Greek philosophers (primarily Ptolemy) and theology), humans were at the center of the universe, during the scientific revolution it became a combination of math and other math driven fields.

Explain Aristotle’s distinction between the laws of motion in space and on earth.

Believed motion on earth is different than motion in space (newton’s ideas proved this to be wrong)

How and why did Aristotle’s and Ptolemy’s science fit neatly with Christian doctrines?

Idea that Hell is at the center of the Universe where humans are, and heaven was located beyond the planets therefore encouraging humans to transcend Earth.

Medieval philosophers acquired some independence from theologians and therefore some sense of ____ inquiry.

free

Bacon’s and Descartes’ philosophical contributions combined to form the basis of the modern _____ _____ method in the 17th century.

inductive (reasoning)

As part of his laws of planetary motion, Kepler theorized mathematically that the orbits of the planets around the sun take what shape?

Ellipse

What was the reaction of the Catholic Church to the conclusions of Galileo? What resulted from this controversy?

Catholic Church put him on trial for heresy and imprisoned him and forced Galileo to recant his conclusions (through threat of torture), Catholic Church became more hostile to science and helped account for the decline of science in Italy (but not catholic France: no inquisition in France). Protestant countries (Netherlands, Denmark, and England) became pro-science.

State Isaac Newton’s 3 laws of motion.

(Law of inertia) Objects remain at rest or in uniform motion unless acted on by an unbalanced force.

(F=ma) The force acting on an object is equal to the mass of the object times its acceleration.

(Action and Reaction) For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Because they are based on the principles of mathematics, what sciences were “revolutionized” in the Scientific Revolution?

Physics and astronomy

Although significant advancements will not come in biology and chemistry until the 19th century, list some of the 16th and 17th century contributors to advancements in biology and chemistry, along with some of their achievements.

Paracelsus (1493-1541): Swiss: experimented with medical chemicals and drugs

Andreas Vesalius (1516-1564): Flemish: dissected human bodies and did anatomical drawings

William Harvey (1578-1657): English: analyzed circulatory system and its parts and functions

Robert Boyle (1627-1691): Irish: pioneer in the field of chemistry (Boyle’s law)

List some of the ways in which the Scientific Revolution was sustained in the 17th century.

Government supported the Revolution by funding experiments and scientists and supporting social groups for science because it could give a technological advantage over an enemy in war. Social movement towards being scientifically driven and immersed