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V. Scientific Revolution (Chapter 16)

A. Ptolemaic Universe

  • Before the scientific revolution, people believed that the Earth is in the center

  • As you go further and further away from Earth, things get more “perfect”

    • God/heaven/stars are the farthest away, the epitome of perfection

    • Earth is jagged and imperfect, moon looks smoother (because farther away)

  • Matched observations, experience, common sense

    • The ground isn’t moving, why would the Earth be moving?’

    • A result of echo chambers

    • Different views → allow ideas to be challenged → intellectualism

  • Ancients wrote about the Ptolemaic Universe, and Bible reinforced this belief

  • Problem: planets stopped, reversed, reversed again


    • Can’t explain it → just call it a loop-de-loop

    • “Oh it just happens”

  • Ancient scholars: assumed principles, constructed theories to fit it

    • Deductive reasoning

    • Reinforces ignorance

B. Observation and Reason

  • Copernicus comes up with radical heliocentric suggestion (1543)

    • Comes from Poland-Lithuania

    • Decentralized, allowed discussion of heterodox ideas

    • Refuted geocentric belief

    • Heliocentric = Earth centered, geocentric = sun centered

  • Galileo uses telescope observations challenged Ptolemy (sunspots, cratered Moon)

    • Suggests that everything beyond the Earth may not be so perfect

    • Church silenced him, but writings survived to be published posthumously

    • Comes from Italy, more centralized (Medici, Pope, etc.)

  • Kepler’s ellipticals answered the problem of the loop-de-loop

    • Ellipses = imperfection

    • Don’t know why they are elliptical

  • New: scientific method

    • Experiment a lot until all counterarguments are refuted

    • Contrary to deductive (make a decision, backfill evidence, confirmation bias)

    • Collect facts, observe, theorize

      • Continue to challenge your own thinking

      • Reduces confirmation bias

  • Theories: translated mathematically = nature is rational/predictable/perfect

    • Mathematics used to try to create a utopia

    • Understand it → become enlightened

  • God has created mathematics and natural law

    • Man just needs to understand it and crack the code

  • New observations → modified/discarded theories

  • Francis Bacon final step was experimentation/testing

C. Newton’s Revolution

  • Comes up with answer to the ellipticals: gravity

  • Invented calculus to predict & explain the universe

    • Not trying to refute God

    • Trying to find the orderly nature of the universe, and understand God

  • Principia’s implications: God’s universe ran on natural laws

    • Everything is unchanging, rational, and mathematical

    • Discovered it all via scientific method

    • “Age of anxiety”

  • Humans COULD discover God’s secrets (rational replaced mystery/superstition)

    • Harvey v. Galen (circulatory system)

  • Conservatives feared skepticism & atheism (Pascal, James VI/I)