Page 376 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol IV

scientific revolution 1677

Galileo—“The Sidereal
Messenger” (1610)

. . . [W]e have a notable and splendid argument
to remove the scruples of those who can toler- new ideas. Universities remained more conservative, con-
ate the revolution of the planets round the Sun tinuing to support Aristotelian philosophy.
in the Copernican system, yet are so disturbed During the Scientific Revolution thinkers also began to
by the motion of one Moon about the Earth, channel knowledge into rational systems. For example, in
while both accomplish an orbit of a year’s biology the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus (1707–
length about the Sun, that they consider that 1778) devised the Linnean classification system, which
this theory of the constitution of the universe catalogued all known living creatures into a system that
must be upset as impossible; for now we have defined their morphological (relating to form and struc-
not one planet only revolving about another, ture) relations. In chemistry a new system of under-
while both traverse a vast orbit only revolving standing chemicals and elements began when the English
about the Sun, but our sense of sight presents to scientists Henry Cavendish and Joseph Priestley discov-
us four satellites circling about Jupiter, like the ered gases during the latter half of the eighteenth century.
Moon about the Earth, while the whole system In medicine physicians began to understand that the
travels over a mighty orbit about the Sun in the body is a natural system that functions predictably, like a
space of twelve years. machine. Disease is simply the breaking down of the
machine.The science of pathology began, and physicians
began to see disease—and recovery from disease—as a
ful tools than purely philosophical arguments and there- rational process.
fore began to use mathematics and experiments.
Such a transition was not easy, its course not straight Copernicus
and smooth. Many times the scientists who played a The astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus boldly claimed
major role in the transition lost their enthusiasm, had that the Earth rotates on its axis daily and revolves
doubts, and balked. Isaac Newton, for example, had been around the sun (heliocentric) annually rather than being
passionately engaged in alchemy (a medieval chemical fixed in the center of the cosmos. Such a claim ran
science aiming to achieve the transmutation of base met- counter to tradition, to the authority of the ancients, and
als into gold), and the German astronomer Johannes to views of both colleges and churches.
Kepler (1571–1630) had to summon great inner Although relevant ideas had been expressed in antiq-
strength to transform his thinking from animism (a doc- uity, for example, by the Greek Pythagorean philosopher
trine that the vital principle of organic development is Philolaos (flourished 475 BCE) and the Greek astronomer
immaterial spirit) to what we call today “mechanistic” Aristarchus (320–250 BCE), Copernicus was the first to
thinking, which holds that natural processes are mechan- attempt to prove the mathematical foundations of the
ically determined and capable of explanation by laws of heliocentric system using geometry.
physics and chemistry. However, for several decades the theories of Coperni-
Furthermore, the Scientific Revolution was not an cus failed to solve some important astronomical prob-
achievement of just a few brilliant minds who conceived lems, such as the orbits of the planets and gravity.
and codified new theories and discoveries and made
them available to a wider and more receptive audience. Galileo
The academies and learned societies—such as the Royal The Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei (1564–1642)
Society of London (1692), the Academy of Sciences in was the first scientist to formulate the law of the free fall
Paris (1666), the St. Petersburg Academy (1729), and the of bodies. According to this law a body that falls from a
Royal Academy of Sciences in Denmark (1742)—played certain height without friction has constant acceleration,
a significant role as the institutions that legitimate such and the distance it covers is relevant to the square of the