Page 378 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol IV

scientific revolution 1679

Most people learned about Newton’s ideas indirectly By the end of the eighteenth century the main physi-
by reading the books of the so-called popularizers of cal theories of the Scientific Revolution were spreading in
Newtonian physics. People have difficulty understanding countries such as Spain, Portugal, Brazil, and Greece as
Principia even today. The proofs of the various propos- conservatives abandoned their resistance to the new
als and theorems follow traditional geometrical method- worldview.
ology, providing the necessary reliability in the framework As a result of this transformation, during the last quar-
of his contemporary scientific community. ter of the eighteenth century two other revolutions took
Principia states the three basic laws of classical place in France. One was political, leading to publication
physics: the principle of inertia, the principle of action- of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citi-
reaction, and the second law of mechanics, according to zen in 1789, and one was scientific, transforming chem-
which acceleration is proportional to the force acting on istry from an alchemical practice into a real science.The
a body. French chemist Antoine Lavoisier (1743–1794), played
Furthermore, Newton defines the law of universal a role in both revolutions, being an opponent of the first
attraction and uses it to determine the orbits of the plan- and a leader of the second.
ets. In another book, Optics (1704), Newton presents his The Scientific Revolution was crucial for the develop-
ideas on light. This book is characterized by its persist- ment of what we call today “Western civilization.” Its
ence on experimental methodology. intellectual advances were the embodiment of humanity’s
The Dutch mathematician Christian Huygens (1629– quest to gain a coherent grasp of nature.
1695) and the German philosopher and mathematician
George N.Vlahakis
G.W. Leibniz (1646–1716) objected to many Newton-
ian propositions, but their objections did not diminish See also Enlightenment, The; Galileo Galilei; Newton,
the wider acceptance of Newton’s work. Isaac; Science-Overview; Scientific Instruments

Dissemination
Many historians feel that the Scientific Revolution was
Further Reading
not fully propagated until the eighteenth century. For
Cohen, F. H. (1994). The Scientific Revolution. Chicago: University of
example, that was when Dutch engineer Peter van Muss- Chicago Press.
chenbroek (1692–1761) and the Italian philosopher Field, J.V. (1993). Renaissance and revolution: Humanists, scholars, crafts-
men and natural philosophers in early modern Europe. Cambridge,
Francesco Algarotti (1712–1764) undertook the task of UK: Cambridge University Press.
making Newton’s work better known. Newton’s work Hall, R. H. (1989). The revolution in science 1500–1750. New York:
Longman.
connected closely with the Enlightenment, which was a
Jacob, M. (1988). The cultural meaning of the Scientific Revolution.
philosophic movement of the eighteenth century that was Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
marked by a rejection of traditional social, religious, and Jayawardene, S. A. (1996). The Scientific Revolution: An annotated bibli-
ography. New York: Garland.
political ideas and an emphasis on rationalism. Koyre, A. (1968). Metaphysics and measurement: Essays in the Scientific
Among others the French man of letters Bernard Revolution. London: Chapman & Hall.
Lindberg, D. C., & Westman, R. S. (1990). Reappraisals of the Scientific
Fontenelle (1657–1757) supported the idea that the
Revolution. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
new scientific method could be applied in politics, ethics, Osler, M. J. (2000). Rethinking the Scientific Revolution. Cambridge, UK:
and sociology and that it could be used to determine Cambridge University Press.
Porter, R., & Teich, M. (1992). The Scientific Revolution in national con-
human behavior in a rational way. text. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
In this setting Denis Diderot (1713–1784) and Jean Rosen, E. (1984). Copernicus and the Scientific Revolution. Malabar, FL:
Krieger.
le Rond d’Alembert (1717–1783) produced their
Shapin, S. (1996). The Scientific Revolution. Chicago: University of
famous French encyclopedia. Chicago Press.