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Period: Jan 1, 1473 to
The Scientific Revolution
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Jan 1, 1543
The First Step
Nicolaus Copernicus had a theory that contradicted the teachings of the church, stating that the Earth orbited the sun, instead of the Earth being the center of everything. Most people challenged this idea, especially because it would require a complete re-write on everything that astronomers have ever known. -
Making Progress
Tycho Brahe supported Copernicus's findings by sitting in his observatory every night, recording data on the planets and their movements, and coming to the conclusion that we do orbit the sun. -
A new science emerges
A new process of science is created, and it's based on experimentation and observation. It required scientists to be extremely accurate with their data, and ventually, this became known as the Scientific Method. -
Kepler's Many Achievements
Kepler studied many obscure things, such as optics, and those studies allowed him to explain why eyeglasses worked, which allowed them to be improved upon, and thus allowed the lenses for telescopes to be developed. -
Carrying on the legacy
Tycho Brahe's assistant, Johannes Kepler, looked over Tycho's data after his death, and used it to figure out calculations for how all the planets move, and in what shape they move. -
Galileo's discoveries
After Galileo invented the telescope, he studied the planets with much more precision than anyone previously. He then studied the moons of Jupiter, and to his surprise, they orbited the planet exactly as Copernicus had said. -
The Trial
Galileo was brought before the Inquisition to be tried for his "heresies". Threatened by death, he withdrew his claims, and stated that the Earth is the center of the universe. Dispite this, he still continued his research. -
Galileo's Achievements
Galileo created many theories and discovered many important things such as how pendulums move relative to their size and string length, how the pitch of a musical instrument changes depending on the length of a string (And he figured out the equation that explains this), and how any object falls. -
Bringing home the Bacon
Francis Bacon greatly influenced the revolution. Francis and Descartes both didn't believe in Aristotle's assumptions, and also challenged the medieval universities that were around at the time. Francis believed that observations and experimentation were more important than any other form of education or deduction. -
John Locke's Idea
John Locke had a theory pertaining to human nature that contradicted some beliefs, but it also helped to form the constitution. John Locke believed that all people have at least some morality, and that every living being has indisputable rights that they are granted at birth. -
Here Comes Descartes
Yet another powerhouse when it comes to the revolution, Descartes believed that the human mind and it's ability to use reason and logic, instead of solid evidence and data, and his beliefs affected many people's thoughts at the time. -
Hobbes Thinks of A New Idea
Thomas Hobbes also had an idea that was key to the movement. Hobbes believed that humans were naturally evil, that they should never be trusted, and that if you didn't keep an eye on them, they would steal from you, or kill eachother. -
Newton comes into play
Isaac Newton studied the works of all the famous scientists, and created his own theories based upon what he had read. He also discovered gravity, and figured out that gravity is the force that holds planets together, and also what causes them to orbit around eachother. -
The Philosophes
The Philosophes were a group of thinkers who believed that the use of reason would reform government, law, and the society itself. Their ideals spread even beyond Europe. -
Newton becomes an author
After he was sure he perfected his theory, he wrote a book called "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy", where he explained the forces of gravity and other workings of the universe. -
Montesquieu Joins the Party
Montesquieu studied everything he possibly could on other cultures, and from what he had learned, he criticized other societies' governments, and praised Britain's limited monarchy, stating that it "protected them against tyranny by diving the various functions and powers of government amongst three separate branches" -
Voltaire Fights for Freedom
Voltaire fought for the right of free speech, by writing about corrupt officials, corrupt aristocrats, inequality, injustice, and superstition, slavery, and religious prejudice. His fighting for free speech helped with the movement of scientists being able to share their data and findings without being burned on a spike. -
Medical Advancements
Edward Jenner developed a vaccine against small pox, and Joseph Priestley and Antoine Lavoisier created the framework for how modern chemistry is conducted. -
Nothing is Impossible
Alexander Pope celebrated the human mind and our achievements with the poem "Wondrous Creature", which sparked the belief that nothing was out of the reach of the human mind, and we could overcome any obstacle. -
The Power of Reason
After the success of the Scientific Method, people discovered just how powerful human reason is. They then decided that if reason could describe how the phyisical world worked, that it could describe how the laws of nature worked.
