Scientists And Philosophers Of The Scientific Revolution example essay topic

It is with much hesitation one must call the era of Western scientific growth a revolution. By its very definition, a revolution implies massive political upheaval, occurring over a short period of time - a revolt, in short. In the case of the Scientific Revolution, however, the term does not exactly fit the definition. This revolution affected but a few people and happened over two to three centuries. The implications of Scientific Revolution, however, are far reaching.

It was during this time of religious uncertainty that the laity began to approach men of nature and science for their answers, rather than the traditional clergymen who had dominated European culture since the Middle Ages. Ultimately, the Scientific Revolution challenged the doctrines of medieval Scholasticism, and led to an empirical, rather than spiritual, approach to finding knowledge. The names synonymous with scientific innovation - Isaac Newton, Galileo Galilei, and William Harvey - provided new theories and laws to replace those b arrowed from antiquity by the scholars of the Catholic Church. Nevertheless, it is important to note the importance God still held during this time, for scientists and philosophers only meant to establish the Christian God as a rational entity governing a rational universe. In addition, the writings of Francis Bacon led to a practical use for science, encouraging the growth of innovation and experimentation for both industry and society. The Scientific Revolution can find its most broad reaching implications in the use of inductive reasoning.

The deductive approach encouraged by both Protestant and Catholic religions until the 16th and 17th centuries supported a totalitarian environment found throughout Europe at this time. A ruler of despot could find widespread support if they claimed their power to be endorsed by God. Inductive reasoning, however, forced many people to question those beliefs, and, in most cases, found such claims to be founded on unsold ground. The new objective and empirical view of the universe led to a more thorough outlook on nature, and, while not questioning the existence of God, restricted any such actions on a divine being's behalf to conform to the laws of nature.

Perhaps the best example of this new strained relationship between the church and the laity can be found in the field of astronomy, for no other field of science so clearly affected the cosmological order of the universe. It was the view of the Church that the heavens were arranged in an orderly fashion, the earth, because of its weight, was at the center, while the sun, moon, and planets orbited around it in regular, crystalline spheres. Although this view was originally proposed by the pagan philosopher Aristotle and further modified by the Egyptian astronomer Ptolemy, from who it earned its namesake, it very well conformed to medieval Christian doctrine, which viewed the human race and earth in general in high regard. This system obviously provided scientists and mathematicians with a rather clumsy rending of the universe, however, it was not until the Polish astronomer Nicolai Copernicus when it was significantly changed.

In his book entitled On the Revolution of Heavenly Spheres, published posthumously, Copernicus, in a very conservative matter, proposed the sun, not the earth, to be the center of the universe. His views, however, maintained the idea of perfect circular orbits and divine order in the universe. Several years later, German astronomer Johannes Kepler, using experimental data gathered by his anti-Copernican predecessor Tycho Brahe, found the orbits of the planets to be elliptical rather than circular. The Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei seemed to confirm these ideas when he found many complexities in the universe through the newly invented telescope, causing much controversy within the Catholic Church at the time. Although all of this scientific inquiry did little to impact most Europeans, it is symbolic in representing the waning influence the Church had on traditional European science and culture. The scientists and philosophers of the Scientific Revolution did not set out to disprove the existence of God, rather they attempted to portray Him as a rational being governing a rational universe bound by natural laws and mathematics.

Philosophers such as Rene Descartes and Blaise Pascal attempted to reconcile the inherit skepticism created by portraying God as a spiritual constant giving nature the order it seemed to require. Nevertheless, atheists, skeptics, and pantheist movements did arise as a result of the new scientific and objective outlook on nature and the apparent liberality it incurred, however, this was not the objective of most scientists, for they were, for the most part, very religious and devout individuals. In braking with tradition dating well back into the Middle Ages, the scientists and philosophers of the Scientific Revolution began examining the world with more secular intuitions for more secular answers. The scientific and doctrinal disagreements with the church demonstrated the continuing decline in power of the Catholic Church and the lessening affects Christianity had on Western culture.

Combined with the new followings of rationalism and mathematics, the worldly values of the Scientific Revolution redefined God as a more rational being; the philosophies of Thomas Bacon and Rene Descartes exemplified this. Moreover, empiricism's and rationalism portrayed matter outside the human mind as innate, and therefore presented a more objective view of nature. Hence, the Scientific Revolution can most clearly be marked by its search for a mathematical and rational basis for religion.