The Scientific Revolution

The Scientific Revolution was the first breakthrough in the development of science. It influenced the traditional Old Regime of the 16th century which was based strongly on monarchical government composed of feudal nobility that were strongly tied to the Catholic Church, and its beliefs. Few people considered change or innovation during pre-revolutionary Europe. Most of society continued to believe in the religious ideologies and dogmas of the Church. However, brilliant minds started to question all manners of things, and it was their questioning that led to the Scientific Revolution.

The renaissance jump-started a more realistic approach; time to better explain the natural world through science. One of the earliest discoveries of the Scientific Revolution was by a Polish monk named Nicholas Copernicus. Being a renaissance astronomer who had challenged the Church's previous theories, he was the first person to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology, which disproved the Earth from the center of the universe; geocentricism. In 1543, he wrote "On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres". This work is regarded as the starting point of modern astronomy and the moment in time that began the Scientific Revolution. His heliocentric model, with the Sun at the center of the universe, demonstrated that the observed motions of celestial objects can be explained without putting Earth at rest in the center of the universe. His work stimulated further scientific investigations and influenced many later thinkers such as Galileo. He created a landmark in the history of science that is referred to as the Copernican Revolution. (Burle)

The father of the scientific method, Francis Bacon, was a significant thinker of the Scientific Revolution. Bacon was a philosophical thinker and practitioner of the scientific method and pioneer in the scientific revolution. He observed present reality, rather than analyze past works by taking an empirical approach through scientific experiments. His demand for a planned procedure of investigating all things natural marked a new turn in the theoretical framework for science, much of which still is the basis of proper methodology today. Bacon has been called the father of empiricism, a philosophy which states scientific knowledge is obtained by closely observing evidence. His dedication ultimately led to his death, he was killed by pneumonia while conducting an experiment. However, Francis' methodology greatly influenced the Scientific Revolution and the thinkers who would follow in his footsteps.(Farlex)

In the 17th century up to today, Galileo Galilei was and is seen as the "hero" of modern science. Galileo discovered and examined many things. With his telescope, he first saw the moons of Jupiter and the mountains on the Moon. Studying physical motion and acceleration, he determined the parabolic path of projectiles and calculated the law of free fall by dropping stones from towers and masts, playing with pendulum and clocks, and being the first real experimental scientist. He is known for supporting and making popular the Copernican system, which stated the Sun was the center of the universe, not the Earth. Most people during this time believed in the traditional geocentric system which was supported by the Church's dogmas and scripture. He released many written works on his theories, including Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, which was published in 1632. Shortly after, Galileo was ordered to go to Rome to be silenced by the Holy Office of the Inquisition. He was sentenced under house arrest by the Church as "vehemently suspect of heresy" and his books were banned from sale. Galileo died in 1642, but his heir, Isaac Newton was born, and would soon confirm all of Galileo's theories. (NASA)

Isaac Newton is the most influential thinker of all time. Newton tried to find out a way to corroborate on the ideas of Galileo and Johannes Kepler on how planets circle the sun. He made a link between the force that kept the moon from being thrown away from the earth and Earth's Gravitational force.

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