MODULE 1 [SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY]

UNDERSTANDING SCIENCE AND THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION

Time Frame: 1 hour and 30 minutes

I. Introduction

This module discusses the concept of science and provides a short background of the
development of scientific ideas. It articulates means by which the society is changed by science and
technology. This module starts with the characterization of science and your understanding of the
scientific revolution.

II. Module Learning Outcomes:

In this module, the student will be able to:

1. discuss the concept of science;

2. explain the concept of scientific revolution; and

3. distinguish between the different key figures of the scientific revolution and their achievements
in mathematics and physics.

III. Discussion:

The scientific revolution was the emergence of modern science during the early modern
period, when developments in mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology (including human
anatomy), and chemistry transformed societal views about nature. The scientific revolution began in
Europe toward the end of the Renaissance period, and continued through the late 18th century,
influencing the intellectual social movement known as the Enlightenment. While its dates are
disputed, the publication in 1543 of Nicolaus Copernicus ‘s De revolutionibus orbium coelestium
(On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) is often cited as marking the beginning of the
scientific revolution.

The scientific revolution was built upon the foundation of ancient Greek learning and science in the
Middle Ages, as it had been elaborated and further developed by Roman/Byzantine science and
medieval Islamic science. The Aristotelian tradition was still an important intellectual framework in
the 17th century, although by that time natural philosophers had moved away from much of it. Key
scientific ideas dating back to classical antiquity had changed drastically over the years, and in
many cases been discredited. The ideas that remained (for example, Aristotle„s cosmology, which
placed the Earth at the center of a spherical hierarchic cosmos, or the Ptolemaic model of planetary
motion) were transformed fundamentally during the scientific revolution.

New Methods

Under the scientific method that was defined and applied in the 17th century, natural and
artificial circumstances were abandoned, and a research tradition of systematic experimentation
was slowly accepted throughout the scientific community. The philosophy of using an inductive
approach to nature (to abandon assumption and to attempt to simply observe with an open mind)
was in strict contrast with the earlier, Aristotelian approach of deduction, by which analysis of
 MODULE 1 [SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY]

known facts produced further understanding. In practice, many scientists and philosophers
believed that a healthy mix of both was needed—the willingness to both question assumptions, and
to interpret observations assumed to have some degree of validity. During the scientific revolution,
changing perceptions about the role of the scientist in respect to nature, the value of evidence,
experimental or observed, led towards a scientific methodology in which empiricism played a large,
but not absolute, role. The term British empiricism came into use to describe philosophical
differences perceived between two of its founders—Francis Bacon, described as empiricist, and
René Descartes, who was described as a rationalist. Bacon‟s works established and popularized
inductive methodologies for scientific inquiry, often called the Baconian method, or sometimes
simply the scientific method. His demand for a planned procedure of investigating all things natural
marked a new turn in the rhetorical and theoretical framework for science, much of which still
surrounds conceptions of proper methodology today. Correspondingly, Descartes distinguished
between the knowledge that could be attained by reason alone (rationalist approach), as, for
example, in mathematics, and the knowledge that required experience of the world, as in physics.
Thomas Hobbes, George Berkeley, and David Hume were the primary exponents of empiricism,
and developed a sophisticated empirical tradition as the basis of human knowledge. The recognized
founder of the approach was John Locke, who proposed in An Essay Concerning Human
Understanding (1689) that the only true knowledge that could be accessible to the human mind was
that which was based on experience.

New Ideas

Many new ideas contributed to what is called the scientific revolution. Some of them
were revolutions in their own fields. These include:

 The heliocentric model that involved the radical displacement of the earth to an orbit around
the sun (as opposed to being seen as the center of the universe). Copernicus‟ 1543 work on
the heliocentric model of the solar system tried to demonstrate that the sun was the center of
the universe. The discoveries of Johannes Kepler and Galileo gave the theory credibility and
the work culminated in Isaac Newton‟s Principia, which formulated the laws of motion and
universal gravitation that dominated scientists‟ view of the physical universe for the next
three centuries.

 Studying human anatomy based upon the dissection of human corpses, rather than the
animal dissections, as practiced for centuries.

 Discovering and studying magnetism and electricity, and thus, electric properties of various
materials.

 Modernization of disciplines (making them more as what they are today), including dentistry,
physiology, chemistry, or optics.

 Invention of tools that deepened the understating of sciences, including mechanical

calculator, steam digester (the forerunner of the steam engine), refracting and reflecting
telescopes, vacuum pump, or mercury barometer.
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The Shannon Portrait of the Hon. Robert Boyle

F. R. S. (1627-1691): Robert Boyle (1627-1691),
an Irish-born English scientist, was an early
supporter of the scientific method and founder of
modern chemistry. Boyle is known for his
pioneering experiments on the physical properties
of gases, his authorship of the Sceptical Chymist,
his role in creating the Royal Society of London,
and his philanthropy in the American colonies.

The Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment

The scientific revolution laid the foundations for the Age of Enlightenment, which centered
on reason as the primary source of authority and legitimacy, and emphasized the importance of the
scientific method. By the 18th century, when the Enlightenment flourished, scientific authority
began to displace religious authority, and disciplines until then seen as legitimately scientific (e.g.,
alchemy and astrology) lost scientific credibility.

Science came to play a leading role in Enlightenment discourse and thought. Many Enlightenment
writers and thinkers had backgrounds in the sciences, and associated scientific advancement with
the overthrow of religion and traditional authority in favor of the development of free speech and
thought. Broadly speaking, Enlightenment science greatly valued empiricism and rational thought,
and was embedded with the Enlightenment ideal of advancement and progress. At the time, science
was dominated by scientific societies and academies, which had largely replaced universities as
centers of scientific research and development. Societies and academies were also the backbone of
the maturation of the scientific profession. Another important development was the popularization
of science among an increasingly literate population. The century saw significant advancements in
the practice of medicine, mathematics, and physics; the development of biological taxonomy; a new
understanding of magnetism and electricity; and the maturation of chemistry as a discipline, which
established the foundations of modern chemistry.
 MODULE 1 [SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY]

Isaac Newton’s Principia, developed the first

set of unified scientific laws.

Newton’s Principia formulated the laws of motion

and universal gravitation, which dominated
scientists‟ view of the physical universe for the
next three centuries. By deriving Kepler’s laws of
planetary motion from his mathematical
description of gravity, and then using the same
principles to account for the trajectories of
comets, the tides, the precession of the equinoxes,
and other phenomena, Newton removed the last
doubts about the validity of the heliocentric model
of the cosmos. This work also demonstrated that
the motion of objects on Earth and of celestial
bodies could be described by the same principles.
His laws of motion were to be the solid foundation
of mechanics.

Key Points

 The philosophy of using an inductive approach to nature was in strict contrast with the
earlier, Aristotelian approach of deduction, by which analysis of known facts produced
further understanding. In practice, scientists believed that a healthy mix of both was
needed—the willingness to question assumptions, yet also to interpret observations assumed
to have some degree of validity. That principle was particularly true for mathematics and
physics.

 In the 16th and 17th centuries, European scientists began increasingly applying quantitative
measurements to the measurement of physical phenomena on the earth.

 The Copernican Revolution, or the paradigm shift from the Ptolemaic model of the heavens to
the heliocentric model with the sun at the center of the solar system, began with the
publication of Copernicus‟s De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, and ended with Newton‟s
work over a century later.

 Galileo showed a remarkably modern appreciation for the proper relationship between
mathematics, theoretical physics, and experimental physics. His contributions to
observational astronomy include the telescopic confirmation of the phases of Venus, the
discovery of the four largest satellites of Jupiter, and the observation and analysis of
sunspots.
 MODULE 1 [SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY]

 Newton‟s Principia formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation, which dominated
scientists‟ view of the physical universe for the next three centuries. He removed the last
doubts about the validity of the heliocentric model of the solar system.

 The electrical science developed rapidly following the first discoveries of William Gilbert.

Key Terms

 scientific method: A body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new

knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge that apply empirical or
measurable evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning. It has characterized natural
science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and
experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.
 Copernican Revolution: The paradigm shift from the Ptolemaic model of the heavens, which
described the cosmos as having Earth stationary at the center of the universe, to the
heliocentric model with the sun at the center of the solar system. Beginning with the
publication of Nicolaus Copernicus‟s De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, contributions to
the “revolution” continued, until finally ending with Isaac Newton‟s work over a century later.
 scientific revolution: The emergence of modern science during the early modern period,
when developments in mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology (including human anatomy),
and chemistry transformed societal views about nature. It began in Europe towards the end of
the Renaissance period, and continued through the late 18th century, influencing the
intellectual social movement known as the Enlightenment.

Mathematization

To the extent that medieval natural philosophers used mathematical problems, they
limited social studies to theoretical analyses of local speed and other aspects of life. The actual
measurement of a physical quantity, and the comparison of that measurement to a value computed
on the basis of theory, was largely limited to the mathematical disciplines of astronomy and optics
in Europe. In the 16th and 17th centuries, European scientists began increasingly applying
quantitative measurements to the measurement of physical phenomena on Earth.

The Copernican Revolution

While the dates of the scientific revolution are disputed, the publication in 1543 of Nicolaus
Copernicus‟s De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) is
often cited as marking the beginning of the scientific revolution.

The book proposed a heliocentric system contrary to the widely accepted geocentric system of that
time. Tycho Brahe accepted Copernicus‟s model but reasserted geocentricity. However, Tycho
challenged the Aristotelian model when he observed a comet that went through the region of the
planets. This region was said to only have uniform circular motion on solid spheres, which meant
that it would be impossible for a comet to enter into the area. Johannes Kepler followed Tycho and
developed the three laws of planetary motion. Kepler would not have been able to produce his laws
without the observations of Tycho, because they allowed Kepler to prove that planets traveled in
ellipses, and that the sun does not sit directly in the center of an orbit, but at a focus. Galileo
Galilei came after Kepler and developed his own telescope with enough magnification to allow him
to study Venus and discover that it has phases like a moon. The discovery of the phases of Venus
 MODULE 1 [SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY]

was one of the more influential reasons for the transition from geocentrism to heliocentrism. Isaac
Newton‟s Philosophies Naturalis Principia Mathematica concluded the Copernican Revolution. The
development of his laws of planetary motion and universal gravitation explained the presumed
motion related to the heavens by asserting a gravitational force of attraction between two objects.

Other Advancements in Physics and Mathematics

Galileo was one of the first modern thinkers to clearly state that the laws of nature are
mathematical. In broader terms, his work marked another step towards the eventual separation of
science from both philosophy and religion, a major development in human thought. Galileo showed
a remarkably modern appreciation for the proper relationship between mathematics, theoretical
physics, and experimental physics. He understood the parabola, both in terms of conic sections and
in terms of the ordinate (y) varying as the square of the abscissa (x). He further asserted that the
parabola was the theoretically ideal trajectory of a uniformly accelerated projectile in the absence of
friction and other disturbances.

Newton‟s Principia formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation, which dominated
scientists‟ view of the physical universe for the next three centuries. By deriving Kepler’s laws of
planetary motion from his mathematical description of gravity, and then using the same principles
to account for the trajectories of comets, the tides, the precession of the equinoxes, and other
phenomena, Newton removed the last doubts about the validity of the heliocentric model of the
cosmos. This work also demonstrated that the motion of objects on Earth, and of celestial bodies,
could be described by the same principles. His prediction that Earth should be shaped as an oblate
spheroid was later vindicated by other scientists. His laws of motion were to be the solid foundation
of mechanics; his law of universal gravitation combined terrestrial and celestial mechanics into one
great system that seemed to be able to describe the whole world in mathematical formulae. Newton
also developed the theory of gravitation. After the exchanges with Robert Hooke, English natural
philosopher, architect, and polymath, he worked out proof that the elliptical form of planetary orbits
would result from a centripetal force inversely proportional to the square of the radius vector.

Portrait of Galileo Galilei by Giusto Sustermans, 1636

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) improved the telescope, with

which he made several important astronomical
discoveries, including the four largest moons of Jupiter,
the phases of Venus, and the rings of Saturn, and made
detailed observations of sunspots. He developed the laws
for falling bodies based on pioneering quantitative
experiments, which he analyzed mathematically.
 MODULE 1 [SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY]

Dr. William Gilbert, in De Magnete, invented the New Latin word electricus from ἤλεκτρον
(elektron), the Greek word for “amber.” Gilbert undertook a number of careful electrical
experiments, in the course of which he discovered that many substances were capable of
manifesting electrical properties. He also discovered that a heated body lost its electricity, and that
moisture prevented the electrification of all bodies, due to the now well-known fact that moisture
impaired the insulation of such bodies. He also noticed that electrified substances attracted all
other substances indiscriminately, whereas a magnet only attracted iron. The many discoveries of
this nature earned for Gilbert the title of “founder of the electrical science.”

Robert Boyle also worked frequently at the new science of electricity, and added several substances
to Gilbert‟s list of electrics. In 1675, he stated that electric attraction and repulsion can act across a
vacuum. One of his important discoveries was that electrified bodies in a vacuum would attract
light substances, this indicating that the electrical effect did not depend upon the air as a medium.
He also added resin to the then known list of electrics. By the end of the 17th Century, researchers
had developed practical means of generating electricity by friction with an electrostatic generator,
but the development of electrostatic machines did not begin in earnest until the 18th century, when
they became fundamental instruments in the studies about the new science of electricity. The first
usage of the word electricity is ascribed to Thomas Browne in 1646 work. In 1729, Stephen Gray
demonstrated that electricity could be “transmitted” through metal filaments.

References:

http://users.clas.ufl.edu/ufhatch/pages/03-sci-rev/sci-rev-teaching/03sr-definition-
concept.htm

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/the-scientific-
revolution/#:~:text=The%20scientific%20revolution%20was%20the,transformed%20societal
%20views%20about%20nature.&text=Science%20came%20to%20play%20a%20leading%20r
ole%20in%20Enlightenment%20discourse%20and%20thought.