LESSON 2

INTELLECTUAL REVOLUTIONS THAT DEFINED SOCIETY

Intellectual revolution is the period where paradigm shifts occurred. It is where the
scientific beliefs that have been widely embraced and accepted by the people were challenged
and opposed. It is used to refer to Greek speculation about the “nature” in the period before
Socrates.
This lesson will give light to the development of science and scientific ideas in the heart
of the society. It is the goal of this lesson to articulate ways by which society is transformed by
science and technology.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to;
1. discuss how the ideas postulated by Copernicus, Darwin and Freud contributed to the spark
of scientific revolution.
2. articulate ways by which society is transformed by science and technology
3. analyze how scientific revolution is done in various parts of the world like in Latin America,
East Asia, Middle East, and Africa

What is intellectual revolution?

 Refer to Greek speculation about the ‘nature’ in the period before Socrates (roughly 600
to 400 BCE).
 o Pre-Socratic or non-theological or first philosophy – more on physics and logic
 Showed how society was transformed by science and technology.
SOME INTELLECTUALS AND THEIR REVOLUTIONARY IDEA

 There are many intellectuals who made essential contributions in science during the period of
scientific revolution that had shaken the world.
 It is important to examine the different individuals whose ideas have shaken and contested
the dominant theories and ideas during this period – the truths of their time.
 Scientists in al period are driven by their curiosity, critical thinking and creativity to explore
the physical and natural world. Their love for science is driven by their deep passion to know
and to discover.
 Scientists are not driven by glamor for honor and publicity.

1. Claudius Ptolemy

 Famous Greek philosopher and astronomer.

  Stated that the planets, the sun and the moon moved in a circular motion around
the earth – existence of days and nights.
 Geocentrism or Geocentric Model
i. A superseded description of the Universe with Earth at the center
ii. Under the geocentric model, the Sun, Moon, stars and planets all orbited
Earth

2. Nicolaus Copernicus

 One of the Renaissance men, particularly in the field of science, is Nicolaus

Copernicus.
 Knowledge about the nature of the universe had been essentially unchanged since
the great days of Ancient Greece, some 1,500 years before Copernicus came to
the scene.
 His ideas were an example of what is presently called as a thought experiment.
 Copernicus was strongly influenced by a book entitled Epitome published in 1496
by a German author, Johannes Mueller. This book contains Mueller’s observation
of the heaven and some commentary on earlier works especially that of Ptolemy.
 Copernicus’s idea and model of the universe was essentially complete in 1510.
Not long after that, he circulated a summary of his ideas to his few close friends
in a manuscript called Commentariolus (Little Commentary).
 Copernicus was a busy man. His duty as a canon and as a doctor affected his time
to formally publish his work and advance his career in astronomy.
 This caused the paradigm shift of how the earth and sun were placed in the
heavens/universe. It is the idea that rejected Ptolemaic model (earth is the center
 of the solar system) and proved the heliocentric model (sun is the center of the
solar system having the earth revolving around it.
 Heliocentrism or Heliocentric Model
i. The center of the solar system is not the Earth but the Sun.
ii. Started the birth of modern astronomy, scientific revolution, and
transformation of society’s thoughts and beliefs.

2. Charles Darwin

 Charles Darwin is famous for his theory of evolutions.

 He changed our concept of the world’s creation and its evolution. Johnson
described Darwin as a genius who came from a line of intellectually gifted and
wealthy family. He developed his interest in natural history during his time as a
student at Shrewsbury School. He would also spend time taking long walks to
observe his surroundings while collecting specimens and he pored over the books
in his father’s library.
 Darwin published his book The Origin of Species in 1589. this book is one of the
most important works in scientific literature
 His book The Descent of Man was so impressive yet very controversial.
 This has brought a great impact on how people approach biology forever. This
revolution provided a different belief that the” theory of Creation”.
 The Darwinian revolution started when Charles Darwin published his book “The
Origin of Species” that emphasizes that humans are the result of an evolution.
 Theory of Evolution
i. Populations pass through a process of natural selection in which only the
fittest would survive.
 ii. Organisms have the ability to adapt to their environment and would
gradually change into something that would be more competitive to
survive – evolution.

3. Sigmund Freud

 Freud is famous figure in the field of philosophy. Rosenfels also described him as a
towering literary figure and very talented communicator who did his share to raise the
consciousness of the civilized world in psychological matters. Freud also made a
significant contribution in the scientific world through the development of an
important observational method to gather reliable data to study human’s inner life.
Thus, method is popularly known as the method of psychoanalysis.
 For Freud, this method of psychoanalysis is a scientific way to study the human mind
and neurotic illness.

 This theory has started to revolutionize Psychiatry with Sigmund Freud. This
includes “The Freudian Theory of Personality” that involved the human development
contributes o his/her personality and also his “psychoanalysis” that is the process for
achieving proper functioning if a human does not complete his/her developmental
stage.
 Freud’s Theory
o Emphasized the influence of the unconscious mind on behavior.
o Freud believed that the human mind was composed of three conflicting
elements: the Id, the Ego, and the Superego.

CRADLES OF EARLY SCIENCE

 Development of Science in Mesopotamia
  Development of Science in Asia
 Development of Science in Middle East
 Development of Science in Africa

Information
This has been the era in which technology has been prevalent. It is also known as the
Computer Age that has brought so much change on how we live today.

MESO-AMERICAN
This includes the entire area of Central America from Southern Mexico up to the border
of South America.
It has contributed a lot of ideas and discoveries for
Archaeology. The temples and pyramids left a lot about
Architecture that leads us to study more of it. They incorporated
their advanced understanding of astronomy into their temples
and other religious structures.

ASIAN
Asia is the biggest continent in the world. It is considered as the home of many ancient
civilization.The host of many cultural, economic, scientific, and political activities of all age.The
revolution itself taught asian countries bout freedom and independent nationhood along the
improvement brought by it internally.

 India is known for manufacturing of iron and in metallurgical works.

 In the field ofmedicine,Ayurveda - a system of traditional medicine that originated in ancient
India before 2500 BC.
 SiddhantaShiromani- the interest in astronomy was evident in this book.
 Indus Valley Civilization - The people in this civilization tried to standardize measurement of
length to a high degree of accuracy and a designed ruler.
 China introduced acupuncture and traditional medicine,in terms of technology, Chinese are
known to develop many tools e.g. compass, papermaking, gunpowder and printing tools.
  In the field of astronomy, Chinese also made significant records on supernovas, lunar, solar
eclipse and comets.

MIDDLE EAST
Is dominantly occupied by Muslims. In the 7th and 8th century the Islams spread which is
the period of Muslim scholarship or what is called "the Golden Age of Islam" that lasted until
13th century. Their common language is Arabic which has access Greek texts from the
Byzantine Empire and being near to India that is contributory to the intellectualization of the
Muslims provided their scholars knowledge to create innovations and develop new ideas.
Muslims scientists placed greater value on science experiments rather than plain-through
experiment. This lead to the scientific method in the Muslim world.
A Muslim scientist named 'Ibn al-Haytham' is also regarded as the father of Optics,
especially for his empirical proof of the intromission theory of light.
In Mathematics, mathematician Muhammad Ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi gave his name to
the concept of the algorithm while the term algebra is derived from al-jabr.
Muslim chemist and alchemists also played an important role in foundation of modern
chemistry.

The revolutions in the Middle East were a product of the development and growth of
individual nationalism, imperialism, for the efforts to westernize and modernize Middle Eastern
societies, and to push the declining power of the Ottoman Empire in the Arab region.

AFRICAN
Africa is rich in natural and mimeral resources. Science also emerged in Africa long
before Europeans colonized it.
The ancient Egyptian civilization contributed immensely and made significant advances
in the field of astronomy, mathematics and medicine.
Egypt was known to be a center of alchemy, which is known as the medieval forerunner
of chemistry.
  Astronomy was also famous in the African region.
 Metallurgy was also known in the African regions during ancient times
 Mathematics also known to be prominent in the life of early people in the African
continent.

ASSESSMENT
Activity 1
Think about these questions: Discuss each briefly but concisely and send all your answers
through my email ad.
1. How can Darwin.s revolutionary theory influence the following fields in modern times:
 Economy
 Political Science
 Religion
2. If Freud is still alive, what do you think are the major changes he would make to his theory?
3. How do intellectual revolutions transform societies?
4. Considering the current state of our society, do you think science literacy among people has
contributed to the growth of our economy?
5. How can science influence government policies/
ACTIVITY 11

1. Form a small group.

 2. Review the history of science and make a timeline highlighting the major discoveries
and developments in science.

REFERENCES
 All About Science. (2018). Darwin's Theory of Evolution. Retrieved on September 20, 2020
fromhttps://www.darwins-theory-of-evolution.com/
 Mendoza, J. (2019). Intellectual Revolutions That Define Society: Middle East & Africa. Retrieved
on September 20, 2020 from https://prezi.com/p/zpalx8s4fyhu/intellectual-revolutions-that-
define-society-middle-east-african/
 PHL CHED Connect. (2020). Intellectual revolutions That Defined Society. Retrieved on
September 20, 2020 from https://phlconnect.ched.gov.ph/content/view/intellectual-
revolutions-that-defined-society
 Ravago, R. (2019). Intellectual Revolutions That Defined Society. Retrieved on September 20,
2020 from https://www.slideshare.net/rey_john_rey/intellectual-revolutions-that-defined-
society
 Serafica,J and Pawilen,G et al. Science, Technology and Society (First Eition). Rex
Publishing Compay,2018