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Scientific Revolution

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Developments in Europe

Scientific Introduction
At the end of the sixteenth century, there

Revolution was a consistent trend of questioning the

realities that were propounded by the

religion of Christianity itself, as also the

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reality and relevance of religion as a whole

sh
(questions from within) that led to a trend of

questioning natural phenomenon that was

Jo seen as magic, miracles or the acts of God.

These included the nature of the solar

system and the planetary movement as well

na
as the phenomenon of gravity and the

properties of solids liquids and gases.

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However, this revolution took the slow form

of an evolution, where the nature and pattern

Ap

of questioning developed in a slow form,

based on the approach of the individual

scientist.

Therefore, the scientific revolution can be

seen to have three distinct phases according

to Historian JD Bernal, in the first phase, the

This Article is a moral and intellectual assertion of the Author, no part of it can be reproduced without
her express permission.

medieval Geocentric view was propounded

by Nicholas Copernicus and gained traction Causes

as being closest to that assumed in the Bible. The earliest historians in the 17th and 18th

centuries saw the scientific revolution as a

He was however challenged in the
return to classical antiquity and they used
photo-centric second phase, where Galileo
the findings of Ptolemy and Aristotle to
questioned Copernicus and challenged him

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claim that ‘modern’ scientists were

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stating that the Earth revolved around the
rediscovering the forgotten past.
sun and not the other way around.

To Galen, the findings of Hippocrates were

In the third and final phase of the scientific

revolution, scientific societies and the

‘scientific method’ were created that gave a

methodical character to
Jo
scientific
now substantiated by the experiments

conducted by Galen to discuss the concept

of blood flow in the body. Another cause of

na
the scientific revolution can be the
discoveries.
increasing interest in medieval magic that
However, these three phases also had
ar

was rediscovered in terms of ‘Alchemy’ and

individual causes of development and
studied academically. To AC Crombie and
advancement which were linked to classical
M Clagett, the successes of Galileo and
Ap

antiquity.
other early scientists were held in the

Aristotelian and Ptolemaic principles of

antiquity.

The scholastic and teleological emphasis lay

on the theory that science was an extension

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her express permission.

of alchemy, therefore, it was treated with argues that science also emphasised the

suspicion by the Church and other religious principles of hard work and dedication

institutions. Charles Webster, however, similar to religion. Lastly, he argues that

differs with the religious view of the there was a link between religion, political

Scientific Revolution in favor of a study doctrine and scientific temper as God’s

devoid of class, religion, and political views involvement would also lead to scientific

i
sh
placed in the ambit of greater benefit. experimentation.

In the context of the reformation, it is often In his arguments, SF Mason ascribes

argued that the rise of Protestantism gave multiple factors to the growth and

scientific temper to religion.

This scientific temper was

strengthened by Calvinism. To Max Weber

further
Jo development of the scientific method. He

states that new challenges in the field of

navigation and industry that were

na
and sociologist Robert K Merton, Calvinism instrumental in the spread of Protestant

specifically and Protestantism as a whole doctrines, and the spread of appeal of

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provided the basis for experimental science. science were therefore linked to mercantile

Merton builds on this primary argument successes.

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with the contention that Puritanism in He laid emphasis on the term ‘good work’

England gave rise to the scientific that was the basis of the protestant Doctrine

revolution. and the scientific revolution. They also

promoted individual discovery and the

The argument is threefold, firstly,

Protestantism argues in favor of scientific importance of the ‘self’ rather than the

temper and experiments. Secondly, he community.

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her express permission.

movement that swept throughout Europe

This view of connecting Mercantilist

principles, religion, and the rise of Science and then draws parallels with the patronage

was initially developed by Marxist to mathematics rather than the crafts in order

understanding in the 19th-20th century. to advance the cause of the scientific temper

Freidrich Engels believed that science was and revolution.

an outcome of the social need of industries Christopher Hill argued that scientific

i
sh
and a rising web of interconnected markets development was an ordinary social

and triangular trade. happening that was impeded by Puritanism.

It was an intellectual movement that was the

Further, this argument was developed by AR

Hall, in his statement on the Scientific

revolution being an outcome of social and

cultural attainments outside the semi-Feudal

Jo outcome of the English revolution. To Hill,

the intellectual basis of the scientific

revolution, therefore, was domination in the

na
society that was Europe. English Revolution.

On the Contrary, HF Kearney argues that He further elaborates on this point in the
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there was no direct connection between the English revolution being a conflict between

Scientific and commercial revolution, the Heliocrats of the Parliament and the
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however, does not completely rule out these Ptolemanists of the scientific societies. TK

connections. Kearney, therefore, places the Rabb, argues as opposed to Hill, he does not

Scientific revolution as merely a result of support the theory of the statistical

historical progression. Kearney further connection between puritanism and the

refutes the arguments placed by Christopher Scientific Revolution.

Hill as he views it as too narrow to place a

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her express permission.

Rabb further argues and is supported in his

view by Knappen, Curtis, Kuhn, and Cannot

Role of the Scientist
The Scientific Revolution can be said to
to suggest, however, that education led by
have unraveled in phases, historians and
Protestant Puritanism led to the development
scholars have derived two distinct phases,
of science. William Ashworth asserts that
the first one micro-cosmological
the development of science in Europe was

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discoveries, that were led by medical

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the outcome of rigorous inter-community
science, physiology, pharmacology,
interaction with the Jesuits and the Jews,
pathology, and other fields related to and
who propounded the Scientific method.

Further developing on this perspective, Toby

Huff presents the view that it was with a

long term and consistent interaction with the

Jo offshoots of Medical science.

Conrad Gesner is of the opinion that the

development of this branch of science aided

na
the rediscovery of the works of Hippocrates
‘orient’, huff points out that the Chinese and
and Galen, further they were advanced
Arab philosophies of questioning led to the
through the discovery of the circulatory
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systematic evolution of modern science in

system by Harvey.
Europe.
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It has been argued by Toby Huff, that

However, Boris Hessen links the scientific
Harvey however, took up the idea of the
revolution with the internal class struggle
circulatory system that was pre-existing in
and conflict that was an outcome of the
the Arabic medical system.
Industrial revolution.
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sun and lastly, the ration between the sun

Further, he contended that this was a notion

that had been studied by renaissance masters and various planets is constant irrespective

as a precursor to the Scientific Revolution. of its place on the orbit. This line of research

and understanding of astronomy and the

Other than this, the system of humor was
human body were supported by Tycho
given up according to which the human
Brahne and Robert Boyle.

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body was a balance of four bodily fluids an

sh
imbalance that caused illness or even death. Thomas Napier and Galileo Galilei, with the

use of logarithms in the study of science,

However, contrary to popular belief, the
joined the study and evolution of science
scientific revolution did not lead to a close

examination of infectious diseases. Further,

medical sciences moved outside the artists’

Jo and mathematics. Galileo in his studies

established, a link between Earth and

Planetary movements. He also developed an

na
studios and moved to homes and the labs of
understanding of the unique geography of
scientists. Nicholas Copernicus and Kepler
each planet.
explored astronomy and the earth-centered
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planetary system. Galileo pointed out the rate of fall of objects

and attempted to establish this to the weight

Kepler identified the system of heavenly
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in mass of the object. He was tried for

bodies and defined them in terms of
heresy as he questioned and criticized the
universal laws, in the first law, they moved
religious understanding of planetary
in an elliptical orbit rather than a circular
movements. In the second phase of the
one as identified by Copernicus, further, the
Scientific Revolution, the works of Isaac
Planets always lay in a straight line from the
Newton and Rene Descartes aimed to
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explain the scientific phenomenon on Earth

and the geological aspects of the Impact

composition of the planet. Isaac Newton in
Isaac Newton was educated at the University
his findings argued in favor of the laws of
of Cambridge, his work was patronized by
motion, the first law stated that in the
the Royal Scientific Society in its initial
absence of force, the motion continues in a

i
days was clandestine as it opposed the ideas

sh
straight line with uniform velocity.
and activities of the Church.
Secondly, the force acting on motion
Therefore, the first impact of the Scientific
determines the rate of change in momentum.

Lastly, each action has an equal and opposite

reaction.

He was the first to disguise between Mass

Jo Revolution was the development

specialized societies for the evolution of

Science and technological changes.

of
na
and weight, his work the Principia

Mathematica, has been hailed as the founder Further, another impact was the

development of Royal observatories and

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of modern science and mathematical

understanding. societies patronized by the crown that

facilitated scientific evolution and research,

Ap

To Rene Descartes, gravitation was an

this was backed by the development of
outcome of a predetermined mathematical
grants, scholarships, and a rise in the
and physical system. Scientists such as
education of the middle class.
Huygens, Wren, and Halley built on the

foundations laid by Newton and Descartes. The Scientific revolution also based itself on

the study of the scientific method.

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her express permission.

As Stuart Andrews puts it, Francis Bacon In conclusion, it can be argued that the

provided an empirical framework and scientific revolution was the true force

comprehensive outline for the study and behind the founding of modern science as a

evolution of all wisdom useful to human uniform discipline.

i
life. This principle followed a manner of
Bibliography

sh
absolute dualism and the assumption of the
The rise of Modern Science- Arvind Sinha
reality that was divine.
The Rise of the Modern West Meenaxi
He also propagated a line of clear reasoning

and questioning that along with the method

of true experimentation as described by

Jo Phukan

Early Modern Science- Toby Huff

na
Rene Descartes led to the development of The Age of Science and Revolution- Toby

the scientific or empirical method. Huff

Further, the findings of the scientific Puritanism and Revolution- Christopher Hill
ar

revolution aided the discovery of the The Struggle for Stability TK Rabb

prevention of infectious diseases and

The Scientific Revolution: A
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questioned the various phenomenon that was

Historiographical inquiry- H Floris Cohen.
seen as ‘divine’ or uncontrolled in the past.