The Scientific Revolution and Geocentric Theory

• University of Santo Tomas Junior High School A.Y. 2024-2025

The Scientific Revolution

• The Scientific Revolution began from the inspiration of the Renaissance

• This period opened people's eyes towards individualism and studying the classics

• It laid the foundation towards the Age of Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution

• This era established the beginnings of modern science

• It was during this time that the scientific method was first used, employing reason, observation, and experimentation for study

• The Scientific Revolution propelled the invention of modern technologies, which became the foundation of the world's modernization

• The advancement of knowledge wasn't easy, scientists were punished due to the power of the church

• Through research, some theories were proven wrong, such as Ptolemy's Geocentric Theory

The Geocentric Theory

• Claudius Ptolemy introduced the Geocentric Model
• This is the theory that believed Earth was the center of the universe, surrounded by other planets, the sun, and stars
• The church believed in and supported the Geocentric Model because the church believed that God designed the universe for mankind, therefore, the world is the center

The Heliocentric Theory

• Nicolaus Copernicus believed in the heliocentric model
• The heliocentric model theorized that the sun is at the center of the solar system, surrounded and orbited by the planets
• Polish astronomer Copernicus wrote "On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres"
• In this book, he explained that the sun is the center of the universe, and that the Earth is just a planet that orbits the sun

Well Known Scientists Who Brought a Modern Perspective

Galileo Galilei

• Galileo Galilei was an Italian who reinforced Copernicus' theory by improving the design of the telescope in 1610
• Because Galileo was supportive of Copernicus' heliocentric theory, Galileo was charged with inquisition
• He was accused of being a heretic and was sentenced to life imprisonment in his home
• To avoid death, he was forced to go against what he had proclaimed
• Galileo's trial caused fear among scientists, causing them to hide their knowledge from the church and the public
• In 1992, the church reversed their decision and belief

Tycho Brahe

• Tycho Brahe from Denmark and Johannes Kepler from Germany were scientists who supported Copernicus' theory
• Brahe recorded over 1000 stars in a catalog and proved that comets are a representation of change in space.

Johannes Kepler

• Kepler was Brahe's assistant who used Brahe's data on the orbit of the planets around the sun
• He discovered the elliptical direction of the orbit of the planets around the sun, rather than a circular one
• Man-made satellites follow Kepler's discoveries

Isaac Newton

• Newton was an excellent mathematician and used it to prove gravity
• According to him, gravity is a force that sustains the planets in their orbit around the sun
• Without gravity, planets would travel in a straight line
• Newton proposed the 3 Laws of Motion
  • A body at rest stays at rest
  • Acceleration is caused by force
  • For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Francis Bacon

• Bacon was an English philosopher known as the Father of the Scientific Method
• Truth can only be known at the end of the investigative process
• He also proposed the inductive method
• The inductive method can be used to obtain the answer to a question using inductive reasoning or after particular observation and experimentation to test a hypothesis or educated guess.

Rene Descartes

• Descartes was a French scientist, mathematician, and philosopher
• He was called the Father of "Analytical Geometry" and Father of Modern Rationalism
• Modern rationalism believes that reason is the source of truth
• Similar to Bacon, he believed that the truth can be found only after a long investigative process
• He also believed in the Deductive Method to achieve truth

Andreas Vesalius

• Vesalius authored "On the Structure of the Body" and was called the Father of Modern Anatomy
• He was the first person to accurately describe the detailed human body and created public autopsies through anatomical theaters
• He was a professor of surgery at the University of Padua
• There, he wrote what he observed from dissections

William Harvey

• Harvey authored "On the Motion of the Heart and Blood"
• Here, he described the circulation of blood, how blood flows inside the human body
• He demonstrated in his study that the heart is the first point of blood circulation that serves as a pump to force blood towards the root

Anton van Leeuwenhoek

• Leeuwenhoek was a Dutch inventor who improved the design of the microscope
• He was also the first scientist to see microorganisms and cells

Effects of the Scientific Revolution:

• There are now schools supporting the sciences (Academy of Royal Sciences)
• This paved the way for the modern scientific method
• Answers can now be found using reason, observation, and experimentation
• Inventions such as the telescope and microscope, improved medicine
• The community of scientists supporting each other grew
• The Scientific Revolution paved the way for the Age of Enlightenment

Path to Enlightenment

• The influence of science rose and spread
• People recognized great works and famous people because they were translated into different languages in Europe
• The theories of Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton became famous

Doubt in the Church

• Due to scientific discoveries, many questioned the old beliefs of the church

The Age of Enlightenment

• The Enlightenment occurred in the 18th century
• This period philosophical changes originated from the inspiration of the Scientific Revolution
• Philosophers suggested using reason to answer political and economic problems
• Suggesting to create laws, guiding the government, and creating change
• French philosophers became famous at this time and questioned absolutism and Divine Right.

Jean-Jacques Rosseau

• In his book, "The Social Contract," he explained how society can be improved
• He improved it through equality and by ensuring everyone has the right to be free and live
• He served as an inspiration to the French revolutionaries or the poor who suffered under the king
• He believed that the government should promote the rights for all.
• The Social Contract is a type of agreement between the people and the government, in which both have an important role to play and responsibility towards each other
• Rosseau believed that the government is responsible for providing order and protection to the people of society

Thomas Hobbes

• Hobbes believed that people are inherently evil and selfish and should enter into a social contract to give the government the responsibility of giving order to society
• He believed in the absolute power of a leader to maintain order and peace

John Locke

• Locke believed that all people have rights from birth (natural rights)
• He is the author of Two Treatises of Government
• Here, he explained that people created the government for order and to protect the rights of the people
• The government should be overthrown if they don't do this
• He believed that people are born as tabula rasa

The Natural rights

• The right to:

  • religious worship
  • speech
  • press
  • assembly
  • property
  • the pursuit of happiness

• The Natural Rights were the basis of the American Declaration of Independence

Inspiration for Revolutions

• These natural rights inspired the American, French and Latin American Revolutions

Baron de Montesquieu

• Montesquieu believed in the separation of government powers into three branches, the legislative, executive, and judicial powers
• Believing this would better protect the rights of the people
• He is the author of "The Spirit of the Laws"

Voltaire

• Voltaire was a French philosopher who became an active critic of the church and government
• He strongly supported freedom of speech, thought, and religion
• He believed that the government should fight corruption and advocate for the equality of all
• Also, that the church should be separated from the state
• He used satire to show the errors of the government and the church

Denis Diderot

• Diderot was a philosopher who improved "The Encyclopedia"
• The "Encyclopedia" is a collection of articles from philosophers and scientists
• That covered almost all subjects, to serve as a guide to people's thinking

Adam Smith

• Smith wanted to abolish government interference in the movement of the country's economy or laissez-faire (hands off) economics
• He believed in a capitalist system
• That capitalism operated, where the laws of supply and demand would dictate the price of goods

Mary Woolstonecraft

• Woolstonecraft became known for writing works for women's rights
• She argued that women also have the ability to be rational
• Therefore, women should also be given the right to vote and be elected to government positions
• She wrote the book, "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman"

The Enlightened Despots

• They gave great changes in their leadership and prioritized the welfare and rights of their constituents
• These leaders remained in their positions only as leaders and not as believers in divine right
• They gave equal treatment to other religions, changed institutions, and ruled as absolute rulers supported by philosophers

Frederick II of Prussia

• "First servant of the state"
• He served as Emperor of Prussia in the Northern Germanic Lands
• He granted people the freedom to choose their religion
• Torture as punishment was abolished, and he modernized his military by giving positions to the middle class and the poor

Catherine the Great of Russia

• Catherine the Great had read the works of the Philosophers Voltaire and Diderot
• She believed in the ideas of the Enlightenment such as freedom and equality
• She modernized the military and government of Russia
• She tried to connect Russia with other parts of Europe through trade and diplomacy

Joseph II of Austria

• Joseph II was considered the most radical of the Enlightened Despots
• He traveled and pretended to want to see the root of the country's problems
• He promoted free press, religious freedom, and established the National Education System
• He created laws for the rights of all

Results of the Enlightenment

• The ideas of rights, equality, and freedom became a guide for the political leaders of the colonies in America to desire their own freedom through revolution to become a free republic
• It served as inspiration for other revolutions such as in Latin America
• The product was the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights that were based on the ideas of the Enlightenment
• The most famous contribution to the Enlightenment era was the creation of the Encyclopedia
• The Encyclopedia contained myriad information from complicated philosophy to how to create tools