A very brief presentation of the basic philosophical underpinnings and Astronomical findings of the Scientific Revolution.

1. Scientific Revolution
Science and Astronomy

2. A Slow Revolution
• From Copernicus to Newton is almost 150
years
• A few thousand European scholars
• Diverse opinions and intense debate
• Results not widely known until 18th century

3. Philosophical Revolution:
Epistemology
• Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
– Induction: reasoning from facts to general ideas,
– Limited to what is observable and measurable
– Concerned that scientific claims not infringe on religious truth
• Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
– Deduction: reasoning from principles to specifics
• "cogito, ergo sum"
– Also: Cartesian Dualism and Analytical Geometry
• Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677)
– Mechanistic Naturalism, Monism
– "best of all possible worlds"
– Stoic Ethics of Virtue and Equality, Secular State

4. Scientific Revolution consists of three crucial
elements:
• Abandonment of traditional ideas; Creation
of new categories based on evidence
• Development of Scientific Method and
standards of evidence
• Presentation and Publication of Results for
confirmation

5. Ptolemaic or geocentric universe
circular transparent crystal "spheres" (one per planet, sun, moon, stars)
beyond which lay Heaven

6. Making it work:
Epicycles

7. Copernicus: Heliocentric System
• Retained Circular Orbits and Epicycles, but simplified
• Emphasis on Fitting Data to Mathematical Models
• Publication

8. Brahe and Kepler
• Tycho "silver nose" Brahe rejected
Copernicus, argued for modified geocentric
system. Collected best naked-eye
astronomical data to date, including comet
observations.
• Johannes Kepler used Brahe's data to modify
Copernicus: elliptical orbits eliminated
epicycles.
• Kepler's Law: "the square of the period of
each planets revolution is proportional to the
cube of its mean distance from the sun."

9. Galileo!
• Telescopic observations: features of planets,
movement of the moons of Jupiter
• Physical experimentation: created concept of
inertia to explain astronomical movement
• Studied gravity and pendulum motion as well
• Published in Italian, not Latin
• Convicted of Heresy

10. Sir Isaac Newton
• Physics
– inertia, acceleration, action/reaction
– gravity: inverse square law
– Prismatic study of light
• Mathematics
– Calculus (simultaneously with Leibniz)
• Scientific Method
– Integration of Inductive and Deductive methods
• Religious

11. Ptolemaic system
--> Copernicus
--> Brahe
--> Kepler
--> Galileo
--> Newton
starting theory
--> math
--> observation
--> math
--> observation
--> math

12. • Background Picture: "Miyajima - Senjokaku Zodiac Spinner" by Jonathan
Dresner, http://www.flickr.com/photos/jondresner/
• Aristotelean and Galilean gif images from
http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/index.html