Scientific Revolution and European Renaissance

During the early modern period, the scientific revolution took place when developments in diversified subjects, including physics, mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, and biology, revolutionized societal views about nature. Defined and implemented in the 17th century, the Scientific Revolution emerged based on the research tradition emphasizing systematic experimentation. It gradually began to replace artificial concepts throughout the scientific community. During the scientific revolution, transformation related to the perceptions about the scientist role encircling nature, and the value of observed evidence, led to a scientific methodology. In this, empiricism played a pivotal role. Scientific methods empowered by empirical evidence played an important role in correcting and integrating the previous knowledge. 

Foundation of Scientific Revolution 

The scientific revolution started during the end of the Renaissance period in Europe and continued until the late 18th century. It also influenced the intellectual influencing social movement called the “Enlightenment”. Ancient Greek learning and the science prevalent during the Middle Ages served as the foundation for the Scientific Revolution. Many popular theories propounded by Aristotle and prominent philosophers were transformed drastically. During the 17th century, philosophers and scientists were able to collaborate and interact with members of the astronomical and mathematical communities to drive advancements in all fields. Academics had access to a legacy of diversified scientific philosophical fields, including Greek, European, and Middle Eastern. They leveraged the theories belonging to this legacy to further build advanced theorems or disapprove of a few to build correct theories. 

Major Contributors of Scientific Revolution 

Francis Bacon: Described as an empiricist, Francis Bacon propounded the Baconian method. His work established and popularized inductive methodologies related to scientific inquiry, sometimes known as simply the scientific method.

René Descartes: Described as a rationalist, Descartes differentiated between the knowledge obtained by the rationalist approach. 

Galileo Galilei: He discovered the principle of inertia that provided a rational view related to motion. Besides this, Galileo Galilei shunned the dogma of the Church again, suggesting that all movement in the universe is centred on Earth based on his observation related to Jupiter’s four largest moons.

William Gilbert: He discovered that the Earth has magnetic poles, and hence it acts like a huge magnet.

Andreas Vesalius: Writer of De humani corporis fabrica who prioritised dissection that became popular as an “anatomical” view of the body and laid the foundations related to the modern study of human anatomy.

William Harvey: He published De Motu Cordis, and he provided a detailed analysis related to the overall structure of the blood circulation and heart. 

Ambroise Paré: He pioneered battlefield medicines and surgical techniques. He is known as the father of modern forensic pathology and surgery. 

Herman Boerhaave: He is reckoned as the founder of clinical teaching. He is sometimes also known as “the father of physiology.”

Pierre Fauchard: As a French physician, he majorly contributed to dentistry science and is known as “the father of modern dentistry.”

Thomas Hobbes, David Hume and George Berkeley were the key exponents of empiricism. They developed a redefined empirical tradition as the foundation of human knowledge. 

Major revolutions of the Scientific Revolution

• The heliocentric model: Copernicus’ 1543 work based on the heliocentric model of the solar system demonstrated that it was the sun that acted as the centre of the universe. The discoveries of Galileo and Johannes Kepler further gave this theory credibility. The work culminated in the Principia of Isaac Newton creating the laws of universal gravitation and motion. For the next three centuries, these revolutionary theories dominated the view related to the physical universe. 
• Studying human anatomy by dissecting the human corpses instead of relying solely on the animal dissections practised since time immemorial. 
• Discovering electric properties related to various materials based on the studies of magnetism and electricity. 
• Modernization of disciplines encompassing physiology, dentistry, chemistry, and optics.
• Invention of diversified tools that played a pivotal role in gaining a deeper understanding related to sciences. They included a mechanical calculator, steam digester, reflecting and refracting telescopes, mercury barometer, vacuum pump, and beyond. 
• Mathematization: In the 16th and 17th centuries, scientists in Europe began applying quantitative measurements to the measurement related to the physical phenomena on Earth.
• The Copernican Revolution: The dates that marked the beginning of the scientific revolution are disputed. However, the publication of Nicolaus Copernicus in 1543 named “De revolutionibus orbium coelestium” (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) is generally believed to mark the beginning of the scientific revolution. The book propounded a heliocentric system in contrast to the widely prevalent geocentric system. The discovery related to the phases of Venus by Galilei was considered one of the more influential reasons for the transition from geocentrism to heliocentrism. After that, Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica by Isaac Newton further concluded the Copernican Revolution.

Other Advancements in Physics and Mathematics

Galileo: Reckoned as the first modern thinker, Galileo clearly stated that the laws of nature are mathematical. He grasped the nuances of the parabola, both in terms of the ordinate x and y and of conic sections. 

Kepler: In 1604, Kepler published Astronomiae Pars Optica (The Optical Part of Astronomy). He described the inverse-square law that governed reflection by flat, the intensity of light and curved mirrors, principles of pinhole cameras, the astronomical implications related to optics, including the apparent sizes related to heavenly bodies and parallax.

Copernicus: Copernicus was an astronomer and Renaissance mathematician who propounded a heliocentric model pertaining to the universe, which positioned the sun, instead of Earth, at the centre.

Conclusion

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the developments in the domain of science have conventionally been called the “Scientific Revolution.” This phenomenal era began with Nicolaus Copernicus and ended with Isaac Newton witnessing a drastic change in the existing theories related to varied disciplines encompassing life science, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, physics, and whatnot. There are no qualms that the scientific revolution paved the way for the advancement of all these disciplines. It founded modern ideas about science by achieving truth by questioning assumptions and analyzing scientific data taking into consideration repeatable experiments. The Scientific Revolution has contributed to a great extent by reforming the Western world.