Geography And The Study Of The Environment But Mainly The Scientific Revolution - Essay Example

Geography And The Study Of The Environment But Mainly The Scientific Revolution Introduction ical Beginnings) Intellectual curiosity is the essence of human nature that led to all the achievements mankind. This essay is a very short story of very long period. It would be difficult to summarize such a vast subject in such a brief space. It starts from the antiquity to the present era. The whole essay will discuss that how human intellectual curiosity compelled human being to do such a great jobs as described below. The revolution of science is described in the light of Geographic development in accordance with the scientific achievements. Geography as a discipline The word Geography is derived from the Greek words Gaea means "Earth", and graphein meaning "to describe" and "to write". Geography is the study of the surface of the earth, the location and distribution of its physical and cultural features. Geography is also the study of the planetary variation of both natural and human phenomena on Earth. Geography is the branch of science that uses the same elements as the other sciences but in a different way. It uses data by elaborating maps as its tool.. The methodical approach organizes geographical knowledge into different divisions. A Prelude Study of Geography is as old as human history. It was systematically studied by the ancient Greeks, who also developed a philosophy of geography. Many Greek philosopher made great contribution to the foundation of Geography. The most prominent of them were Thales, Eratosthenes, Aristotle, Strabo, and Ptolemy. The Romans also made contributions to geography by mapping of previously unknown lands. The Arabs also bequeathed in the progress of Geography during the Middle Ages. The Classical School As stated in beginning intellectual curiosity is the essence of human nature that led to all the achievements mankind. Human beings were involved in pondering over nature since prehistoric period. The real initial recorded achievements were of Greeks. Thales was the first recorded Greek philosopher. He was first person whose mythology was used to explain the nature of the physical world. He introduced geometry and was a prominent astronomer of those days. He was the first man who started the real process of pondering and predicting. Raphaelss School Of Athens 1509 Although chronologically mentioning Raphael Sanzio is not correct but it will give us a continuation. Raphael Sanzio, was the great painter and philosopher with whose name Raphaels ‘s School of Athens is famous. During those days of 16th century the meaning of the great old ages was being rediscovered and absorbed in Europe. His painting show pictorially the constellation of great Greek philosophers in a beautiful way. The two great scholars Plato and Aristotle are present at the centre of the painting depicting following messages mentioned in bold. Plato “Lookout to the perfection Of the Heavens for truth Plato the great Greek Philosopher was also a good astronomer. He was among the first few great people who studied the Sky with their limited resources and revealed many facts that are still relevant with some minor amendments. Aristotle “look around you at what is if you would know the truth Aristotle was of the two great philosophers of Greece, Plato and Aristotle, the latter was the one who relied on observation. Raphaels The School of Athens shows the two great philosophers in the center of the painting, surrounded by the other great Greeks, with Plato holding his hand upright as if to indicate, "Look to the perfecti on of the heavens for truth," while Aristotle holds his arm straight out, implying "look around you at what is if you would know the truth." We shall look deeper in Aristotles ideas. Meterorologica 340 BC Aristotles Meteorologica is the considered oldest study on meteorological subjects. The bulk of information proved uncorrect according to modern research but it is considered authority in those days and upto recent years. The Greek philosophers developed their theories and philosophies just by observation and intellectual pondering, but they never done any experiments to prove their theories. Yet their theories were quite correct if not correct they proved the foundation of the modern scientific advancements. Pythagorous For example great philosopher Pythagoras ‘s some theories and theorems are still relavent and Plato was deeply interested in Pythagoreanism, but he is curiously reserved about Pythagoras. He only mentions him once by name in all his writings, and all we are told then is that he won the affections of his followers in an unusual degree by teaching them a "way of life," which was still called Pythagorean.. Aristotle also wrote a special treatise on the Pythagoreans which has not come down to us, but from which quotations are found in later writers. These are of great value, as they have to do with the religious side of Pythagoreanism. The level reached by the Greeks in astronomy and engineering is impressively shown by the Antikythera mechanism. In 1901 divers working off the isle of Antikythera found the remains of a clocklike mechanism 2,000 years old. This ancient equipment had a mechanism appears to be a device for calculating the motions of stars and planets. STRABO Strabo a great Greek geographer, historian, and philosopher. He studied in Asia Minor, Greece, Rome, and Alexandria and traveled in Europe, N Africa, and W Asia. Primarily a historian, he wrote a group of historical sketches (47 books) quoted by later authors but almost entirely lost. His Geographia, written subsequently, is based on his own observations and on the works of his predecessors. The Geographia is divided into 17 books Socrates The systematic search for natural laws can be said to start with Hellenic civilization, which reached its zenith in the 4th century BC, and served as the intellectual background for western civilization up to the time of the Scientific Revolution. The philosophies of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle being preeminent during this period, while Hippocrates laid the foundations of medicine as a branch of science. Alexander The military campaigns of Alexander the Great spread Greek thought through Egypt, Asia Minor, Persia, and to the Indus River. The resulting Hellenistic civilization produced seats of learning in Alexandria and Antioch along with Greek speaking populations across several monarchies. Euclid An Italian scholar as described by Lucio Russo, in his book The Forgotten Revolution as founder of Science. He claims science was actually born in the 3rd century B.C., due to the work of personalities like Euclid, Archimedes, and many other prominent scholars Elements written by Euclid was the most important book in mathematics until recent years. Its beauty is in its logical development of geometry and other branches of mathematics. It has influenced all branches of science but none so much as mathematics and the exact sciences. Ptolemy Ptolemy the great philosopher and astronomer he described many of the constellations used today. His system also became the correct description for the motions of the heavens. Roman era contributions include expanding knowledge of anatomy and physiology by the physician Galen. The Medieval Period Greek philosophy was able to find some short promotion and enhancement in the Middle East. Islamic research and scholarship lasted until the 14th century. This research was aided by several factors. Many prominent philosphers and scholars did their research during this period. They provided a start to Europe for renaissance. Some of the famous scientists and philosophers are mentioned here. Al - Balki Al-Balki, chief of the University of Baghdad. He was a contemporary of al-Razi who wrote many contradicting accounts about al-Razis books. His disagreements with al-Razi entailed his thoughts on the concept of Time Al-Buruni Ibn Ahmad al-Biruni was one of the well-known Philosophers of Afghanistan who travelled to India He was scholar and scientist of physics, geography and history. At an early age, the fame of his scholarship went around. Al-Biruni along with Sultan Mahmud went to India several times and thus he had the opportunity to travel all over India during a period of 20 years. He learnt Hindu philosophy, mathematics, geography and religion. He spent 40 years in thus gathering knowledge and making his own original contributions to it. Part II Renaissance of the 12th century, Medieval technology Early Renaissance in Europe started with the birth of medieval universities in the 12th century, when the rediscovery of the works of ancient philosophers through contact with the Arabs after during the Crusades started an intellectual revival of Europe. The interactions with the Islamic world in Sicily and Spain allowed Europeans access to preserved copies of Greek and Roman works with the works of Islamic philosophers. The European universities aided materially in the translation, preservation and propagation of the texts of the ancients and started a new infrastructure which was needed for scientific communities. Reasonably accurate Latin translations of the main works of Aristotle, Plato, Euclid, Ptolemy, Archimedes and Galen were available during this era. During the thirteenth century the natural philosophy of these texts began to be extended by the Scholastics such as Robert Grosseteste, Roger Bacon. Forefront of an experimental science can be seen already in the works of Robert Grosseteste and Roger Bacon. In particular, the empirical approach admired by Roger Bacon was exemplified by Petrus Peregrinus. Some Personalities of the Medieval Europe Leonardo Da Vinci The greatest of Andreas students was Leonardo da Vinci, in whom, besides a beauty of person never sufficiently admired and a wonderful grace in all his actions, there was such a power of intellect that whatever he turned his mind to he made himself master of it. Vasari The works of Leonardo and his early biographers show that he was a man of high integrity and very sensitive to moral issues. Vasari reports a story that as a young man in Florence he often bought caged birds just to release them from captivity. He was also a respected judge on matters of beauty and elegance, particularly in the creation of pageants. The Scientific Revolution Is A Term Probably Coined In 1937 By Alexandre Koyre The Scientific Revolution means historical changes in thought & belief, to changes in social & institutional organization, that unfolded in Europe between roughly 1550-1700. The Identity Of The Scientific Revolution Aristotle and his predecessor, Plato were similarly non-experimental. Plato studied the phenomenon of refraction. He formulated a procedure by which measurement of the angles in various situations is possible. His assertions, like those of Aristotle, went untested by his peers and remained unchallenged for centuries. It was the Egyptian scientist Ibn al Haythen (known in Western Europe as Alhazen) (965-1040), who finally discounted it with a mixture of logic and experimentation. His studies of light, published in the book "Optics" in 1015 to 1021, during the era of the Moorish Empire, are possibly the earliest work to use the scientific method and were very influential in later studies of light. Now the story takes a new turn. The scientist who use experimental methods for proving their theories started coming forward and scientific revolution entered into practical phase and the theoritical phase was left behind. This widely held view was due largely to the work of the historian Alexandre Koyré. The Mechanization If Nature-Understanding Natural Processes With Reference To Famous historian and philosopher Shapin sees the scientific revolution as a story about the mechanization of nature, we can call it the creation of the belief in objectivity. Age of Exploration Here starts age of exploration as man was more interested in proving the theories and new equipment were being invented so it had become easier to travel across the oceans to unknown destinations. Henry the Navigator provided the intellectual stimuli that sustained exploration during its early years The Inductive Method Bacon From antiquity to 1600 A.D. everyone was ready to submit to the authority of Aristotle. Many of Aristotles arguments were faulty, but where did he go wrong, and what was the right way to proceed? Here starts the age inductive methodology. It was preached by scholars like Bacon. The inductive method has been incredibly successful in investigating nature. These methods are more successful than its originators could have imagined. The inductive method of investigation has become so entrenched in science that it is often referred to as the scientific method. It became apparent to several people - Galileo Galilei in Italy, Francis Bacon in England, Tycho Brahe in Denmark, and others - that there were no subtle logical errors in Aristotles use of the deductive method. The problem was that the deductive method, while wildly successful in mathematics, did not fit well with scientific investigations of nature. John Constable Constable, John was English painter, ranked with Turner as one of the greatest British landscape artists. He began painting his native Suffolk scenery before he left school, his great originality matured slowly. During the 1820s he began to win recognition: The Hay Wain (National Gallery, London, 1821) won a gold medal at the Paris Salon of 1824 and Constable was admired by Delacroix and Bonington among others. Observation Experiment Casual Knowledge General Truth The ere of observation associated with experiments for proving the hypothesis started by Bacon and his contemperory writers now entered in new phase. Some of Pioneers of this era were: Gasper Schotts Gaspar Schott, studied in Sicily and later worked with Athanasius Kircher in Rome for three years before returning to Germany in 1655 where he was appointed professor of mathematics. He was asked to describe the experiment of the exhausted hemisphere, and his dramatic sketch of this experiment at Magdeburg is described for many years physics textbooks. Because of his publications Schott became the center of as other scientists wrote to inform him of their inventions and discoveries. Schott exchanged several letters with von Guericke,seeking to draw him out by suggesting new problems, and then he published his later investigations. He also corresponded with Huygens and was the first to make Boyles investigations on the air pump. Johiannes Hevelius Telescope Selenographia He was born on 28 January 1611 in Gdansk, Poland. Later in his life he devotee himself to astronomy in 1639, tapping into his family wealth to construct a private observatory in his house. His work was also sponsored by the Polish King Jan III Sobieski, through a generous pension. He was said to be the first modern user of telescope and in its most improved state. The story of pursuit of knowledge goes on and one wonders how these enormous inventions were developed that has changed the life of mankind and given it all the comforts that can not be imagened in past. Geography was hand in hand with Science and facilitated many development and inventions that were not possible with development and research in Geography. Bibliography/References Berdichevsky, N. (1998, November). In Defence of Geography. Contemporary Review, 273, Cook, E. (2005, February). Different Perspectives of Geography. Geographical, 77, 20. Dueck, D. (2000). Strabo of Amasia: A Greek Man of Letters in Augustan Rome. London: Goetz, W. W. (1994). The New Social Studies: the Memoir of a Practitioner. Social Studies, 85(3), 100-105. Hall, A. R. (1983). The Revolution in Science, 1500-1750 (3rd ed.). London: Longman. Handley, M. (1993). John K. Wright and Human Nature in Geography. The Geographical Review Hartshorne, R. (1959). Perspective on the Nature of Geography. Chicago: Rand McNally & Company. Kingsbury, P. (2003). Poststructuralist Geographies: The Diabolical Art of Spatial Science. Journal of Cultural Geography, 20(2), Knight, C. G., & Newman, J. L. (1976). Contemporary Africa: Geography and Change. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Mulligan, G. F. (2003). Whats Wrong with Economic Geography? Other Thoughts on the Rift. Canadian Journal of Regional Science, 26(1), 33+. Peet, R. & Thrift, N. (Eds.). (1989). New Models in Geography: The Political-Economy Perspective. London: Unwin-Hyman. Robertson, D. S. (2003). Phase Change: The Computer Revolution in Science and Mathematics. New York: Oxford University Press. Students Put Their Knowledge to the Test in Geography Bee. (2001, January 11). Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), p. 1. The Columbia Encyclopedia (6th ed.). New York: Columbia University Press. Read More