The Scientific Revolution - Assignment Example

The Scientific Revolution The 16th and 17th centuries were largely marked as an era of scientific revolution, during which new ideas and knowledge in various fields were introduced, including the fields of physics, astronomy, biology, medicine and chemistry. The introduction of these new ideas transformed the medieval and ancient views of nature and the universe, setting the foundations for modern science. Historically, the scientific revolution began in Europe towards the end of the Renaissance era and continued through the late 18th century, the later period known as The Enlightenment. The scientific revolution was sparked by the new ideas that were developed by two great scientists, who were Galileo and Darwin. The new ideas and discoveries of those two great scientists did not only influence their fields of study, but they influenced a variety of other fields of knowledge, including the Church, religion, and Western Civilization at large. Starting by Galileo, he is one of the famous astronomers who attributed greatly to the concept of the effect of gravity in space. He found that the acceleration due to gravity does not depend on the mass of the object being pulled. To make it clearer, we can say that a very small satellite feels the same acceleration from the Sun as another huge satellite if both are at the same distance from the Sun. So, the gravitational acceleration is proportional only to the mass of the gravitating object and the distance from it, not to the mass of the aggravated object. This rule is the reason behind the feeling of `weightless, felt by astronauts orbiting the Earth. To put it clearer, astronauts, in the orbit, are continually falling toward the Earth because of gravity. Also, other smaller and bigger objects inside the shuttle that orbits the earth are accelerating toward the Earth at the same rate. This results in the fact that all these objects in the shuttle remain at the same position relative to each other, and they seem as if they are floating around inside the shuttle (Strobel). In this context, it has to be mentioned that Galileo’s new astronomical theories had their great impact on the church. In particular, the scientific discoveries made by Galileo have paved the way for the science-religion conflict that shaped this era. Prior to Galileo’s views, the geocentric theory of the universe was the accepted astronomical system. According to this theory, the earth is motionless and is at the center of the universe. Then, Copernicus published his new theory that the earth itself moves and is not the center but only one planet among many. According to Copernicus, the Sun is at the center. The planets all go round the Sun in circles. Copernicus was able to work out how far each of the planets is from the Sun, using trigonometry. By the end of the century, Galileo became a strong believer in the Copernican view of the universe although he had no real proof that the Copernican system was unquestionably true. As a result of his belief in the Copernican system, Galileo was tried and convicted of Heresy. Consequently, Galileo’s views were perceived by the Church as contradictory to the Christian teachings that the earth is the center of the universe. Jerome J. Langford, in his book, “Galileo, Science and the Church,” believed that the Church was unjust to Galileo when it condemned him to prison for three years. Langford’s sympathetic attitude towards Galileo was surprising to many analysts and commentators, such as Stillman Drake, who comments, in the prelude to the book, that "it is interesting to see that Father Langford believes that the Church made a mistake in the case of Galileo.” As Galileos ideas about the universe are proven to be true and valid after his death, the discoveries he made and the clashes between him and the Church were the roots what was later called secularization. As a result of Galileo’s lack of conclusive evidence, the Church condemned the Copernican system as being scientifically unfounded. It, also, prevented anyone from speaking about the new astronomical system as a point of fact. It can only be discussed as a hypothesis. This was another weakness in Galileo’s approach to the problem. While he didn’t have a clear evidence for the Copernican system, he insisted on describing it as a fact not a theory. If he had dealt with that topic as an unproven theory yet, he would have enjoyed a smooth relationship with the Church. As a result, secularization began in Western Europe and has spread throughout the world (Abdou Filali-Ansary). In its characteristic Western form, secularization has to do with the idea that religion and state are different and separable entities. Secularization is more than just a political concept. As argued by many political analysts, secularization “is also a philosophy of life, and its ideal is progress in human life in the present world, irrespective of mans religion, sect, caste, color, etc" (Boroujerdi). Historically, the concept of secularization emerged in the middle ages in Europe as a direct reaction to the attempt of the Church to dominate all aspects of mans life. The struggle between science and religion in the middle ages, for instance, was an important motive for the emergence of secularism. What happened to Galileo was a clear example of this struggle between science and religion. Perceiving Galileo’s ideas as contradictory to the teachings of the Bible, the Catholic Church did not agree with his theories, which are associated with the Copernican astronomy. While scientists and intellectuals saw Galileo’s findings as a great contribution to humanity, the theologians claimed that he was a heretic and that his theories are wrong and scientifically untrue. Hence, the contradiction between science and religion in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in Europe was one of the strong motives behind the call for secularization. Thats why many attribute secularization to the rise of science, although "no contemporary sociologist of religion argues that Christianity has been fatally undermined by science". (Bruce). On the other hand, Charles Darwin was another great scientist, whose theory of evolution by natural selection, was developed in the nineteenth century. This scientific theory was the climax of the scientific revolution at that time. It is based on the concept of blind mechanism, in which the survival is for those organisms which make the most successful adaptations. So, this theory of evolution believed in what is called a "spontaneous natural order." That is, according to this theory, there is no superpower or upper hand that controls natural objects; rather, the events in Nature exist in order and complexity that emerge naturally and spontaneously. Applying this theory to human beings, Darwin envisioned a state of evolution, to which all human beings on earth is subjected to. According to Darwin, the human species is an evolution of an old primitive creature similar to apes. The following picture clarifies the process of evolution of human beings as imagined by Charles Darwin. The main popular misconception about this theory is that it is purely scientific. Rather, the concepts of the theory of evolution have affected many fields in life, including politics and economics. A lot of economic theories, such as capitalism and liberalism, owe much to the concepts introduced by the Darwinian theory of evolution. For instance, the economic system of capitalism and the free market are looked upon as systems of spontaneous order in human affairs. According to this theory, Darwins Origin of Species and "the survival of the fittest" theory are to be applied to races as well as species. So, Social Darwinism holds that social policy should allow the weak and unfit to fail and die, and that this is not only good policy but morally right. Actually, the real source of Social Darwinism is Herbert Spencer. In conclusion, from the above analysis, it can be easily said that there are various fields that have been greatly impacted by the scientific revolution, both in theory and in practice. Although many of the political, social, and economic theories have been emerged long before the scientific revolution, there is no doubt that the appearance of such scientific theories has provided new ways of perception for the traditional political, economic, and social methodologies. With the advent of theories such as that of evolution and spontaneous natural order, the idea of leaving things, including economic markets, to a natural order began to seem more sensible and humane. As a result, one may conclude that the scientific revolution did not only mark the sixteenth and seventeenth century; rather, it has influenced a variety of fields throughout the whole world till the present day. Works Cited Abdou, Filali-Ansary "Islam and Liberal Democracy: The Challenge of Secularization." Journal of Democracy 7.2 (1996) Boroujerdi, Mehrzad. "Can Islam Be Secularized?" Syracuse University. 1994 Bruce, Steve. "God is Dead: Secularization in the West." Blackwell. 2002 "Comparing Gravity on Earth to Gravity in Space." 15 Apr. 2012. Langford, Jerome J. “Galileo, Science and Church.” p. 50-155. 15 Apr. 2012. "Newtons theory of Universal Gravitation." 14 Apr. 2012. Strobel, Nick. "Universal Law of Gravity." 28 May 2001. 13 Apr. 2012. Read More