StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

The Scientific Revolution: A Paradigm Shift from Miracles to Facts - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
"The Scientific Revolution: A Paradigm Shift from Miracles to Facts" paper devoted to a historical analysis of the scientific revolution. A brief history of the medieval worldview is emphasized herein. The paper emphasizes the ideas that gave birth due to the impact of the scientific revolution…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER94.6% of users find it useful
The Scientific Revolution: A Paradigm Shift from Miracles to Facts
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Scientific Revolution: A Paradigm Shift from Miracles to Facts"

The Scientific Revolution: A Paradigm Shift from Miracles to Facts It is easy to dismiss something which one makes no effort to understand. Throughout the middle ages, understanding was undoubtedly sought with reference to God, religion, and the natural world. Theology procured its stature as the queen of all sciences (Galilei, 1957). Likewise, society adhered to the authority and teachings of the Church. However, some time between the mid-sixteenth and early eighteenth century, a revolutionary event took place in history and took its seat as humanity’s new path to knowledge and understanding. This paper aims to show that the birth of Science radically transformed the manner by which society viewed religion, God and Nature. This period is known as the Scientific Revolution. The Scientific Revolution has led to modern discoveries beyond human imagination. Religion still plays a central role in the lives of human beings, but science still remains as humanity’s tool for finding rational explanations for phenomena that happen in the world. The historical significance of the scientific revolution is characterized by humanity’s radical shift in thought. It primarily represented an intellectual movement from religion to science as the source of absolute knowledge that is clear and distinct to the mind. According to the medieval worldview, “Nature was conceived to be kept going from moment to moment by a miracle . . . It was God who ordered the universe through these miracles . . .If God pronounced it to be so, then it must be so” (“Kreis”, 2009a, n.p.). This paper will be divided into four parts. The first part will be devoted to an historical analysis of the scientific revolution. A brief history of the medieval worldview will be emphasized herein. The second part will focus on the impact that the scientific revolution made in contrast to the pre-established medieval worldview, in the light of religion, God and Nature. The third part will emphasize on some important ideas and figures that gave birth due to the impact of the scientific revolution. Here I will stress on how these ideas characterized the potential of society to progress and evolve. Finally, part four will consist of my conclusion as well as a justification on how this can be traced and applied further in this present day and age. Historical breakthrough In order to understand what the scientific revolution is, it is vital to take note of what was happening before the birth of science. What was the dominant educated-European view of the world before science stepped into the picture? During the middle ages, Christianity was the dominant worldview. Christianity began to globalize, and along with it were challenges. One major challenge was the development of human reason. This was characterized by man’s capacity to rationalize. The Church wanted to explain its teachings through faith alone. Thus, the supremacy of reason above faith was perceived as a threat to the Church. To compensate for this, Christian thinkers sought to reconcile religion and science, for according to the Church, they have one common factor, i.e. they both led to a single truth: “God exists” (Kreis, 2009b, n.p.). Furthermore, during the middle ages, the dominant view was that of geocentricism. Since the earth was known to be the center of the universe, human beings were made to feel central above all else. It is this view that the Church accepted and advocated. It was not until a major breakthrough by Nicolaus Copernicus that initiated the first and final break from religious dogma. Miracles vs. Facts Herein is the birth of modern science. Since the time of the publication of Copernicus’ On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres (1543), religious authorities and teachings were attacked and questioned. In what ways did this revolution affect the previous worldview? The greatest impact was on how people thought and believed. Due to the rise of modern scientific methods, the geocentric view of the universe was replaced with the new heliocentric theory, which made the sun as the center of the universe. Religion was forced to step down as the source of truth along with the decline of the authority of the Church. Not only did the power of religious authorities decline, so was the nature of human knowledge. “This in turn raised questions about the traditional Human Eternal Verities, i.e. how humans understood themselves in relation to 'God, Nature, and Man'” (“Hatch,” n.d., n.p.). Science was slowly overpowering the powerful image of God. “Science is faith. And the Gospel of that faith was written by Copernicus, Galileo , Newton, Darwin, Einstein and others” (“Kreis,” 2009a, n.p.). The foundation of religion is faith, while science stems from human reason, i.e. the capacity of human beings to think. The former hindered humanity’s potential to intellectually grow, while the latter paved the way towards a new era of human discovery. This new era of human discovery is known as the Enlightenment. Scientific Enlightenment Immanuel Kant (1784) defined Enlightenment as a “daring to know”. The emphasis herein is that during the Enlightenment, humanity started to realize that knowledge could be applied to practical human affairs. Thus, society conceived of science as that which could bring enlightenment to humankind. What were the scientific discoveries that shaped the minds of many? Among them are the following: Adam Smith came up with economic laws. John Locke formulated various ideas of constitutional government. Education for women began to flourish. Voltaire wrote works that attacked the established religious order. (Strayer, 2008). The beginning of modern science continued to flourish throughout history, and along with it came the development of human inquiry. In the nineteenth century, science was applied to new sorts of inquiry; it undermined Enlightenment assumptions. Among the influential intellectual figures are Charles Darwin, Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud. It is in this regard that science, along with its developments, characterized the potential of human beings to progress and evolve by the use of reason above faith. Are these discoveries of the Enlightenment still applicable today? What about religion? Science - a dogma? Indeed, the birth of science has led to modern discoveries beyond human imagination. Religion still plays a central role in the lives of human beings, but science still remains as humanity’s tool for finding rational explanations for phenomena that happen in the world. The scientific revolution represented the final break with religious dogma. It marked the transition of humanity towards an evolved modern way of thinking. I end this essay with an insight on today’s progress in scientific thought. During the late 1900’s, Thomas Kuhn (1962), an American physicist, raised a controversial issue in his work, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. He questioned the authenticity of the scientific revolution. “Was there a Scientific Revolution that replaced pre-scientific thinking about nature and society and thus marked the transition to modernity? Which later developments, if any, are truly revolutionary?” (Nickles, 2009, n.p.). Indeed, many scholars have challenged the claim that there was a development appropriately called The Scientific Revolution. Steven Shapin (1996) captures the tension by starting his book with the following statement: “There was no such thing as the Scientific Revolution, and this is a book about it” (p. 1). References Galilei, Galileo. (1957). Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina of Tuscany concerning the use of biblical quotations in matters of science. In discoveries and opinions of Galileo. Stillman Drake, Trans. New York, NY: Anchor Books. (Original work published 1615) Hatch, Robert. The scientific revolution. In scientific revolution home page. Retrieved from http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/ufhatch/pages/03-Sci-Rev/SCI-REV-Teaching/03sr-definition-concept.htm Kant, Immanuel. (1784). An answer to the question: what is enlightenment? Retrieved from http://www.english.upenn.edu/~mgamer/Etexts/kant.html Kreis, J. S. (2009a). Lecture 10: The scientific revolution. In The history guide: Lectures on early modern European history. Retrieved from http://www.historyguide.org/earlymod/lecture10c.html Kreis, J.S. (2009b). Lecture 24: The medieval world view. In The history guide: Lectures on ancient and medieval European history. Retrieved from http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/lecture24b.html Kuhn, T. (1962). The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Nickles, T. (2009). Scientific revolutions. In the Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/scientific-revolutions/ Russell, T. Scientific revolution [pdf document] Retrieved from http://www.esmschools.org/Data/FileManager/ESM%20High%20School/Russell/scirev.pdf Shapin, S. (1996). The scientific revolution. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Strayer, R. (2008). Ways of the world: A brief global history. Monterey, CA: Bedford / St. Martin's. World Civilizations 111 Section 03 Paper Rubric Criteria Excellent (A ) Proficient to Adequate (B to C) Adequate to Marginal (C- to D) F Comments Problem/Question Well-developed, clearly defined thesis identifying the problem/question at issue. Thesis is present, but lacks clarity and development. Thesis is either weak or not apparent. B Student position The student has taken a position or viewpoint to be argued throughout the paper. Though a position or viewpoint is present, it is not clearly expressed. The paper does not present an opinion to be argued, but offers information. A Key Assumptions The student clearly identifies his or her own assumptions, as well as those of the sources. The student makes an effort to reveal assumptions, but does not clearly identify them. The student does not express any awareness of assumptions. B+ Evidence Quality The paper presents at least three sources equally and clearly distinguishes between fact, opinion and value judgments. The paper represents three sources, but has not balanced them equally. Though there is an effort to distinguish between fact, opinion and value judgments, the distinctions aren’t clear. The paper uses less than three sources, and makes little or no effort to distinguish between fact, opinion and value judgments. B+ More citations are needed Conclusion There is a clear summary of the argument, as well as the consideration of potential implications, consequences, or connections between the topic and past or present events. Though there is a clear summation of the argument, there is little or no consideration of potential implications, consequences or connections between the topic and past or present events. There is an attempt at a conclusion, but the summation of the argument is vague, and there is little or no attempt to consider potential implications, consequences or connections between the past or present events. A- Style/Mechanics Writing is clear and free of spelling and grammatical errors. The paper is well-organized. The bibliography is complete and correctly formatted. Sources are accurately cited throughout the paper. Writing clarity, though good, could be improved. The paper is not consistently well-organized and contains some proofreading errors. There may be some problems with the bibliography and citations. The writing quality is uneven to consistently poor. The paper’s organization is either weak or not apparent. There are spelling and formatting errors throughout. B+/B Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(Why did European empires in the Americas have such an enormously Essay, n.d.)
Why did European empires in the Americas have such an enormously Essay. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1748776-why-did-european-empires-in-the-americas-have-such-an-enormously-greater-impact-on-the-conquered-people-than-did-the-chinese-or-mughal-empires
(Why Did European Empires in the Americas Have Such an Enormously Essay)
Why Did European Empires in the Americas Have Such an Enormously Essay. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1748776-why-did-european-empires-in-the-americas-have-such-an-enormously-greater-impact-on-the-conquered-people-than-did-the-chinese-or-mughal-empires.
“Why Did European Empires in the Americas Have Such an Enormously Essay”. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1748776-why-did-european-empires-in-the-americas-have-such-an-enormously-greater-impact-on-the-conquered-people-than-did-the-chinese-or-mughal-empires.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Scientific Revolution: A Paradigm Shift from Miracles to Facts

Lev Vygotsky and his Biography

Bruner & Haste (1987) has remarked, "Vygotsky…speaks to us from the future" (paraphrased by Blank, 1990, p.... ygotsky borrowed ideas from different disciplines to form his learning theory.... Growing up during the Russian revolution, a time of tremendous social, cultural, and economic upheaval caused Vygotsky great personal difficulty at the same time it liberated him to look at philosophical and societal issues with fresh eyes....
6 Pages (1500 words) Term Paper

Black literature in the USA

Smith and Jones also mention the paradigm shift in the theoretical approach towards African American literature through the contributions of black intellectuals like Du Bois, Alain Locke, and J.... He emphasized that “ African American history and the scientific study of racism would help to eliminate the ignorance that caused racial conflicts” ( 952).... Starting from the themes of “freedom vs.... Smith and Jones record a chronological development of themes and techniques of African American literature from the colonial period (1746-1800) to modern times in their Anthology which includes selections that define “ African American literature from various perspectives” and “examine the racial, social, political concerns of African American writers”....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Defining Life: the Relationship between God and Man

hellip; The common thread of this level of mystery/miraculous incidents and the way in which the natural world exists can be traced from the earliest representations of Hinduism, to Judaism, to Christianity, to Islam, Jainism, Buddhism, Shintoism, Taoism, and almost each and every single one of the world's major religions.... As can readily be understood from a cursory examination of the Hindu or Greek pantheon, a direct level of interference on the part of the gods is evidenced throughout the traditions and scriptures that these individual religious interpretations have developed....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

Industrialization in Western Europe

Industrialization is a phenomenon in an economy, which explains a shift of primary occupational structure of a nation from an agrarian to an industrial one.... However, from the theory of Karl Marx, it can be stated that towards end of the 18th century, economy of Western Europe had experienced a capitalistic form of market system.... Colonial rule became a common method of territory expansion for these Western European nations as economies required adequate raw agricultural inputs from its conquered colonies, for sustaining the demand for its new industrial sector....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Opposing Self Motif in the 19th Century Gothic Literature

The hypothesis is that this duality had a purpose as authors tried to express their resentments, fears, objections and dilemmas as well as their understanding of human mind with respect to the scientific discourses on human behaviour through doppelgangers.... … Gothic Literature deals with elements that are beyond the understanding of human mind and from this perspective it appears as the most versatile of all genres.... Doppelgangers evolved from a form which was obvious, controllable and formative into something that was hidden and repressed - the Other side of personality....
35 Pages (8750 words) Dissertation

The Right to the City vs Play City Theories

It highlights the obligation of the people to initiate a radical restructuring of the urban areas in order to boost their lifestyles.... The Castle Park in Bristol,… The place is green and appealing hence it qualifies as the best place to look at when restructuring the cities.... The region is abundant of pre-war cinemas and many shops, which provide a good place Its location is also appropriate because its location at the heart of Bristol provides it with décor....
11 Pages (2750 words) Essay

The Use of History and Science to Attain Knowledge

Eventually, different schools of thought from various intellectual fields would claim to be closest to the certainty of knowledge.... It is not a surprise that historians, theorists, and intellectuals have from time to time turned their awareness to efforts to study history itself and the fundamentals of historical knowledge....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Scientific Realism & Anti-realism

nbsp;  The “no miracles argument” is an argument for realism that states that there are unobservable “entities” in the world that can be used to influence the observable world.... Inherently unobservable phenomena, such as the changes an electron undergoes in an atom when moving from a high to lower energy-state in lasers, which scientists then apply to technology that is functionally based on the repeatable results of the experiments define theories that are empirically successful....
7 Pages (1750 words) Assignment
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us