SCI - Toward a new Earth and a New vision of Humankind (Lesson)

Toward a new Earth and a New vision of Humankind.

Early Science/Natural Philosophers.

Aristotle.

Aristotle was considered the greatest philosopher of ancient times. Up until the Scientific Revolution, he was viewed as the absolute authority on physics. His theories included the belief that there was no movement without a mover and that in their natural state all objects were at rest. The belief was all objects wish to be at rest, motion is an unnatural state which must be accounted for by an outside force at all times - which fit in perfectly with church philosophy since it made it obvious that God was necessary to move the Earth. He explained motion by the fact that each of the four elements (earth, air, fire, and water) wished to return to its natural place. Air and fire, he said, always wished to go upwards and earth and water wished to fall downwards. .

Ptolemy.

Ptolemy, astronomer from ancient times, stated that the earth was the center of the universe and that the sun and all the planets moved around in crystalline spheres. Since this alone was not able to mathematically explain retrograde motion, Ptolemy added in epicycles (circles within circles), which, through some very complicated calculations, could approximate planetary motion.

Galen.

Though his influence was far less than that of Aristotle and Ptolemy, Galen's medical and anatomical theories dominated the scientific world for years even though they were proved wrong by dissections. Galen advocated that the heart was actually where the stomach is located and vice versa, believing that the stomach pumped blood through the body. Galen was also a proponent for the Four Humors - an imbalance of which was the cause of most ailments.

 

Medicine before the Revolution.

Four Humors.

The Four humors are the four "fluids" in the human body- blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm.

It was widely believed that the four humors not only determined what ailed you, but also your personality. The unique mix of humors within your body determined what type of person you were - end up with too much or too little of one of those humors? It could throw off your health requiring you to attempt to regain that balance, hence the process of "bloodletting."

 

Humor	Blood	Yellow Bile	Black Bile	Phlegm
Personality Traits	Amorous Happy Generous Carefree Optimistic	Violent Vengeful Volatile Ambitious	Introspective Sentimental Apathetic	Sluggish Lazy Cowardly
Complexion & Physical Type	Ruddy Chubby	Red-Haired Wiry Thin	Thin Pale	Overweight

 

Other forms of medicine included Sympathetic and Antipathy:

• Sympathetic Medicine is where a physician would treat the cause of the wound with something sympathetic to the injured party rather than treat the wound itself. So if you were stabbed, the doctor would treat the sword, rather than treat you. Surprisingly - this actually worked!
• The idea behind Antipathy was to treat with opposites. For example - it was believed all colds were caused by the planet Saturn. So to treat the cold, you must then get closer to Saturn's opposite - the Sun. How does one do this? It goes back to the idea of Astronomy and the alignment of the planets.

Doctors did not dissect bodies in medical school and often had no "real world" experience when they began practicing. Much of the medical knowledge throughout the Middle Ages and into the 1600's was based on Galen's theories. Also, doctors tended to be centered in cities - too far and too expensive for most to see, which might have been a blessing in disguise as a good number of patients died as a result of doctor care and unsanitary conditions. (Germ theory and sterilization did not yet exist!)

So where did most people go for care? Many went to the local "Cunning Folk" in the village. This person may be best termed now as an "alternative healer," but was the source of low magic at the time. These Cunning Folk would diagnose the issue and offer cures, be they herbs or simple "spells." They often had a greater success rate than the physicians and while we might consider these people to be performing magic or be considered "witch doctors," they were widely untouched during the witchcraft craze in the 1600's.

Consider this: Why would those who are publicly performing "spells" and "magic" not be accused during the craze? Simple - they were too valuable to society. If they were to be accused, who would the people turn to when ill? What gain would there be to accusing one of the "Cunning Folk"? A good number of accusations occurred because the accuser had something to gain from the denouncement of the accused witch. With the Cunning Folk, many saw that they only had something to lose if an accusation was made.

 

Reasons for Scientific Revolution.

So why does it happen now? One reason was that scientists were simply beginning to take note of the inadequacies of the standard theories, and, although they greatly preferred to make slight changes to the theories (vs. abandoning them) some scientists were beginning to question the old authorities. Still, it is unlikely that the scientists would have challenged the established theories without the influence of the other ancient scientists, especially Archimedes (who, along with many others, were rediscovered during the Renaissance due to the humanists' efforts to find ancient works), that disagreed with the old theories. The Reformation had proven that established ideals could be questioned in order to find new truths. Another influence was the interest in alchemy and astrology, which were linked by the belief that the world could be understood through several secret truths (like Neoplatonism). These sciences contributed to the outpouring of new ideas, the questioning of the old theories, and the use of math. Lastly, the European interest in technology both stimulated and made possible the Scientific Revolution. New instruments and devices, often made for other purposes, were used in science and made possible many of the new discoveries. The interest in technology was actually stimulated by the competition between the different nations because applied technology could be used in warfare.

 

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