The Scientific Revolution in Europe

The Age of Exploration was a result of innovation and new ways of thinking from the Renaissance. The Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation, and the Age of Exploration also led to the Scientific Revolution. The Renaissance encouraged Europeans to go back and look at ancient philosophies and the Reformation encouraged people to think for themselves about topics they never really considered thinking about before. Meanwhile, in the Age of Exploration, the Astrolabe, the Compass, and other navigational tools required precise measurements and astronomy; European’s fascination with American flora and fauna led to advancements in biology and chemistry. Select each name below to learn more about the most important scientists of the Scientific Revolution:

Nicolaus Copernicus

Nicolaus Copernicus Remember him from Module 4? He elaborated on the Heliocentric Theory, which was first theorized during the Gupta Empire of India. His ideas were rejected by the Catholic Church, but accepted by Protestants, demonstrating that the Scientific Revolution would be subjected to just as much politicization and criticism as everything else in Europe.

Galileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei He studied astronomy using a modified telescope. He also studied physics and math, and after his study of pendulums, combined his knowledge to present an updated theory of inertia: no matter the size or mass, all bodies accelerate at the same rate. He also supported Copernicus’ Heliocentric Theory. For that, Catholic Church in Italy put him under house arrest.

Johannes Kepler

Johannes Kepler Like Copernicus, Kepler updated the Gupta Empire’s theories of planetary motion. He theorized that Planets followed Mathematical formulas and rotated around the sun in an elliptical motion.

Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton He developed a Universal Law of Gravitation and 3 Natural Laws (called Newton’s Laws) that explained how and why objects moved. This was rudimentarily theorized during the Islamic Golden Age. He also developed calculus.

Results of the Scientific Revolution

The Scientific Revolution transformed Europe. New Scientific communities emerged, and the Scientific Method became standard in academic literature. Secular beliefs help more sway. Somewhat surprisingly, a new Christian denomination also emerged called Deism. It accepted the idea of a supreme Creator, but not one who interacted with humans – instead, humans should be guided by scientific principles. Two influential Deists were Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson. Less surprisingly, the widest impact of the Scientific Revolution was the belief in Europe that, if the universe was rational, the government should be, too. This will lead to the Enlightenment and the Age of Revolutions (both of which include Deist thinkers).

Practice Activity

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