Scientific Revolution Was a Revolution

Scientific Revolution was a revolution in the way that human life was viewed. Instead of superstition and religion governing human life, the principles of rationalism were viewed to govern human existence. Methodical, empirical observations were used to answer the questions of life, such as why objects fell to the earth or the organization of the cosmos. Instead of deductively assuming certain principles were true, like the existence of God, nothing was assumed and instead scientific principles were derived inductively.

The Enlightenment

The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement spawned by the principles of the Scientific Revolution. Just as the Scientific Revolution applied the principles of rational behavior to the natural world, the Enlightenment applied the principles of the Scientific Revolution to human political and moral life. Instead of assuming that the 'divine right of kinds' was a pre-existing fact, Enlightenment writers questioned this assumption. All human beings were seen as rational, and thus possessed certain rights that would be later defined as inalienable, and could not be taken away by any outside entity, such as a monarch. Many Enlightenment writers were Deists, or took the view of God as a great 'watchmaker' -- God may have created the rules of the universe, but then stood back and took little moral interest in it; it was thus up to human beings to decide how to govern it.

Q3. Two figures

Isaac Newton embodies the principles of the Scientific Revolution. Critical to Newton's approach was the idea that human beings should not deduce any causes other than what could be observed, which enabled him to deduce important truths about gravity, light, and differential calculus, as well as most famously identifying the force of gravity. Immanuel Kant, the famous formulator of the categorical imperative, similarly identified a rational philosophical approach to human life, to enable all human beings to life a moral and ethical existence. Rather than appealing to religion and myth, rationality was deemed to govern human doings.

Section 2: Questions on Galileo's Daughter

Q1. Describe the reception of Galileo's early work, including refining and building telescopes, viewing and drawing the moon, and discovering Jupiter's moons. Include political figures, scientists, and the Catholic Church. When why and how did the reception change?

Galileo did not begin his life as a despised figure by the Catholic Church. So long as his findings did not challenge and contradict existing doctrine, he was embraced and accepted. The Church was not necessarily against all forms of rationalism. However, the Church wanted to be the ultimate determiner of the truth in medieval life and when Galileo seemed to challenge these assertions, the Church was threatened and began to oppose him. Originally, Galileo had church approval for his challenges to the Copernican system but Church in-fighting and political wrangling between Rome, Protestantism, and Tuscany led them to condemn him.

Q2.Explain Galileo's view of the relationship between Holy Scripture and nature and his work as a scientist.

Galileo viewed Church writings to be inexorably connected to his writings as a scientist -- he viewed his writings as God-inspired and God-derived, rather than seeing them as contradicting science. In stark contrast to our own view of science, which tends to see science as utterly opposed to religion, Galileo viewed science as glorifying the creation of God through the exercise of rationalism.

Q3. In 1616 the congregation of the index published a proclamation that declared Copernican astronomy to be false and contrary to Holy Scripture, and condemned some books and some followers of Copernicus. How did Galileo respond to the edict? What did he do to protect himself?

The original 1616 edict was not taken entirely seriously: "The Sun-Centered universe still remained an unproven idea -- without, [Pope] Urban believed, any proof in its future" (Sobel 138). However, Galileo still undertook steps to protect himself, defending his writings as a way: "to show Protestants to the north…that Catholics understood more about astronomy" (Sobel 140). His writings, in other words, would be used to glorify the Church and Catholicism's intelligence, as compared to Protestantism. Given that Catholicism and Protestantism were effectively 'at war' for dominance over Europe at the time, Galileo hoped that being seen as a warrior against Protestantism would license his writings and take some of the 'heat' of scrutiny off of his writings.

Q4. Describe the relationship between Galileo and Cardinal Barberini, who become Pope Urban. How did this and Galileo's Catholic faith shape his science and his writings? Describe the dialogue concerning the chief two world systems and the strategies Galileo employed to make it acceptable, including its licensing.

In his dialogue, Galileo acknowledged the possible objections that could arise. "The Dialogue resumed his importuning the truths of Nature be allowed to emerge through science. Such truths, he believed, could only glorify the words of God" (Sobel 148). Galileo understood that his theories, derived from observations and calculations, could be viewed to contradict the Copernican system. However, he denied this possibility. The centrality of man in the universe and the worldview of God, according to the Church were often viewed as replicated in the centrality of the earth in the center of the Copernican system. Galileo's findings seemed to deny this fact and displace Man. However, Galileo did not deny the reliance of human beings upon God, and viewed understanding God's universe as an essential component of his religious mission in life.

Catholicism fundamentally views the world as God-created and God, although human beings may choose to sin in this good, God-derived world. The existence of Original Sin does not mean that the world is evil, nor that rationalism is evil. All human beings have free will to make decisions about how to govern their existence.