"The Scientific Revolution was a series of events that marked the emergence of modern science during the early modern period..."
The period of significant scientific discoveries and advancements that occurred before and during the Enlightenment.
The Renaissance: The intellectual and cultural movement that preceded the Scientific Revolution and laid the groundwork for it.
The printing press: The invention that made knowledge more accessible and facilitated the spread of ideas.
Nicolaus Copernicus: The Polish astronomer who proposed the heliocentric model, which placed the sun at the center of the solar system.
Galileo Galilei: The Italian astronomer who made groundbreaking observations that supported Copernicus' model, but who was also persecuted by the Catholic Church for his views.
Isaac Newton: The English physicist who formulated the laws of motion and gravity, and whose work provided a unifying framework for the new scientific discoveries.
Francis Bacon: The English philosopher who emphasized empirical observation and experimentation in scientific inquiry, and who advocated for a new, methodical approach to knowledge.
René Descartes: The French philosopher who developed a systematic method of doubt and deduction in reasoning, and who emphasized the importance of mathematical logic in scientific inquiry.
Enlightenment philosophy: The broader intellectual movement of the 18th century that extended and built upon the ideas of the Scientific Revolution, emphasizing reason, human rights, and progress.
Science and religion: The complex relationship between scientific inquiry and religious beliefs, which was often tense and conflicted during the Scientific Revolution.
Scientific institutions and societies: The organizations and communities that formed to promote and support scientific research, collaboration, and dissemination of knowledge.
Discoveries in Astronomy: This includes the work of Nicolaus Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, and Galileo Galilei, who made key discoveries in the field of astronomy.
Newtonian Physics: Sir Isaac Newton's laws of motion and gravitation revolutionized the understanding of physics and mechanics.
Scientific Method: Francis Bacon and René Descartes proposed the scientific method as a way of carrying out experiments and making observations in a systematic way.
Microscopy: Antony van Leeuwenhoek and Robert Hooke were instrumental in developing the first microscopes, which allowed scientists to observe microscopic organisms and structures for the first time.
Medical Discoveries: William Harvey's work on the circulatory system and Edward Jenner's development of the smallpox vaccine were significant contributions to medical science.
Chemistry: Robert Boyle's work on gases and the discovery of phosphorus and other elements helped establish the foundations of modern chemistry.
Political Philosophy: The ideas of John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and others contributed to the development of modern political thought and the concept of democracy.
Social Science: The Age of Enlightenment also saw the development of sociology, economics, and other social sciences, which helped explain social phenomena and the behavior of individuals within society.
"...developments in mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology, and chemistry transformed the views of society about nature."
"The Scientific Revolution took place in Europe in the second half of the Renaissance period..."
"...the 1543 Nicolaus Copernicus publication De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) often cited as its beginning."
"The era of the Scientific Renaissance focused, to some degree, on recovering the knowledge of the ancients..."
"[The era of the Scientific Renaissance]...is considered to have culminated in Isaac Newton's 1687 publication Principia..."
"...formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation, thereby completing the synthesis of a new cosmology."
"The subsequent Age of Enlightenment saw the concept of a scientific revolution emerge in the 18th-century work of Jean Sylvain Bailly..."
"Jean Sylvain Bailly...described a two-stage process of sweeping away the old and establishing the new."
"There continues to be scholarly engagement regarding the boundaries of the Scientific Revolution and its chronology."