4.2 Scientific Revolution

New Methods of Inquiry

The Scientific Revolution replaced reliance on ancient authorities (Aristotle, Galen) with observation and experimentation. Francis Bacon promoted empiricism (inductive reasoning from observed data), while René Descartes championed rationalism (deductive reasoning from first principles). Together these methods formed the basis of the scientific method, transforming how Europeans pursued knowledge.

Astronomy Overturns the Cosmos

Copernicus proposed heliocentrism, challenging the Church-endorsed geocentric model. Kepler calculated elliptical planetary orbits, and Galileo used the telescope to confirm heliocentric evidence, facing Church condemnation for it. Newton later unified these findings with universal gravitation, mathematically explaining motion throughout the universe in *Principia Mathematica*.

Broader Impact

New institutions like the Royal Society and French Academy of Sciences promoted scientific exchange and legitimized empirical study. The Revolution encouraged skepticism toward traditional religious and political authority, fueling the later Enlightenment by suggesting reason and observation, not faith alone, could uncover natural and even social laws.

Key terms

Heliocentrism

The theory that the sun, not the Earth, is the center of the solar system; proposed by Copernicus.

Empiricism

The belief that knowledge comes from observation and experimentation; championed by Francis Bacon.

Rationalism

The belief that reason and deduction from first principles are the primary source of knowledge; associated with Descartes.

Isaac Newton

English scientist who formulated the law of universal gravitation, unifying celestial and terrestrial physics in Principia Mathematica.

Galileo Galilei

Astronomer who used the telescope to support heliocentrism; condemned by the Catholic Church for his findings.

Try an AP-style question

Newton's Principia explained…

1. the theory of evolution
2. the circulation of the blood
3. the structure of cells
4. universal gravitation and laws of motion