Emergence of Science

Question 1

Rene Descartes

Answer 1

French natural philosopher
17th century
Cartesian geometry
Dedicated life to pursuing truth: sought to establish principles so clear that “the mind of man cannot doubt their truth”
“Cogito ergo sum” = I am thinking, therefore I exist
Duality of human existence (body and soul)
Science and math could explain everything
Human body as mechanism
“Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason and Seeking Truth in the Sciences”

Question 2

Francis Bacon

Answer 2

Lawyer, natural philosopher, legislator
Minister to Queen Elizabeth I, King James I
CORRUPT
Developed INDUCTIVE reasoning, in contrast to Aristotle’s DEDUCTION
SCIENTIFIC METHOD

Question 3

Robert Boyle

Answer 3

Wealthy natural philosopher (alchemy, physics)
Refined ideas of Paracelsus, Bacon, Descartes
Paradigm for empiric research
Experimenter with Hooke
AIR PUMP to evacuate air from bell jars
Air necessary for combustion, life, sound transmission
Interested in blood and its function
Argued AGAINST elements (earth, air, fire, mercury, etc.)

Question 4

Anton von Leeuwenhoek

Answer 4

Dutch
Designed and built MICROSCOPES
Draper by trade, no science training
ANIMACULES
British Royal Society

Question 5

William Harvey

Answer 5

Univ of Padua
Studied under HIERONYMOUS Frabricius (valve guy)
Physician to James I and Charles I of England
A “difficult” person
Built studies on Colombo (pulm circulation), Cesalpino (valve function), Fabricius (venous valves)
DE MOTU CORDIS: inductive reasoning, tested an idea and re-tested for proof, rejected Galen, sparked CRITICISM
REFUTED GALENIC IDEAS (two types of blood, pores in heart, ebb and flow in blood vessels, arterial pumping)
BLOOD MUST CIRCULATE

Question 6

Thomas Sydenham

Answer 6

The English Hippocrates
Oxford
Sought to determine SPECIFIC therapies for SPECIFIC diseases

Question 7

Herman Boerhaave

Answer 7

“Greatest physician in Europe” in his time
Chair of Practical Medicine, Univ of Leiden
Founder of modern academic hospital
Popularized BEDSIDE TEACHING
Understood body as mechanism
First POST-MORTEM EXAM to determine cause of illness
Boerhaave’s syndrome = esophageal rupture in violent vomiting
Use of thermometer and magnifying lens in clinical assessment

Question 8

Royal Society of London

Answer 8

Founded 1660 by Robert Boyle and others
Driving force of NEW SCIENCE
Critical of Galenic medicine and Aristotelian science
Advocated Francis Bacon’s INDUCTIVE reasoning

Question 9

Acadamie Royale du Sciences

Answer 9

Founded 1666 by Louis XIV

Followed Descartes’ mechanical philosophy

Question 10

Isaac Newton

Answer 10

Natural philosopher (optics, calculus, mechanics, gravitation)
Trinity College
“Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy”
Influenced by Boyle, Hooke, and Descartes
President of Royal Society of London