Enlightenment, Science, and Democracy Flashcards
The scientific Revolution was important because it gave us principles and steps for the Scientific Method that were not present in science before. What were some of these principles that gained a foothold in science?
Scientific methods and mathematical tools became standardized. Theoretical assumptions answered observational and empirical tests.
Newtonian physics replaced Aristotelianism beliefs.
This book suggested that the sun was at the center of the universe, rather than the Earth, opposing the widely accepted Geocentric/Ptolemaic model of the universe.
Nicolaus Copernicus’s On the Revolution of the Heavenly Orbs.
This Danish astronomer developed his own namesake model of the solar system. His model depicted the moon orbiting the Earth, the Sun orbiting the Moon. Additionally, you have Mercury and Venus orbiting the Sun, and Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn orbiting the entire solar system.
Tycho Brahe (Tiko Bri).
In 1572, Tycho Brahe observed this spatial event, believing it to be a new star in the Cassiopeia constellation.
Supernova.
This Italian astronomer “turned the telescope to the heavens”. He claimed to have seen Jupiter along with its four Jovian moons, theorizing that other planets also have satellites.
He further saw irregularieis on the surface of the moon. This was seen as heretical as the celestial bodies were supposed to be perfect spheres.
Galileo Galilei
This Italian scientist and philosopher was passionate about Copernicus’s Heliocentric model of the universe. He also believed in the infinite universe and life in outer space. Going against the Catholic Church, he thought that he was reviving the religion of the Ancient Egyptians. For these reasons, he was tortured, hung upside down, and burned at the stake for refusing to recant his scientific beliefs.
Giordano Bruno.
In 1633, Galileo Galilei was put before the Holy Office. They gave Galileo the ultimatum of capital punishment or recanting his scientific views. Ultimately, Galileo decided to do what?
Galileo recanted his views, living under house arrest for the remainder of his life. However, in secrecy, continued less-extreme studies at home.
This is the term for trying to categorize or distinguish science from other intellectual products (such as non-science or pseudoscience).
Demarcation
This ideal claims that science is a free marketplace of ideas. It was named after its namesake thinker, a British empiricst philosopher. It also emphasized “Unconstrained Inquiry”, or, the idea that people are free to study, scrutinize, argue, and build off all existing ideals. Advocating in this ideal means that even the worst idea can gain following and traction in society.
The Millian Ideal (John Stewart Mill)
