New Science of the 17th Century, ch 16 Flashcards
A school of thought based on the teachings of Plato and prevalent in the Roman Empire, which had a profound effect on the formation of Christian theology. They argued that nature is a book written by its creator to reveal the ways of God to humanity. Convinced that God’s perfection must be reflected in nature, they searched for the ideal and perfect structures that they believed must lie behind the ‘shadows’ of the everyday world.
Neoplatonism
From the French word meaning ‘rebirth,’ this term came to be used in the nineteenth century to describe the artistic, intellectual, and cultural movement that emerged in Italy after 1300 and that sought to recover and emulate the heritage of the classical past.
Renaissance
A program of study associated with the movement known as the Renaissance, this belief aimed to replace the scholastic emphasis on logic and philosophy with the study of ancient languages, literature, history, and ethics.
Humanism
Polish astronomer who advanced the idea that the earth moved around the sun.
Nicolas Copernicus (1473 - 1543)
Danish astronomer who believed that the careful study of the heavens would unlock the secrets of the universe. For over twenty years, he charted the movements of significant objects in the night sky, compiling the finest set of astronomical data in Europe.
Tycho Brahe (1546 - 1601)
Mathematician and astronomer who elaborated on and corrected Copernicus’s theory and is chiefly remembered for his discovery of the three laws of planetary motion that bear his name.
Johannes Kepler (1571 - 1630)
Italian physicist and inventor; the implications of his ideas raised the ire of the Catholic Church, and he was forced to retract most of his findings.
Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642)
Ptolemy of Alexandria promoted Aristotle’s understanding of cosmology. In this system, the heavens orbit the earth in an organized hierarchy of spheres, and the earth and the heavens are made of different matter and subject to different laws of motion. A prime mover produces the motion of the celestial bodies.
Ptolemaic System
British philosopher and scientist who pioneered the scientific method and inductive reasoning. In other words, he argued that thinkers should amass many observations and then draw general conclusions or propose theories on the basis of these data.
Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626)
French philosopher and mathematician who emphasized the use of deductive reasoning.
Rene Descartes (1596 - 1650)
One of the foremost scientists of all time, He was an English mathematician and physicist; he is noted for his development of calculus, work on the properties of light, and theory of gravitation.
Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727)
This British society’s goal was to pursue collective research. Members would conduct experiments, record the results, and share them with their peers, who would study the methods, reproduce the experiment, and assess the results. The arrangement gave English scientists a sense of common purpose as well as a system to reach a consensus on facts.
Royal Society
This French institute of scientific inquiry was founded in 1666 by Louis XIV. France’s statesmen exerted control over the academy and sought to share in the rewards of any discoveries its members made.
Academy of Sciences
She was accepted into the Academy of Science in Bologna for her work in mathematics, which made her one of the few women to be accepted into a scientific academy in the seventeenth century.
Laura Bassi (1711 - 1778)
English natural philosopher who developed her own speculative natural philosophy. She used this philosophy to critique those who excluded her from scientific debate.
Margaret Cavendish (1623 - 1673)
