SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION

Question 1

What are the three key takeaways of the scientific revolution?

Answer 1

1. People often think it is against religion (it is not)
2. Self-Conscious
3. It rested on close social relationships

Question 2

What was the relationship between science and religion in the scientific revolution?

Answer 2

Science and religion go hand-in-hand in much of the early modern period

*Some of the greatest scientists of the period are also clergy: Athanasius Kircher (1602 – 1680), a Jesuit priest, was the first person to propose germ theory

Question 3

What was the goal with science in this era?

Answer 3

Scientific research is just one way to understand God’s creation

*“A little philosophy inclineth man’s mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men’s minds about to religion.“ – Francis Bacon, The Essays or Counsells (1625)

*Challenges to Biblical truth (e.g. heliocentrism) cause friction

Question 4

Who is Francis Bacon?

Answer 4

father of the scientific revolution

Highly educated (trained as a lawyer)

Best remembered for his work on scientific method

Question 5

What was interesting about Bacon’s personal life?

Answer 5

served as King James I’s Attorney General and Lord Chancellor

Sexuality a matter of debate  Married, but allegedly had male lovers (including possibly King James VI & I

Question 6

What was Bacon’s scandal?

Answer 6

1621: fall from grace in corruption scandal  Bacon was accused of accepting gifts from people with business before the Attorney General and using it to cover his debt

Question 7

What is “New Atlantis” ?

Answer 7

Francis Bacon’s unfinished novel

*Utopian fiction: imagining what a better, more rational world would look like
- linked with the development of science fiction

Question 8

What is Solomon’s house in “New Atlantis”?

Answer 8

Salomon’s House: ideal scientific institution using Baconian methods to understand and harness nature for the common good

*All the jobs in Salomon’s house are divided up amongst the fellows

Question 9

Baconian Science

How should scientific research be done?

Answer 9

1.Observation and description of what you observe

2.Classifying your observations

3.Rejecting anything that appears, after steps 1 & 2, to not be connected with the phenomenon you are observing

Question 10

Baconian Science

What is Skepticism?

Answer 10

questioning and doubting your assumptions

Question 11

Baconian Science

What is Empiricism?

Answer 11

observation is your most reliable source

Question 12

What is Bacon’s idea on God’s plan and knowledge?

Answer 12

Understanding God’s creation is a way of understanding God’s plan

Understanding God’s plan = the plan coming to an end

Question 13

What is the royal society in 1630s?

Answer 13

informal letter networks circulate ideas about science, religion, and other topics of interest

Question 14

What is the royal society in 1640s?

Answer 14

group of scholars known as the “Invisible College” begin meeting informally in London & Oxford to discuss scientific research

*Directly inspired by Salomon’s House

Question 15

What is the royal society in 1662?

Answer 15

official charter of the Royal Society signed by Charles 2

Question 16

How did the royal society operate? (President, secretary, and fellow)

Answer 16

The president oversaw the meetings and handled disputes

*The secretary maintained the records of the society

a fellow through an election process = existing members have to vote you in (still to this day)

Question 17

What was a regular meeting at the royal society?

Answer 17

h scientific papers would be read out loud

*Meeting minutes, received letters, and presented papers are published in the Philosophical Transactions (model for academic journals today)

Question 18

What did members of the royal society have to do after Cromwell died?

Answer 18

HARD pivot, many failed and faded into obscurity

Question 19

What is “Gentleman scientist”?

Answer 19

financially-independent, well-regarded, a man of means but not necessarily an aristocrat (perhaps a lesser son)

*“A gentleman and a scholar”

*There is a code of etiquette to scientific research

*In a scientific dispute, the more well-regarded person often wins

Question 20

What is an “Intelligencer”?

Answer 20

someone who circulates information to interested parties via letter networks

Question 21

Scientific research demands to be ____?

Answer 21

Scientific research demands to be shared = replicability

Question 22

________ became the first Secretary of the Royal Society with the specific mandate of leveraging & growing his European network of scientist.

Answer 22

Henry Oldenburg

Question 23

How is the English crown directly involved in scientific advancements?

Answer 23

Charted at english crown (english crown directly involved)

• so other countries can’t really spread scientific discovery
• Or if war w/country - cannot write to friends from there

Question 24

How are societies funded?

Answer 24

Founded by scientists

Founded by patrons

Founded by the government

Question 25

The age of disciplinary

How did fields change over time?

Answer 25

Scientists before: Be well versed in many different topics

Now: Fields to focus on
- Bracket off science as distinct practice (also subdisciplines ex. chymestry)

Question 26

What was the lab like for gentlemen scientists?

Answer 26

Gentleman scientists owned laboratory space and envisioned experiments

*The day-to-day work was often conducted by assistants (side job for educated working men)

*Note-taking and letter-writing performed by secretarie

Question 27

What are the two ways women would be involved in Labs?

Answer 27

1. As patrons
2. As note-takers

Question 28

Were women every actually scientists?

Answer 28

Yes!

*Émilie du Châtelet (1706 – 1749): mathematician and physicist, pioneer in study of kinetics

*Caroline Herschel (1750 – 1848): astronomer, first woman in England to be paid for scientific study

Question 29

Were there failures?

Answer 29

Yes! perpetual motion machine

Goal that it could do something forever (ex. forever distill water)

Religious issue with this:
Does it have a soul?
Will it unluck immortality?

Question 30

What happens after the scientific revolution?

Answer 30

Enlightenment

Emphasis on empirical observation, skepticism, and using reason

Science as study and career

Science in colonies