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The View of Humans during the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions

        Two periods in European history changed the way humans lived, viewed the world, and viewed themselves—the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions.  Although the general focus of the two revolutions is different, the following text overview the two periods, details how the first influenced the latter, and narrates what made the two time spans differ.

Setting of the Scientific Revolution

        The period known as the Scientific Revolution was influential in establishing a foundation for modern science.  The advances of the Scientific Revolution influenced how humans viewed Earth, God, animals, plants, and themselves.  

The When and the Where

        The exact period of the Scientific Revolution varies based upon the source read, but the main phase of scientific advances occurred during the seventeenth century (Henry 1).  The Scientific Revolution began to develop in the sixteenth century and continued to progress on into the eighteenth century (Henry 1).

The Scientific Revolution is primarily a European concept, but the effects of the time influenced scientific thought and study throughout the world (Spielvogel 571).  For the purpose of this essay, the focus is on the European Scientific Revolution.

Basic Focus and Causes of the Scientific Revolution

        Although the Scientific Revolution encompassed many new ideas, finding a new view of the world and what place humans played in the universe were central concepts (Spielvogel 570).  More specifically, the Scientific Revolution provided human beings with practical reasons for everyday events, such as the Earth’s rotation, illnesses, and the changing of the seasons (Spielvogel 572).

        Several theories exist regarding the cause of the Scientific Revolution.  One possible reason for the revolution came from the influence of prior medieval scholars (Spielvogel 571).  Medieval philosophers had been making advances in mathematics and science, but their studies were under the constraints of religious authority (Spielvogel 571).  After the Reformation, scholars had more freedom to explore these fields (Spielvogel 571).

        Another possible influence was the work of the humanists (Spielvogel 572).  Humanism, which spread throughout Europe during the Renaissance, focused on the potential and achievements of humans and practical studies of human life (Henry 10).   The Scientific Revolution researched and elaborated on the ideas of humanists (Henry 13).  Additionally, humanist schools began incorporating scientific education, which helped provoke the expansion of the Revolution (Burns 91).

        Renaissance art also may have contributed to the Scientific Revolution (Spielvogel 572).  Renaissance art portrayed real items, since most art was done by direct observation (Henry 10).  These near real-life replicas provoked scientists to further study the human form, movement, and other aspects (Debus 8).

        One final influence on the Scientific Revolution was the increased popularity of magic (Spielvogel 572).  To relate religion to nature during the sixteenth century, scholars used natural magic (Debus 13).  Most magic was not magic at all, but instead scientific knowledge not yet acquired by most of society (Debus 13).  In order to understand natural magic, scientists during the Scientific Revolution sought to explain the so-called paranormal events through research (Debus 14).

A Change in the View of Humans

        The Scientific Revolution significantly changed the perception of humans from the fifteenth century.  The progress of the sciences slowly changed the internal view of humans, inside the human body, and externally, in relation to their surroundings (Henry 86).  

How Humans were Perceived before the Scientific Revolution

Before the revolution, religion was a prominent explanation for natural events (Henry 85).  God was the justification for the anatomy and function of objects in nature, including humans (Henry 86).  In this Godly worldview, humans and the Earth were the center of the universe, and everything else in the solar system revolved in spherical passes around Earth (Spielvogel 574).  In this view, God’s plan explained death, birth, illnesses, recoveries, and all other bodily functions (Spielvogel 584).  Overall, the understanding of the human body and of human interaction was religion based.

How the Perspective of the Universe Changed the Role of Humans

        In contrast, the Scientific Revolution changed the basis of how we understood the human body and its function.  One of the initial changes was that the Earth was not the center of the universe (Debus 12).  Copernicus introduced a universe where the sun was the central body (Debus 83).  During the latter part of the Revolution, Copernicus and other scientists (like Sir Isaac Newton) also elaborated on the size of the universe (Debus 88).   In the new model made by astronomers, the universe was a large machine with specific parts and functions (Hooker).  

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In his letter to Richard Bentley, Newton described the universe.  In one letter he writes, “…Comets as often as they appear to us descend into the system of out Planets lower than the orb of Jupiter and sometimes lower than the orbs of Venus and Mercury…” (Cohen 330).  With the vivid picture of the heavens depicted by Newton, Copernicus, and others, humans were no longer large parts of the universe, but instead, they were tiny parts of the bigger picture (Spielvogel 597).  

The Sciences’ Affect on the Role of Humans

        Anatomy, physiology, biology, chemistry, and other physical sciences changed ...

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