Was the scientific revolution primarily one concerned with the solar system?

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R. Jefferys

November 2002

Was the scientific revolution primarily one concerned with the solar system?

  In the early modern period, scientific advancements paved the way for the findings, which we now take for granted, but back then were originally seen as a far more abstract concept.  This was largely due to the work of men such as Galileo Galilei (1564 – 1642), Nicolaus Copernicus (1473 – 1543), Johannes Kepler (1571 – 1630), Tycho Brahe (1564 – 1601) and Ismael Boulliau (1605 – 1694) as well as others.  Their work meant that whether it was believed or not originally, there was some sense of a revolution in the sciences giving us a greater understanding of the world in which we live.  However the scientific revolution, which took place during the early modern period also signals something that has a far greater historical impact on the time.  Whilst many may have predominantly looked skywards for answers to their questions, the revolution marked a new direction in renaissance thinking much closer to the ground.  Whether it was the discoveries and new theories of the cosmos proposed by Copernicus or Galileo, or whether it was Gilbert’s work on the magnet or even Bacon’s work on learning, what came out of the scientific revolution was that the sciences rather than being their own separate entity were rather more inter-linked than originally thought.  Therefore the scientific revolution was largely about the way science was thought of as well as the remarkable discoveries that were made.

  The invention and subsequent wider use of the telescope in 1609 by Galileo was a massive step in understanding the heavens.  Indeed this invention meant that Kepler and others could now harness the new technology to further their ideas on the celestial bodies.  Indeed the relationship between Kepler and Galileo was somewhat unusual.  Their personalities were very different but they had a striking similarity in that they both had a thirst for discovering and understanding the universe.  When their paths crossed it was as unlikely as it was misunderstood.  ‘Kepler and Galileo pursued very different paths in their search for the truth about the physical universe.’  On the face of it one could deduce that the two would conflict with each other as their approaches to their research were very different ‘Galileo was more the practical man… Kepler was less earthbound…’ However Kepler was influential in responding to Galileo’s ‘message’, who’s ‘newly discovered facts raised questions of profound philosophical importance.’  The misunderstanding that took place is more to do with Kepler’s choice of language than of Galileo’s discoveries but the society of the time seized on the fact that Galileo was proclaiming himself to be a ‘messenger’, when his intention was merely to convey a ‘message’.  The fact that such heavyweights of the science world were so influential in this time, only goes to highlight the importance and significance of the period and reinforces the fact that discoveries in the science of the solar system were remarkably important in the scientific revolution of the time.

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  Copernicus’ argument in 1543 in De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium that states that the sun is the centre of the solar system was remarkably forward thinking and radical for the time.  Indeed it has been described as a ‘revolutionary new blueprint for the planetary system’ Essentially his thoughts on this were dispelled and his books sold relatively few copies.  However it was the far-reaching consequences of his work, which are of note, setting out as they do an explanation for the structure of the solar system far ahead of its time.  For this reason, Copernicus’ theory has to be seen as ...

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