History: On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres by Nicolas Copernicus

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European belief relied heavily on what the human mind could observe. However, many of what we perceive of modern science delved deeper that what the mind could see. Rather, some looked deeper into how the world worked and some even looked toward the sky for answers to why God created the world the way it appeared. After many discoveries and evolutions of thought, the way human beings saw themselves within the universe was changed forever.
The Aristotelian tradition dominated most of modern Europe. People believed that this belief system was simply common sense. It was based on what an individual could see, touch, or any of the other six senses. This became very popular with the less educated people that made up most of Europe. The belief simply saw that the world was created by God and the world is perfectly logical and organized. It also believed that God resided in the heavens, or the sky above. Therefore, the heavens were perfect and were completely round, being that the circular shape is seen as perfect. It became “common sense” that the earth was at the center of the universe and was motionless, with all ten heavenly bodies circling around it, and because it was clear to the people that the earth was faulted, Earth was a symbol of the imperfections that they possessed. Each thought or belief about the world around them and the heavens above them fit with statements in the Bible. Though it was seen as just common sense, universities taught this throughout and it was also endorsed by the church. However, questions began to rise that the Aristotelian tradition could not answer.
Polish astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus, began to question the earth-centered universe. After his death, his book On the Revolution of the Heavenly Sphere...

... middle of paper ...

...out the world. (Galileo)
To answer the question on whether or not scientists changed people’s outlook on the natural world is simply; yes, the scientists did. But to expand and to be, quite frankly, cryptic; early scientist merely created more scientists.

Works Cited

Copernicus, Nicolaus. On the Revolution of Heavenly Spheres. Amherst, NY: Prometheus, 1995. Web.
Galilei, Galileo, and Stillman Drake. Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo: Including the Starry Messenger (1610), Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina (1615), and Excerpts from Letters on Sunspots (1613), the Assayer (1623). New York: Anchor, 1990. Web
Galilei, Galileo, and Stillman Drake. Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo: Including the Starry Messenger (1610), Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina (1615), and Excerpts from Letters on Sunspots (1613), the Assayer (1623). New York: Anchor, 1990. Web.

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