Scientific Revolution Essay

The expansion and endorsement of intellectualism by the many important forward thinking scientists created a desire for social revolution, which, in turn, created an atmosphere conducive to further intellectual study. The Scientific Revolution was, in essence, both a social and intellectual revolution. During the Scientific Revolution, scientists such as Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Francis Bacon, Rene Descartes, and Christiaan Huygens wrestled with questions concerning God, human intellectualism, and their scientific views of the universe, its purpose, and how it functions. Ultimately, the implications of these new scientific discoveries began to change the way people thought and behaved. People began to question the widely accepted and Roman Catholic Church endorsed Aristotelian views of the universe. This led to the questioning of the traditional views of the state and societal structure. The geocentric Ptolemaic model was no longer blindly accepted. The earth was now no longer easily explainable or thought to be the center of the universe. Beliefs that were hundreds of years old were now proven to be false.

In addition to this, the authority of the Roman Catholic Church, which had always held that the motion of the universe was controlled by God, was now questioned by many. In response, this set the Roman Catholic Church as a natural opponent of the Scientific Revolution. This was because the new information contradicted the Church’s world view not because of opposition to new ideas or scientific exploration itself. Fortunately, the Scientific Revolution happened moderately over approximately a one hundred and fifty year period so society and the Church had time to adjust to the revolutionary new thoughts.

Nicolaus...

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...ul attitudes regarding science exploration and religion or because they came later in the Revolution and the Church and society was more prepared to receive their messages. Religion was based on personal faith and guidance by the Church and prior to the Scientific Revolution, the Church had even extended their power into the world of science. Science and scientists proved to have the final say, not so much as to discredit the Roman Catholic Church but to dictate a place for science in the world. In the end, science and religion remained independent from each other and free of outside control, which allowed each person to define the universe and its workings for themselves. Through the many years of the Scientific Revolution, people were inspired to pursue knowledge for themselves and make social changes, thus fulfilling both social and intellectual revolutions.