Newton, Galileo, and Descartes
Emmie Thompson
Mr. Lindley
AP European
11 January 2013
Galileo, Descartes, and Newton The scientific revolution gave way to a radical change in the ideology of mankind. Prior to the scientific revolution, ideas were dominated by the church. Religion dominated science and was a superior source of knowledge. When science contradicted the church, it was wrong. This clash was seen with the claim of the earth not being the center of the universe, but the sun. The church declared this as heresy since the Bible always described the earth as still and everything else as mobile. The transition from the Bible dominating science to them being equal in authority first came with Galileo. Following his ideas were many other scientists and mathematicians to come with differing ideas and theories which changed the course of history. The ideas of Galileo, Descartes, and Newton radically altered the course of human history with their emphasis of a rational world and man’s ability to reason, which challenged the traditional order of science being subject to religion. The ideas and discoveries of Galileo Galilei in the late 16th to early 17th century was a pivotal point in Western civilization. In the time that Galileo lived, earth was believed to be the center of the universe given that it was home to man. It was held by all the churches and intellectual elite that the universe revolved around mankind. They didn’t except the Copernican theory of the earth revolving around the sun, claiming it to be against Biblical principles. They saw it as either science or the Bible, not any combination of the two. Galileo introduced the idea that science actually confirms and supports the Bible and vice versa. Galileo described the universe as rational, logical, and orderly, much like the characteristics of God. The universe is God’s creation and the Bible also His Word, so he believed that one wasn’t superior to the other as far as being a source of revelation to God and his
Mr. Lindley
AP European
11 January 2013
Galileo, Descartes, and Newton The scientific revolution gave way to a radical change in the ideology of mankind. Prior to the scientific revolution, ideas were dominated by the church. Religion dominated science and was a superior source of knowledge. When science contradicted the church, it was wrong. This clash was seen with the claim of the earth not being the center of the universe, but the sun. The church declared this as heresy since the Bible always described the earth as still and everything else as mobile. The transition from the Bible dominating science to them being equal in authority first came with Galileo. Following his ideas were many other scientists and mathematicians to come with differing ideas and theories which changed the course of history. The ideas of Galileo, Descartes, and Newton radically altered the course of human history with their emphasis of a rational world and man’s ability to reason, which challenged the traditional order of science being subject to religion. The ideas and discoveries of Galileo Galilei in the late 16th to early 17th century was a pivotal point in Western civilization. In the time that Galileo lived, earth was believed to be the center of the universe given that it was home to man. It was held by all the churches and intellectual elite that the universe revolved around mankind. They didn’t except the Copernican theory of the earth revolving around the sun, claiming it to be against Biblical principles. They saw it as either science or the Bible, not any combination of the two. Galileo introduced the idea that science actually confirms and supports the Bible and vice versa. Galileo described the universe as rational, logical, and orderly, much like the characteristics of God. The universe is God’s creation and the Bible also His Word, so he believed that one wasn’t superior to the other as far as being a source of revelation to God and his