The 16th Century Ideas That Echo Through Modern Science
The 16th Century Ideas That Echo Through Modern Science “The history of science is part of the history of mankind. It is a record of one aspect of the human struggle to achieve security and certainty in an ever-changing universe.” (Levy, 3) Science is an ever expanding subject and reaches out into almost every aspect of our lives. Before the sixteenth-century science as we know it did not exist. Natural philosophy, and astronomy were the main focus of the time. These two fields were highly based on observation and theory. Throughout all of history man has used science to change the world around him. The thinkers of the sixteenth-century established the foundation for modern science. All theoretical scientists must all have a similar way of thinking. The key is doubt - an inclination not to believe or accept (Webster Dictionary). Descartes was one of the first philosophers to use a systematic skepticism when analyzing the works of others. Simply put, Descartes doubted the ideas around him. Richard Feynman seems to have a similar way of thinking. He says, “Once you start doubting, which I think, to me is a very fundamental part of my … soul, is to doubt and to ask. When you doubt and ask it gets a little harder to believe.”(Feynman) Doubt must have been a fundamental belief that the sixteenth-century thinkers had. For science to advance it is imperative that scientists approach an issue with doubt and questions. One of the people at the start of history, Aristotle (384-322 B.C.), a pioneer in logic, metaphysics, ethics, natural sciences, politics, and poetics, profoundly influenced Western thought. He firmly believed that terrestrial bodies naturally move towards the earth (which he alleged was located at the center of the universe). He also claimed there was an unnatural violent motion that moved away from the earth. This view of natural and unnatural motion fit agreeably with the Churches view of good and evil. Claudius Ptolemy (85-165 A.D.) an
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