APE Chapter 16 – Flashcards

theory of the organization of the universe proposed by 2nd Century Greek astronomer Ptolemy. This suggested that the earth was the center of the universe and that ten perfect heavenly bodies orbited it in a circular motion. The earth was composed of earth, air, fire, and water and was imperfect and constantly changing. The tenth sphere was called the 'prime mover' and it moved itself and imparted motion to the remaining spheres. Beyond the spheres was the Empyrean Heaven which held God and the saved souls. This agreed with the Christian theory on the composition of the universe and it was finite.

theory on the composition of the universe that placed the earth at the center. All of the other celestial bodies orbited around it. Ptolemy suggested this idea.

lived from 1473-1543 in Italy and studied mathematics and astronomy. He published the book On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres just before his death. This book proposed that the sun was the center of the universe and was surrounded by only eight spheres. The moon still revolved around the earth. He explained the appearance of the sun and stars rotating around the earth as a result of the earth turning on its own axis and the journey of the earth around the sun each year. He kept the idea of circular motion and was left with a very complex system. The protestant leaders spoke out against Copernicus because it caused uncertainty about the human role in the universe as well as God's location.

the belief that the sun, not the earth, is at the center of the universe. This was first proposed by Nicolaus Copernicus and reinforced later by Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, and Isaac Newton.

lived from 1546-1601 in Denmark. He made a castle in which he had observatories and instruments he had designed for more precise astronomical observations. He compiled a huge record of the observations he made there for the next twenty years. These were the most accurate there had ever been and his records led him to reject the geocentric conception, but he still didn't believe that the earth moved. In the last few years of his life, Brahe took Johannes Kepler on as an assistant and led him to make his discoveries

lived from 1571-1630 in Germany (parents wanted him to be a Lutheran minister but while studying at college, he became interested in math and astronomy) and was an apprentice to Tycho Brahe. With his access to Brahe's records, Kepler theorized about the geometric proportions of the universe. This led him to his three laws of planetary motion.

ideas of Kepler that confirmed Copernicus' heliocentric theory while modifying it in some ways. The first law stated that the orbits of the planets around the sun were elliptical, the second demonstrated that the speed of a planet is greater while closer to the sun and slower while farther away, and the third established that larger planets moved slower. It disproved the circular motion of the heavenly bodies.

lived from 1564-1642 in Italy. He suggested that the planets weren't perfect and they were actually made of a material similar to that of what the earth is made of. He was able to prove this because of the invention of the telescope. He saw the mountains and craters on the moon, the four moons revolving around Jupiter, the phases of Venus, and sunspots. He was also the first to propose the theory of inertia which stated that a body in motion continues in motion forever unless deflected by an external force. This changed the focus of scientists toward explaining the changes in motion and trying to fit all the theories together. He was persecuted by the inquisition because his ideas didn't have humans at the center and didn't have a place for God. Because of this condemnation and economic decline, the scientific revolution shifted to Northern Europe.

lived from 1642-1727 in England. He made his advancements during two specific periods (1666 and 1684-1686) in which he was allowed to be creative. He not only made the universal law of gravitation, but he invented calculus and began investigations into the composition of light. He was extremely interested in the occult world and left behind tons of papers on alchemy. Newton was the one who finally pulled together all of the theories and is regarded as the genius of the Scientific Revolution.

Newton published this in his book Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy (or just Principia). It stated three laws: every object stays in motion (straight line) or at rest until deflected, rate of change of motion is proportional to the force acting on it, and every action has an opposite and equal reaction. The reason that the planets didn't go in a straight line was because of the laws of gravity. The law of gravity said that every object in the universe was attracted to every other object with a force that is proportional to their masses and the distance between the two objects. The rules from his book created the world-machine that minimized the role of God in the universe.

second century Greek who specialized in anatomy, physiology, and disease. He dissected animals, rather than humans, and just applied that anatomy to humans. This caused a highly inaccurate perception of the human body for years because all the 'modern' scientists still used his teachings as a guide. He believed that there was a separate blood system for the muscular activity and another for the digestive system. He also believed that disease came from an imbalance of the four bodily humors.

any disease came from an imbalance of these. Blood- warm and moist. Yellow bile- warm and dry. Phlegm- cold and moist. Black bile- cold and dry. The chief method of determining a treatment plan then became examination of urine. It could be determined what the imbalance was by looking at the color and quantity of urine. This treatment, like purging and bleeding, was often harmful to the patient, but the herbs they used were sometimes helpful.

lived 1493-1541 in Switzerland and Italy. He was forced to move around because he was obnoxiously arrogant and thought he was better than everyone. He rejected the work of Aristotle and Galen and the universities of his day. He presented the microcosm-macrocosm theory that the human body was a smaller model of the entire universe. The chemical reactions occurring in the universe were also occurring in the human body, therefore one single part of the body could become sick as opposed to an imbalance of bodily humor throughout the body. His treatment plan used chemical remedies that were carefully administered to ensure the correct quantity. He turned against Galen's "contraries cure" with his "like cures like." He also used what were called "new drugs"

Paracelsus' treatment plan that used carefully measured doses of prepared metals and minerals. It used chemical remedies as opposed to the prior bleeding and purging. He wasn't the first to use chemicals but his precision on quantity set Paracelsus apart. He also believed in the theory that "like cures like" and treated patients with the poison that caused the disease in the first place. The use of this treatment plan for the sick eventually got him dubbed the Father of Modern Medicine.

he is the famous guy of the Scientific Revolution about anatomy. He dissected humans himself to illustrate his observations. He looked at individual organs as well as the general structure of the body. The artistic advances of the Renaissance and the technology in printing pictures allowed his book to spread quickly and effectively. He rejected Galen's thought that blood pumped through the liver when he saw a human heart, but kept the misconception of two different types of blood running through the body. Nobody questioned him because they had seen the body in front of them or on the page of the book.

lived from 1578 to 1657, attended Cambridge University, and later got a doctorate of medicine in Padua. Harvey meticulously observed numerous experiments, which eventually led him to his great discoveries and rejection of Galen's ideas. He reiterated the point that the heart is the start of circulation in the body and added to that the idea that the blood makes a complete circuit as it passes through the body and that the same blood flows through all of the body. This again discredited Galen's ideas, but nobody believed him until capillaries were discovered in the 1660's.

upper class women were encouraged to learn about the classics and have a general education because of the Renaissance humanist movement. Women with brothers or fathers were allowed to participate in their informal scientific networks. Cavendish is a prime example of a female scientist from England (1623-1673). She was excluded from being a member of the Royal Society but was allowed to go to one of their meetings. Her theories revolved around the humanist idea that humans could control the natural world. She was completely opposed to this, but nobody probably took her seriously because she was a woman. (Women of craft in Germany were allowed to observe sciene)

lived from 1670-1720 in Germany. She was one of the most famous astronomers in Germany. She was educated by both her father and uncle, and went on to marry the foremost male astronomer in Germany. She found a comet her husband hadn't before, but after his death, she still wasn't allowed into any of the scientific societies because of her gender.

this method was developed when Descartes was in the military and in one night perceived the ultimate divinity of mathematics and science. One idea was doubt which stated that Descartes would only believe in those reasons that he thought were true. Another postulate was the separation of mind and matter. From this he came up with Cartesian dualism which by the mind one can understand how the world is governed. It made it so everything not human was 'dead' and open for study and investigation.

an accurate method of seeking knowledge modified by Francis Bacon. It used specific experiments or observations to lead to a generalization that was more likely to be correct. Before Bacon, scientists drew conclusions out of a large generalized rule as opposed to adding up small particular observations to get the general rule. Descartes then added his deductive thinking to the observations. Using math and logic, conclusions could be drawn. Isaac Newton was the one who finally drew the whole thing together, combining the two into one extremely valuable methodology. It answered how something worked but didn't say why, and that's how God remained in the picture.

basically Bacon's new scientific method. It suggested that the scientist start with small and specific experiments/observations. From that data, a generalized rule could then be deduced. This was the first idea that proposed they start from the specifics. This proved to be a more accurate method because sometimes the generalizations observed weren't correct, therefore all the conclusions drawn from them weren't correct.

Spinoza read Descartes' theories about complete separation of mind and matter and disagreed strongly. He thought that everything in the entire universe was a part of god. Humans weren't a kingdom inside a kingdom, but we are as much a part of God as other natural objects. If storms arose, it was because God was mad. Human emotions could be understood through rational explanation, as everything else in the world. Real freedom comes when humans understand the order and necessity of nature and achieve detachment from passing interests.

lived from 1623-1662 in France and was originally a scientist. Then he had an epiphany and tried to unite religion and science. He appealed to the rationalists' reason and their emotions. Humans were vulnerable but at the same time they were great (according to Christianity). That meant that humans had flaws but the supernatural was what made them what they are. He also said that if you believe in God and there is a God, then you're set and if there isn't, no harm done. He eventually rested with faith and his efforts to consolidate the two failed.

both started out of informal gatherings of scientists. They were eventually recognized by their respective kings and the French Academy got lots of state support, remained under state control, members were appointed, and paid salaries by the government. The Royal Society of England received little government encouragement. Both focused on the practical value of scientific research in the beginning. Royal Society looked for technological improvements for industry and French Academy collected tools and machines. Then they focused on the theoretical work in mechanics and astronomy. New observatories were made for better data. French published journal that appealed to both scientists and educated public interested in new science. English published papers aimed at practicing scientists.

The roots of the scientific revolution stand in antiquity, renaissance artists, technological advances, math, and magic. The Renaissance humanists could now translate Greek writings and the works of Galen, Ptolemy, Plato, and Archimedes. The artists were striving to depict people and the natural world with correct proportions, so they studied the world around them to make their paintings realistic. This led to even more curiosity about the mathematical influences in the natural world and the origins of the universe. The technologies that were invented in this time period also fostered the scientific revolution. With better tools, scientists were able to make more precise observations and see things they couldn't before. They rediscovered the ancient mathematicians' teachings and were intrigued by magic. Alchemists and magicians tried to harness their divine power to dominate the world of nature or employ the powers of nature for beneficial purposes. To top it all off, the religious wars had brought about an environment in which people were no longer scared to question the church and government.

The Ptolemaic conception of the universe consisted of 10 perfect heavenly bodies that orbited around the earth in a circular motion. Beyond the heavenly bodies was the Empyrean Heaven, which housed God and all the saved souls. Earth was at the center because humans were built in God's image and were the most important. Copernicus was the first to reject this theory, by saying that the sun was at the center of the universe and there were only eight heavenly bodies. Following him was Kepler, who proposed that the planets orbited the sun in an elliptical motion, speed of planet is faster closer to the sun and slower farther away, and larger planets orbit at a slower rate. Galileo suggested that the planets weren't perfect and that God isn't the one making the planets move (inertia). The Protestant churches spoke out immediately against the geocentric theory, but the Catholic church didn't say anything until Galileo. It went against scripture that humans weren't the center of the universe and that God no longer had a specific place. The heavens had become a place of real matter rather than a spiritual world. These new theories attacked the whole Christian conception of the universe.

After Newton proved his laws of inertia and gravity, he made a conception of the universe that basically said the universe was a uniform machine that operated according to natural laws in absolute time, space, and motion. Although Newton still believed that God was the force that moved all bodies on the basis of the laws he had discovered, this was discarded quickly and proved to have many social, political, and economic consequences. Socially, the lower class had accepted their position in society because that was part of God's plan. When they learned of the world-machine theory and the absence of God from everyday life, they started to question and reject where they had been placed in society. This will eventually lead to rebellions. Politically, the idea of an absolute ruler went away. They were said to have gotten their power from God, but again with God's absence, everybody rejected the absolute ruler. Culturally, it provided for developments in other fields, especially medicine. Now that the Catholic church had finally been proven wrong, people were less scared to voice ideas that went against the church.

Rationalism is a system of thought based on the belief that human reason and experience are the chief sources of knowledge. Descartes went through an epiphany of sorts when he was serving in the military in which doubt struck him. He then came to believe that only what he reasoned to be true is actually true. He developed a line of deductive thinking, so that anything he held to be true came directly from his thoughts. This then led him to the Cartesian dualism theory, because you could doubt the body and material world but you couldn't doubt the mind so the two must be radically different. This theory separated the mind and material things completely, making anything nonhuman dead or inert. Descartes' line of deductive thinking is essentially what rationalism is. He didn't use anything outside his own knowledge to come to a conclusion and rationalism uses the mind as the main source of information.

The invention of the printing press was vital to the spread of scientific knowledge in the seventeenth century. It allowed scientists to communicate not only with other scientists in an easy manner, but it also opened up science to the public (mainly educated upper class). Better ways of printing pictures were also developed during this time, allowing scientists to see what was being taught. The societies formed by scientists and supported by the state (Royal Society and French Academy) also allowed for easy collaboration. They would meet weekly or monthly and discuss new ideas in person, as well as publish their findings. The French published pamphlets that were aimed not only at other scientists, but at the public. The English published material that was only understood by other educated scientists. The easy spread of information proved as fuel for the scientific revolution, because when scientists heard of new ideas, it led them to their own new theories

The discovery of the real composition of the universe was a major breakthrough. It proved to the scientists of their day that it was possible to figure out the most complex of situations if you used deductive thinking. Also the use of new technology was allowing scientists to make new and more precise observations. With this knowledge that they could figure things out on their own, the scientists strived to find a method to help them come to conclusions quicker and ensure their accuracy. A method or system, if designed correctly, could lead scientists to even more discoveries about all the mysteries of the universe. The new scientific method was created for this purpose, and it made people become methodic researchers. The system provided a guideline for deductive thinking. All observations were to be made first, then analysis for a conclusion. This made people become more methodic, because they did the same thing every time and they had to use their observations to come to a conclusion. The development of the scientific method also helped with communication. It was easier to understand somebody else's findings if they used the same method that you were using.