The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries witnessed such devout understanding and curiosity of our world, where it has been continuously shaped through various scientific investigations and experiments, conducted by some of the most prolific and influential figures in history. This period in time reflects the very beginning of the use of modern science, through what was called the “Scientific Revolution”. The brilliance behind the concept of the scientific method and reasoning proved to be one of the most controversial, as it longed for answers outside the boundaries of the Church’s state of the universe.
Modern science combatted these faulty theories; forever destroying one world in order to replace another. This period in history not only revolutionized a body of knowledge known as science, but it drastically and positively shifted the ways of general thought. Science is just as ever-changing as it is ever-lasting, but it could have never been accomplished without the works of Copernicus, Galileo and Newton, where the importance of experiments and rationalized thought made it possible to further understand this complex world of ours, without solely relying on past philosophical views.
The astronomical beliefs before the revolution, as well as the main contributors to the birth of modern science, must be further analyzed in order to get a glimpse of this very turning point in history.
Through the years leading to the Scientific Revolution, questions about the nature of the universe and its astronomical structure were inevitable, having been presumably addressed by one of the most adhered disciples at the time, known as natural philosophy, which was mainly based on the ideas and works of Aristotle.
The revised Aristotelian view primarily focused on, with regards to astronomy, the fixed and immobile state of the Earth, where it was surrounded by ten concentric spheres, of which consisted the moon, sun, planets and stars. This thought of the universe existed for merely two thousand years, as it was able to provide an explanation through means of common sense, as well as intertwining with Christian beliefs, where it was believed that humans were placed in the center of all creation.
Through this notion, God and Heaven were situated beyond the spheres, and the “angels kept them moving in perfect circles.”[Mck12] This fusion of the philosophical and Christian views at the time were particularly contributed by medieval theologians, of one being Thomas Aquinas, which made the revised Aristotelian theory possible. However, the revised teachings were challenged on numerous occasions, mainly with the help of universities, who established new fields of study, such as mathematics, astronomy, and physics. This began the process of critical thinking within science, further evolving into what we now know as the scientific revolution.
Leading the scientific crusade, Nicolaus Copernicus’ hypothesis constituted the first theory to break free from the chains of the out-dated medieval system. Having studied astronomy, medicine and church law in Italy, this revolutionary figure adhered to an ancient Greek idea, where the sun, rather than the earth, was at the center of the universe, all while being surrounded by planets and stars. Aristotle’s previous aspects of his theory, including the presence of spheres moving about in a circular motion, were still very much intact in Copernicus’ idea, and thus the heliocentric view was born.
Nevertheless, the pressure of differentiating his position on the astronomical basis of the universe took its toll on Copernicus, as he purposely refused to publish his works, in which he compiled through 1506 to 1530, until the year of his death, in 1543. The official hypothesis, called “On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres”, provided a clear and direct opposition towards religious leaders, as it criticized the belief of a fixed Earth. The Bible itself was also subject to an attack, through which the Protestant leaders noted: “As the Holy Scripture tells us, so did Joshua bid the sun stand still and not the earth.” [Mck12]
Through a Catholic perspective, the Copernican hypothesis did not produce such a harsh reaction at first, but it was soon declared as false and forbidden to be read in 1616. The bravery and the rebellious nature of Copernicus set the ground for future theories and innovations, having sprung the concept of critical thinking, all while moving forward in the name of science and revolution.
Moving forward, a young Florentine by the name of Galileo Galilei reinforced the Copernican hypothesis through telescopic observation and the questioning of old beliefs on motion. Throughout his works, Galileo’s approach to astronomy was conducted using his own experimental method, of which he both fortified and elaborated on. This particular method inevitably discards any form of speculation, and adopts experimental practices in order to accurately and effectively explore the mysteries of the universe.
Examples of such experiments were the measurement of the movement of a rolling ball, of which he kept repeating to assure accurate results. One of his most known examinations consisted of deducing the acceleration of gravity through the law of inertia, which simply states that an object’s complete and natural state is derived from never-ending motion, unless being stopped by some external force, and not from immobility. This innovation inevitably disproved Aristotelian physics.
However, this was only the beginning of Galileo’s impressive findings. Upon hearing about the newly crafted telescope in Holland, Galileo decided to construct one of his own, where he immediately discovered the first four moons of Jupiter. For a second time, he was able to disprove yet another theory, as this astronomical finding refutes the presence of a crystal sphere.
The use of the telescope was a crucial aspect in the philosophy behind Galileo’s astronomical discoveries, where he is famously noted to have concluded that “by the aid of the telescope, anyone may behold the Milky Way in a manner which so distinctly appeals to the senses that all the disputes…are exploded by the irrefutable evidence of our eyes, and we are freed from wordy disputes upon the subject”. [Mck12]
Over the years succeeding the works of Copernicus and Galileo, the scientific community emerged through the acceptance of their teachings, but one very pertinent detail questioned their very nature. Within the community, the findings of these figures in history never explained the origins of the forces that control the universes’ movement, and thus answers were crucial to the development of science.
The first to come forth was the English scientist, Isaac Newton, who, despite his young age and obliviousness to the significance of his own findings, “claims to have discovered his law of universal gravitation as well as the concepts of centripetal force and acceleration”. [Mck12] After not having them published due to his obliviousness of their significance, Newton, while studying in Cambridge University, lays down the appropriate method for assessing scientific analysis’, through means of experimentation and hypothesis.
Correlating with the works of previously mentioned figures in history, Newton sought to compile them within his explanatory system called “The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy”, which, in essence, describes the three laws of motion. All in all, the main contribution that Newton provided to the world of astronomy and science overall, consist of his law of universal gravitation, where it states that every body (meaning people, objects, planets, etc.) in the universe attracts one another through the presence of gravity. Newton was not only a genius of his time, but he was definitely responsible, along with the works of Galileo and Copernicus, in unifying the astronomical structure of the world through his system, and thus revolutionized the way in which we perceive it.
To conclude, the sixteenth and seventeen centuries constituted the very beginning of the evolution of scientific reason within astronomy, where the development of heliocentric views, as opposed to geocentric, shed a bright light for future scientists, as they will indeed continue to revolutionize these ideas throughout the course of history.
Although both perceptions of the universe were inevitably false, the large jump made during that period, from speculation to experimentation, represented an essential blossoming of the ways in which we perceive reality. Scientific knowledge, especially with regards to astronomy, is ever-changing; as the means in which we interpret and analyze ideas have continuously progressed for the greater good of the future.
