GE 7: Intellectual and their revolutionary ideas Copernicus, Darwin, Freud.

Introduction
Intellectual Revolution. The term Intellectual Revolution is used to refer to Greek
speculation about nature in the period before socrates. Hence, intellectual revolution is termed
as pre-socratic or " non-theological or first philosophy.
It is the period where paradigm shift occurred. It is where the scientific beliefs that have been
widely embraced and accepted were challenged and opposed.

NICOLAUS COPERNICUS .
● Mathematician and astronomer.
● He introduced a new concept known as Heliocentric which suggested that the center of
the Solar System was not the Earth but actually the sun.

Claudius Ptolemy. He stated that planets,as well as the sun and the moon move in a circular
motion around the Earth. He believes that the center of the universe is the Earth where the
sun,moon and planet revolve around it .
It is called Geocentric.
Nicolaus Copernicus. Challenge the theory of Ptolemy. He introduced the concept of
Heliocentric, in which the sun is the center of the universe or solar system. This theory
influences conceptual changes in cosmology, religion,physics,and philosophy.It also answered
issues that could not be explained using the geocentric model.
Other works that supported this model started to emerge as well, it was eventually accepted
by people in a period which was called the birth of modern astronomy.

CHARLES ROBERT DARWIN

● An English naturalist and the founder of the "Theory of Evolution" by natural selection.

Darwinian Revolution. was considered to be one of the most controversial intellectual

revolution of the time.
This theory became controversial as people perceived it to be contradictory to the church's
teaching that the source of life is a power creator.
-On the origin theory of species Darwin introduced the theory of evolution,which postulated
that populations pass through a process of natural selection in which only the fittest will survive.
-He stated that organisms have the ability to adapt to their environment and would gradually
change into something that would be more competitive to survive,a process known as
evolution.

Factors of Natural selection

V - Variation
O - Overproduction
S - Survival of the fittest
H - Heritability

•Variation. Those organisms with heritable traits better suited to the environment will reach
maturity and survive.
•Overproduction. More organisms are produced that actually survive.
•Survival of the fittest. According to Charles Darwin.It is not the strongest of the species that
survive,nor the one most intelligent but the one most responsive to change.
•Heritability. Changes in organisms brought by the environment will be inherited by their
offspring.

SIGMUND FREUD
- The founder of Psychoanalysis.

Freudian Revolution.
Psychoanalysis is the study that explains human behavior. In his theory Freud explained that
there are many conscious and unconscious factors that can influence behavior and emotions.
He also argued that personality is a product of the conflicting elements; id,ego and superego.

•id - is the only component of personality that is present from birth. According to Freud,the id is
the source of all psychic energy,making it the primary component of personality. This aspect of
personality is entirely unconscious and includes instinctive primitive behavior.

• Ego - According to Freud, ego develops from the id and ensures that the impulses of the id be
expressed in a manner acceptable in the real world.
The ego functions in the conscious, preconscious,and unconscious mind. The ego is the
component of personality that is responsible for dealing with reality.

•Superego. According to Freud,the superego begins to emerge at around age five. The
superego holds the internalized moral standards and ideals that we acquire from our parents
and society (our sense of right and wrong.)