INTELLECTUAL REVOLUTIONS THAT DEFINED SOCIETY

SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION

Human beings have embarked in scientific activities in order to know and understand everything around them.
They have persistently observed and studied the natural and the physical world in order to find meanings and seek
answers to many questions. Scientific revolution is claimed to have started in the early 16 th century up to the 18th century
in Europe. Scientific revolution was the period of enlightenment when developments in the fields of mathematics,
physics, astronomy, biology, and chemistry transformed the views of society about nature.

Scientific Revolution is a golden age in the history of science. It marked the birth of science as a discipline and as a
field of inquiry and gave birth to the development of scientific method. It was a time in the history of science where
many scientific ideas and discoveries, which were considered innovative and useful, were developed. Some these ideas
were also controversial in the scientific community and in the political arena. The scientific revolution significantly
changed how people study science and do scientific activities. It inspired human creativity and critical thinking, moving
away from thought experiments to data-driven and experiment-based ideas.
Scientific Revolution explained the emergence or birth of modern science as a result of these developments from
the disciplines mentioned above. Scientists have used their curiosity, creativity and critical thinking skills to come up
scientific ideas, discoveries and technology. There were many intellectuals who made essential contributions in science
during the period of scientific revolution.
SOME INTELLECTUALS AND THEIR REVOLUTIONARY IDEAS
Scientists in all periods of time are driven by their curiosity, critical thinking, and creativity to explore the physical and
natural world. Their love for science is driven by their deep passion to know and to discover. Here’s some intellectuals
that contributed their revolutionary ideas that help develop our society in Earth.
1. Nicolaus Copernicus (Copernican System/ Theory)
2. Charles Darwin (Darwinian Evolution Theory)
3. Sigmund Freud (Freudian Psychoanalytic Theory)

Nicolaus Copernicus (Copernican System/ Theory)

Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-154)

believed that Earth was just another planet.
( Detlev van Ravenswaay/Photo Researchers, Inc.)

One of the Renaissance men, Copernicus resembled the Greek ancient philosophers or
thinkers---- he did not do anything extensive such as observing heavenly bodies or inviting
people to test his ideas. (today it is called as thought experiment). For almost 13 centuries
after the time of Ptolemy, very few astronomical advances were made in Europe—some were even lost, including the
notion of a spherical Earth. The first great astronomer to emerge after the Middle Ages was Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-
1543) from Poland.

After discovering Aristarchus’s writings, Copernicus became convinced that Earth is a planet, just like the other
five then-known planets. The daily motions of the heavens, he reasoned, could be more simply explained by a rotating
Earth. Copernicus idea and model of the universe was essentially complete in 1510 after he circulated a summary of his
ideas to his few close friends in a manuscript called Commentariolus ( Little Commentary).

Copernicus constructed a heliocentric model for the solar system, with the Sun at the center and the planets
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn orbiting it. This was a major break from the ancient and prevailing idea
that a motionless Earth lies at the center of all movement in the universe. He found it necessary to add smaller circles
(epicycles) like those used by Ptolemy. The discovery that the planets actually have elliptical orbits occurred a century
later and is credited to Johannes Kepler.

Copernicus’s monumental work, De Revolutionibus, Orbium Coelestiurn (On the Revolution of the Heavenly
Spheres), which set forth his controversial Sun-centered solar system, was published as he lay on his deathbed. The
greatest contribution of the Copernican system to modern science is its challenge of the primacy of Earth in the
universe. Professing the Sun-centered model cost at least one person his life. Giordano Bruno was seized by the
Inquisition, a Church tribunal, in 1600, and, refusing to denounce the Copernican theory, was burned at the stake.

Copernican model makes sense now, but those times it was an unacceptable idea to be taught to Catholics. The
Catholic Church banned the Copernican model and was ignored by Rome for the rest of the 16 th century. Copernican
Theory was able to influence (negative or positive) other scientists such as Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei,
and Sir Isaac Newton.

Charles Darwin ( Darwinian Evolution Theory )

Charles Darwin Darwin’s Book of Species

(Photos Courtesy by Campbell et al, 10th Edition Biology)

Charles Darwin (1809–1882) was born in Shrewsbury, in western England. Even as a boy, he had a consuming
interest in nature. When he was not reading nature books, he was fishing, hunting, riding, and collecting insects. He is
famous for his theory of evolution. He changed our concept of the world’s creation and its evolution. The Darwinian
revolution challenged traditional views of a young Earth inhabited by unchanging species. Darwin developed his
revolutionary proposal over time, influenced by the work of others and by his travels.

His work had a deep historical roots:

a. 1795 Hutton proposes his principle of gradualism.
b. 1798 Malthus publishes ”Essay on the Principle of Population.”
c. 1809 Lamarck publishes his hypothesis of evolution.( Charles Darwin is born.)
d. 1812 Cuvier publishes his extensive studies of vertebrate fossils.
e. 1830 Lyell publishes Principles of Geology (1831–1836 Darwin travels around the world on HMS Beagle.)
f. 1844 Darwin writes his essay on descent with modification.
g.1858 While studying species in the Malay Archipelago, Wallace sends Darwin his hypothesis of natural selection.
h. 1859 On the Origin of Species is published
In his book, Darwin amassed evidence that three broad observations about nature—the unity of life, the diversity of life,
and the match between organisms and their environments—resulted from descent with modification by natural
selection. (Theory of Evolution)

A Summary of Natural Selection:

 Natural selection is a process in which individuals that have certain heritable traits survive and reproduce at a
higher rate than other individuals because of those traits.
 Over time, natural selection can increase the match between organisms and their environment
 If an environment changes, or if individuals move to a new environment,
natural selection may result in adaptation to these new conditions,
sometimes giving rise to new species.

Sigmund Freud ( Freudian Psychoanalytic Theory)

Photo: Sigmund Freud (General Psychology Book, 2015)

Sigmund Freud is an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of

psychoanalysis and postulated the existence of unconscious mental processes which influenced an individual’s behavior
in various ways. He is very famous figure in the field of psychology. Freud made a significant contribution in the scientific
world through the development of an important observational method to gather reliable data to study human’s inner
life---this method known as method of psychoanalysis. Freud’s psychoanalysis exerted much influence on personality
theory and on methods of treating personality disorders.
Freudian or Psychoanalytic theory stressed the role of motives and cravings, often hidden and repressed in the
subconscious or unconscious mind which results in abnormal behavior. Freud established sexual drives as the primary
motivational forces of human life. This is known as the “libido” theory.
He developed therapeutic techniques such as the use of free association, where the patient mulls over his/her
thoughts and experiences and analyze the causes of his difficulty with the help of the psychiatrist. Freud interpreted
dreams as sources of insight into unconscious desires. The method of psychoanalysis was proven to be effective in
understanding some neurological conditions that were not understood by medicine at that time. Freud was born in a
much later period from the scientific revolution but his contribution to knowledge can be seen in many aspects of human
scene, including art, literature, philosophy, politics, and psychotherapy. The fact remains that Freudian ideas and theories
are still considered nowadays as a great inspiration to examine human mind and behavior in a more scientifically
accepted way.

These are the variables (above in the illustration) that influence the Development of Science Ideas, Science Discoveries
and Technology. And the key of these to connect are--- the scientists in order that the society will develop.

Science also developed in different parts of the world--- in Asia, Europe, Mesoamerica, and Africa. People in these
continents invented tools to help them in everyday life, discovered medicines to cure diseases, observed heavenly
bodies, built structures, discovered many things, and invented mathematics as a tool and as discipline. Science provided
different ancient civilizations the means to survive and understand the natural and physical world. It also enabled human
beings to develop various technologies that helped them in their everyday tasks.

Prepared by:

Grapesy Pink M. Alsonado-Calderon, MSc.

GEC 7 – Instructor

References:

 Alar S. 2007. Science, Technology, and Society - 1st Edition. Jimcy Publishing House.
 Casas J, Jusayan P, Menor A, and Obanan S. 2020.Science, Technology, and Society. C & E Publishing, Inc.
 Serafica J, Pawilen G, Caslib B, and Alata E. 2018. Science, Technology, and Society - 1st Edition. Rex Printing Company, Inc.
 e-Book: General Science, The American Geological Institute (2012)
 e-Book: Biology, 12th Edition, Campbell, et al (2015)

GOD BLESS TO ALL!