MODULE 3A

INTELLECTUAL
REVOLUTIONS
Mathematics and Physics Department
Adamson University
Objectives
• After reading and doing the tasks in this module, you should be able to
• A. Explain the scientific theories behind the revolutions in science
• B. Discuss the impact of scientific revolutions to society’s worldview
• C. Name the prominent people behind the intellectual revolutions
• D. Identify Kuhn’s phases of scientific revolution
Recap
Recap

Needs

Society Science and Technology

Progress
WARM UP
Warm-Up
• Medieval science though faith centered was actually transitioning from
scholasticism to empiricism or the adherence to the scientific method. Science
became modern when no other process but the scientific method became the way
of scientific inquiry. Scientific evidence became synonymous with reality. Some
world views or perception of what is real however persist despite scientific
evidences.

• On your personal capacity, how fast do you change perception when scientific
evidence against your view is presented? Answer should be: fast, not so fast , very
slow.
DISCUSSION
 What makes a scientific revolution?

• Before Thomas Kuhn, science was

viewed to develop as a result of
the scientific method

Img src: http://steamism.com/science/the-scientific-method/

 What makes a scientific revolution?
• Law vs. Theories
Boyle’s Law
• Laws – mathematical description of natural
phenomenon; describes observation
• Theories – well substantiated explanation
which serves as foundation of the law

Kinetic Molecular Theory

Img src:https://gfycat.com/discover/boyle%27s-law-gifs
 What makes a scientific revolution?

• Progress in science:
• Piling up of more facts, laws, and
theories

• Scientific Revolution = Drastic

Scientific Progress

Img src: https://giphy.com/explore/school-books

Kuhn’s Philosophical View of a Scientific
Revolution
• Thomas Kuhn (1922-1996) was
an American philosopher of
science.
• In this book “The Structure of
Scientific Revolutions”, Kuhn
considered revolutions in
science as paradigm shifts
rather than mere addition of
knowledge.
• He views science as developing
in leaps from one paradigm to
another.
• He argued that scientific revolutions go through the following process:
• First, there is an existing paradigm where the usual scientific activities are done within its boundaries. That was the normal science.
• What happens next is the anomaly stage. This is the point when data, observations and computations can no longer be explained
by the reigning paradigm.
• This leads to the crisis stage when new methods or approaches tried to explain the anomaly.
• When these new methods are successful the incubation period follows. This is the period of transition from the paradigm to the
new ones.
• Once the new paradigm has been generally accepted, the paradigm shift is said to be complete. This process could take several
years or even hundreds.
 Geocentrism
Inspired by Aristotle’s idea wherein the earth is at rest in the center
of the universe, while celestial bodies (the sun, moon, stars, and
planets) are attached to transparent, rotating spheres that
surround the earth.

The theory was published in his book ‘The Almagest”

Earth is at the center where every

object in the universe is believed to
be moving around.

Claudius Ptolemy (2nd Century AD) This concept was used to describe
and determine planetary motion.
 Contradictions on the Geocentric Model
Odd motion of the planet Venus:
Venus has phases (just like the moon), and its size is changing during different
points of time

Geocentric explanation:
The motion along the epicycle
explains the variations in speed
and direction of the heavenly
bodies.

The change in Venus’ size was

considered as the manifestation of
the motion along the epicycle
 Contradictions on the Geocentric Model
Mars’ Retrograde Motion:
If you observe how a planet moves over a period of time you will notice that it does
not move at a steady rate. At times it will move more slowly against the background
of stars, stop altogether,  move in the opposite direction, stop again and then
continue moving in the original  direction. 
This suggests that Earth needs to be moving as well
 Heliocentrism

The center of the solar system is the sun.

This theory was proposed in his book
‘Des revolutionibus’

Contrary to popular
belief, the Church
accepted Copernicus'
heliocentric theory
before a wave of
Protestant opposition
led the Church to ban
Copernican views in
the 17th century.
Kepler's three laws of planetary motion can be described as
follows:
(1) The path of the planets about the sun is elliptical in shape,
with the center of the sun being located at one focus. (The Law
of Ellipses)
(2) An imaginary line drawn from the center of the sun to the
center of the planet will sweep out equal areas in equal intervals
of time. (The Law of Equal Areas)
(3) The ratio of the squares of the periods of any two planets is
equal to the ratio of the cubes of their average distances from
the sun. (The Law of Harmonies)
Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) was the greatest
Italian scientist of the Renaissance. He was a
contemporary of Kepler and, like Kepler, strongly
supported the Copernican theory of a Sun
centered solar system.

In 1609, Galileo heard that a Dutch lens maker (Hans Lippershey) had
devised a system of lenses that magnified objects. Apparently without ever
seeing a telescope, Galileo constructed his own, which magnified distant
objects three times the size seen by the unaided eye. He immediately made
others, the best having a magnification of about 30
 What Galileo saw:
1. Motions of Jupiter’s moons which
were not orbiting earth in contrast to
the concept of geocentrism

2. The discovery that the planets are

circular disks rather than just points of
light, as was previously thought. This
indicated that the planets must be
Earth-like as opposed to star-like
 3. Venus and its phases

Phases of Venus
(Earth-centered) system, the orbit of Venus lies Photo courtesy of Lowell
between the Sun and Earth. Thus, in an Earth Observatory, Flagstaff,
centered solar system, only the crescent phase of Arizona
Venus would be visible from Earth.

As Galileo observed, Venus goes through a

series of Moonlike phases. Venus appears
smallest during the full phase when it is farthest
from Earth and largest in the crescent phase
when it is closest to Earth. This verified Galileo’s
belief that the Sun was the center of the solar
system

(Sun-centered) system, Venus orbits the Sun and hence all

of the phases of Venus should be visible from Earth.
 4. The discovery that the Moon’s surface is not
a smooth glass sphere, as the ancients had
proclaimed. Rather, Galileo saw mountains,
craters, and plains, indicating that the Moon
was Earth-like
Photo courtesy of NASA’s Solar Dynamic Observatory
Lunar landscape. The valley of Taurus-Littrow and the North Massif (upper
right) on the Moon. Photo courtesy of NASA/science Photo Library
5. The discovery that the Sun (the viewing of
which may have caused the eye damage that
later blinded him) had sunspots—dark regions
caused by slightly lower temperatures. He
tracked the movement of these spots and
estimated the rotational period of the sun
The Darwinian Revolution

The Darwinian revolution can be regarded as one of the greatest results

of the modern science in the field of biology
Darwin and his Finches
Darwin’s study of the Galapagos finches led to the publication
of his book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural
Selection (1859)
• Presented evidence on evolution
• Suggests theory on how evolution works
Species came to be through natural selection in which the most
adaptable species survived
 Concerns were raised regarding the implication of the theory of evolution on the
origin of humans

In 1950, Pope Pious XII through his encyclical Humani Generis affirmed that
the theory of evolution and the Catholic faith are not in conflict

Theory vs The Story of

Creation
CONCLUSION
Conclusion

Faith-centered Scientific Revolution

Objective
understanding understanding