CHAPTER 2

INTELLECTUAL REVOLUTIONS THAT SHAPED THE HUMAN

SOCIETY
COPERNICAN REVOLUTION
• Copernican Revolution, shift in the field of astronomy, which
described the cosmos as having Earth stationary at the center of the
universe, to the heliocentric model with the Sun at the center of the
Solar System as articulated by the Polish astronomer Nicolaus
Copernicus in the 16th century.
ARISTOTLE (384-322 BC)
• The most famous and influencial Greek philosopher. He founded a
school at Lyceum, near Athens. With a library, zoo, and lavish research
equipment bought by his one time pupil. Alexander The Great.
• His writing cover many subjects including physics, biology, zoology,
metaphysics,logic, ethics, aesthetics, poetry, theatre, music, rhetoric,
psychology, linguistics, economics, politics and governments.
• His philosophy has exerted a unique influence on almost every form
of knowledge in the west and it continue to be a subject in a
contemporary philosophical discussion.
ARISTOTLE: He believed that the planets
and sun orbited the Earth
• no sign that earth was in motion
• no perpetual win blewn over the surface of the earth
• and a ball thrown straight up into the air doesn’t land behind the
thrower
GEOCENTRIC MODEL OF THE
UNIVERSE
• The Earth had to be stationary, and the planets, the sun, and the fixed
dome of stars rotated around the Earth.
• ARISTARCHUS OF SAMOS (310-350 BC)
An opposing view came from Aristarchus, who lived on the island of
Samos off the coast of present day Turkey. Living in the time after
Aristotle, he boldly proposed the the earth and the planets orbited the
sun.
FOR NEARLY 1000 YEARS
• Aristotle’s view of a stationary earth at the center of a revolving universe
dominated natural philosophy.
• CLAUDIUS PTOLEMY
Born in Egypt in 100 A.D
Mathematician, Astronomer, and Geographer
Studied the work of all the astronomers who had lived before him- particulary
the Greek and Babylonian Astronomers
Took all of the observations and measurements collected over the previous 800
years and used his excellent mathematical skills to develop his own model of the
universe.
Died in the Alexendria in 186 A.D
PTOLEMY
• Ptolemy placed the Earth at the centre of his geocentric model. Using
the data he had, Ptolemy thought that the universe was a set of
nested spheres surrounding the Earth. He believed that the Moon was
orbiting on a sphere closest to the Earth, followed by Mercury, then
Venus and then the Sun.
• Beyond the Sun were a further three spheres on which Mar, then
Jupiter, and then Saturn orbited the Earth.
• The outermost sphere where all the stars were located in the 48
constellation that Ptolemy described.
GEOCENTRIC MODEL OF THE
UNIVERSE
• It wasn’t until 1543 that Polish astromer Nicolaus Copernicus(1473-
1543) proposed a revised model putting the Sun at the centre-the
heliocentric model of the universe.
In 1515, he proposed that the Earth was a planet like Venus and Saturn.
And that all planets circled the Sun.
Afraid of criticism he did not publish the theory until 1543,shortly
before his death.
The theory gathered few followers, and for a time some of those who
did credence to the idea faced charges of heresy.
Italian Scientist Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake for teaching
Copernicus’ view of the universe.
The Copernican model of the universe sparked an avalanche of
ideas from other notable astronomers and Scientists namely:
• The Copernican revolution was a relatively brief period of dramatic
change in human perception, in which human went from thinking about
Earth as the fixed center of the universe to realizing that Earth is Just one
of a number of planets moving around the Sun.
• This change in thinking or paradigm shift did not happen overnight, and
there was no single observation that overturned the Greek model of the
universe.
The Copernican revolution shows that the progress of Science has many
twists and turns and even setbacks.
It also showed that it can be dangerous to pursue a new and unpopular
idea.
DARWINIAN REVOLUTION
• The Darwinian revolution was considered to be one of the most
controversial intellectual revolutions of its time. In 1859, Charles
Darwin, an English naturalist, biologist, and geologist, published his
book, On the Origin of Species.
• Darwin’s theory REVOLUTIONZED the direction of future scientific
thought, though it was built on a growing body of thought that began
to question prior ideas about the natural world.
• NATURAL SELECTION - The Core of Darwinian Theory of Evolution
WHAT IS NATURAL SELECTION?
• Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution states that evolution happens by
Natural Selection.
• Individuals in a species show variation physical characteristics. This
variation is because of differences in their genes.
*VARIATION
*GENES
• DARWINIAN REVOLUTION
The Darwinian revolution was considered to be one of the most
controversial intellectual revolutions of its time. In 1859, Charles
Darwin, an English naturalist, biologist, and geologist, published his
book, On the Origin of Species.