Editing Scientific Revolution (section)

==Scientific method==
{{Anchor|Scientific method}}
Under the [[scientific method]] as conceived in the 17th century, natural and artificial circumstances were set aside as a research tradition of systematic experimentation was slowly accepted by the scientific community. The philosophy of using an [[Inductive reasoning|inductive]] approach to obtain knowledge—to abandon assumption and to attempt to observe with an open mind—was in contrast with the earlier, Aristotelian approach of [[deductive reasoning|deduction]], by which analysis of known facts produced further understanding. In practice, many scientists and philosophers believed that a healthy mix of both was needed—the willingness to question assumptions, yet also to interpret observations assumed to have some degree of validity.{{fact|date=April 2023}}

By the end of the Scientific Revolution the qualitative world of book-reading philosophers had been changed into a mechanical, mathematical world to be known through experimental research. Though it is certainly not true that Newtonian science was like modern science in all respects, it conceptually resembled ours in many ways. Many of the hallmarks of modern science, especially with regard to its institutionalization and professionalization, did not become standard until the mid-19th century.{{fact|date=April 2023}}

===Empiricism===
{{main|Empiricism}}
The Aristotelian scientific tradition's primary mode of interacting with the world was through observation and searching for "natural" circumstances through reasoning. Coupled with this approach was the belief that rare events which seemed to contradict theoretical models were aberrations, telling nothing about nature as it "naturally" was. During the Scientific Revolution, changing perceptions about the role of the scientist in respect to nature, the value of evidence, experimental or observed, led towards a scientific methodology in which empiricism played a large role.{{fact|date=April 2023}}

By the start of the Scientific Revolution, empiricism had already become an important component of science and natural philosophy. [[European science in the Middle Ages|Prior thinkers]], including the early-14th-century [[Nominalism|nominalist]] philosopher [[William of Ockham]], had begun the intellectual movement toward empiricism.<ref>[[#Hannam|Hannam]], p. 162</ref> The term British empiricism came into use to describe philosophical differences perceived between two of its founders [[Francis Bacon]], described as empiricist, and [[René Descartes]], who was described as a rationalist. [[Thomas Hobbes]], [[George Berkeley]], and [[David Hume]] were the philosophy's primary exponents who developed a sophisticated empirical tradition as the basis of human knowledge.{{fact|date=April 2023}}

An influential formulation of empiricism was [[John Locke]]'s ''[[An Essay Concerning Human Understanding]]'' (1689), in which he maintained that the only true knowledge that could be accessible to the human mind was that which was based on experience. He wrote that the human mind was created as a ''[[tabula rasa]]'', a "blank tablet," upon which sensory impressions were recorded and built up knowledge through a process of reflection.{{fact|date=April 2023}}

===Bacon's contributions===
[[File:Somer Francis Bacon.jpg|thumb|left|[[Francis Bacon]] was a pivotal figure in establishing the [[scientific method]] of investigation. Portrait by [[Frans Pourbus the Younger]] (1617).]]
The philosophical underpinnings of the Scientific Revolution were laid out by Francis Bacon, who has been called the father of empiricism.<ref name="Sweet Briar College"/> His works established and popularised inductive methodologies for scientific inquiry, often called the ''[[Baconian method]]'', or simply the scientific method. His demand for a planned procedure of investigating all things natural marked a new turn in the rhetorical and theoretical framework for science, much of which still surrounds conceptions of proper [[methodology]] today.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Principe |first1=Lawrence |title=The Scientific Revolution: A Very Short Introduction |date=28 April 2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-956-741-6 |pages=120–121}}</ref>

Bacon proposed a great reformation of all process of knowledge for the advancement of learning divine and human, which he called ''Instauratio Magna'' (The Great Instauration). For Bacon, this reformation would lead to a great advancement in science and a progeny of inventions that would relieve mankind's miseries and needs. His ''[[Novum Organum]]'' was published in 1620, in which he argues man is "the minister and interpreter of nature," "knowledge and human power are synonymous," "effects are produced by the means of instruments and helps," "man while operating can only apply or withdraw natural bodies; nature internally performs the rest," and "nature can only be commanded by obeying her".<ref name = "Novum Organum" /> Here is an abstract of the philosophy of this work, that by the knowledge of nature and the using of instruments, man can govern or direct the natural work of nature to produce definite results. Therefore, that man, by seeking knowledge of nature, can reach power over it—and thus reestablish the "Empire of Man over creation," which had been lost by [[Fall of man|the Fall]] together with man's original purity. In this way, he believed, would mankind be raised above conditions of helplessness, poverty and misery, while coming into a condition of peace, prosperity and security.<ref>{{Citation | last = Bacon | first = Francis | title = Temporis Partus Maximus | year = 1605}}.</ref>

For this purpose of obtaining knowledge of and power over nature, Bacon outlined in this work a new system of logic he believed to be superior to the old ways of [[syllogism]], developing his scientific method, consisting of procedures for isolating the formal cause of a phenomenon (heat, for example) through eliminative induction. For him, the philosopher should proceed through inductive reasoning from [[fact]] to [[axiom]] to [[Scientific law|physical law]]. Before beginning this induction, though, the enquirer must free his or her mind from certain false notions or tendencies which distort the truth. In particular, he found that philosophy was too preoccupied with words, particularly discourse and debate, rather than actually observing the material world: "For while men believe their reason governs words, in fact, words turn back and reflect their power upon the understanding, and so render philosophy and science sophistical and inactive."<ref>{{Citation | last = Zagorin | first = Perez | title = Francis Bacon | place = Princeton | publisher = Princeton University Press | year = 1998 | page = 84|isbn=978-0-691-00966-7}}</ref>

Bacon considered that it is of greatest importance to science not to keep doing intellectual discussions or seeking merely contemplative aims, but that it should work for the bettering of mankind's life by bringing forth new inventions, even stating "inventions are also, as it were, new creations and imitations of divine works".<ref name="Novum Organum">{{cite web|last= Bacon|first= Francis|title=Novum Organum|title-link= s:Novum Organum}}</ref>{{Page needed | date = January 2014}} He explored the far-reaching and world-changing character of inventions, such as the [[printing press]], [[gunpowder]] and the [[compass]]. Despite his influence on scientific methodology, he rejected correct novel theories such as [[William Gilbert (physician)|William Gilbert]]'s [[magnetism]], Copernicus's heliocentrism, and [[Kepler's laws of planetary motion]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Gillispie|first=Charles Coulston|url=https://archive.org/details/edgeofobjectivit00char|title=The Edge of Objectivity: An Essay in the History of Scientific Ideas|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=1960|isbn=0-691-02350-6|page=74|author-link=Charles Coulston Gillispie}}</ref>

===Scientific experimentation===
Bacon first described the [[scientific experimentation|experimental method]].
{{blockquote | There remains simple experience; which, if taken as it comes, is called accident, if sought for, experiment. The true method of experience first lights the candle [hypothesis], and then by means of the candle shows the way [arranges and delimits the experiment]; commencing as it does with experience duly ordered and digested, not bungling or erratic, and from it deducing axioms [theories], and from established axioms again new experiments. | Francis Bacon. ''Novum Organum.'' 1620.<ref>Durant, Will. The Story of Philosophy. Page 101 Simon & Schuster Paperbacks. 1926. {{ISBN|978-0-671-69500-2}}</ref>}}

Gilbert was an early advocate of this method. He passionately rejected both the prevailing Aristotelian philosophy and the [[Scholasticism|scholastic]] method of university teaching. His book ''[[De Magnete]]'' was written in 1600, and he is regarded by some as the father of [[electricity]] and magnetism.<ref>[[Merriam-Webster]] Collegiate Dictionary, 2000, CD-ROM, version 2.5.</ref> In this work, he describes many of his experiments with his model Earth called the [[terrella]]. From these experiments, he concluded that the Earth was itself magnetic and that this was the reason [[compass]]es point north.{{fact|date=April 2023}}

[[File:Gilbert De Magnete Illo044.jpg|thumb|left|Diagram from [[William Gilbert (astronomer)|William Gilbert]]'s ''[[De Magnete]]'', a pioneering 1600 work of experimental science]]
''De Magnete'' was influential because of the inherent interest of its subject matter as well as for the rigorous way in which Gilbert describes his experiments and his rejection of ancient theories of magnetism.<ref>Gimpel, Jean (1976) ''The Medieval Machine: The Industrial Revolution of the Middle Ages''. New York, Penguin. {{ISBN|0-7607-3582-4}}. p. 194.</ref> According to [[Thomas Thomson (chemist)|Thomas Thomson]], "Gilbert['s]... book on magnetism published in 1600, is one of the finest examples of inductive philosophy that has ever been presented to the world. It is the more remarkable, because it preceded the ''Novum Organum'' of Bacon, in which the inductive method of philosophizing was first explained."<ref>Thomson, Thomas (1812) [https://books.google.com/books?id=nqjjR4Qt9IgC ''History of the Royal Society: from its Institution to the End of the Eighteenth Century''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208081358/https://books.google.com/books?id=nqjjR4Qt9IgC& |date=8 December 2022 }}. R. Baldwin. p. 461</ref>

Galileo Galilei has been called the "father of modern [[observational astronomy]],"<ref>{{Cite journal|title = A Short History of Science to the Nineteenth Century|first = Charles|last = Singer|year = 1941|publisher = Clarendon Press|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mPIgAAAAMAAJ|page = 217|access-date = 23 March 2023|archive-date = 26 March 2023|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230326164811/https://books.google.com/books?id=mPIgAAAAMAAJ|url-status = live}}</ref> the "father of modern physics,"<ref>{{cite book |title=Renaissance Genius: Galileo Galilei & His Legacy to Modern Science |first1=David |last1=Whitehouse |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4027-6977-1 |page=219 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bGKrPVoQY8QC&pg=PA219 |access-date=7 November 2015 |archive-date=2 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102074054/https://books.google.com/books?id=bGKrPVoQY8QC&pg=PA219#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> the "father of science,"<ref>{{cite book |title=The Mathematical Theory of Elasticity |edition=2nd |first1=Richard B. |last1=Hetnarski |first2=Józef |last2=Ignaczak |publisher=CRC Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-4398-2888-5 |page=3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=18CYMW-CG_gC&pg=PA3 |access-date=7 November 2015 |archive-date=2 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102074010/https://books.google.com/books?id=18CYMW-CG_gC&pg=PA3#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> and "the Father of Modern Science."<ref name=finocchiaro2007>{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/j.1540-6563.2007.00189_68.x|title=The Person of the Millennium: The Unique Impact of Galileo on World History ? By Manfred Weidhorn|journal=The Historian|volume=69|issue=3|page=601|year=2007|last1=Finocchiaro|first1=Maurice A.|s2cid=144988723}}</ref> His original contributions to the science of motion were made through an innovative combination of experiment and mathematics.<ref>[[#Sharratt|Sharratt]], pp. 204–05</ref> Galileo was one of the first modern thinkers to clearly state that the laws of nature are mathematical. In ''[[The Assayer]]'' he wrote "Philosophy is written in this grand book, the universe&nbsp;... It is written in the language of mathematics, and its characters are triangles, circles, and other geometric figures;...."<ref>{{cite book |last=Drake |first=Stillman |date=1957 |title=Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo |location=New York |publisher=[[Doubleday & Company]] |isbn=978-0-385-09239-5 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/discoveriesopini00gali_0/page/237 237–38] |url=https://archive.org/details/discoveriesopini00gali_0/page/237 }}</ref> His mathematical analyses are a further development of a tradition employed by late scholastic natural philosophers, which Galileo learned when he studied philosophy.<ref>Wallace, William A. (1984) ''Galileo and His Sources: The Heritage of the Collegio Romano in Galileo's Science,'' Princeton: Princeton Univ. Pr. {{ISBN|0-691-08355-X}}</ref> He ignored Aristotelianism. In broader terms, his work marked another step towards the eventual separation of science from both philosophy and religion; a major development in human thought. He was often willing to change his views in accordance with observation. In order to perform his experiments, Galileo had to set up standards of length and time, so that measurements made on different days and in different laboratories could be compared in a reproducible fashion. This provided a reliable foundation on which to confirm mathematical laws using inductive reasoning.{{fact|date=April 2023}}

Galileo showed an appreciation for the relationship between mathematics, theoretical physics, and experimental physics. He understood the [[parabola]], both in terms of [[conic section]]s and in terms of the [[Abscissa and ordinate|ordinate]] (y) varying as the square of the abscissa (x). Galilei further asserted that the parabola was the theoretically ideal [[trajectory]] of a uniformly accelerated projectile in the absence of [[friction]] and other disturbances. He conceded that there are limits to the validity of this theory, noting on theoretical grounds that a projectile trajectory of a size comparable to that of the Earth could not possibly be a parabola,<ref>[[#Sharratt|Sharratt]], pp. 202–04</ref> but he nevertheless maintained that for distances up to the range of the artillery of his day, the deviation of a projectile's trajectory from a parabola would be only very slight.<ref>[[#Sharratt|Sharratt]], 202–04</ref><ref>{{Cite book|ref= Reference-Favaro-1890|editor-last= Favaro|editor-first= Antonio|date= 1890–1909|title= Le Opere di Galileo Galilei, Edizione Nazionale|url= http://moro.imss.fi.it/lettura/LetturaWEB.DLL?VOL=8&VOLPAG=274|volume= 8|pages= 274–75|trans-title= The Works of Galileo Galilei, National Edition|language= it|place= [[Florence]]|publisher= Barbera|isbn= 978-88-09-20881-0|access-date= 20 July 2014|archive-date= 27 September 2007|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070927232006/http://moro.imss.fi.it/lettura/LetturaWEB.DLL?VOL=8&VOLPAG=274|url-status= live}}</ref>

===Mathematization===
Scientific knowledge, according to the Aristotelians, was concerned with establishing true and necessary causes of things.<ref>Dear, Peter (2009) ''Revolutionizing the Sciences''. Princeton University Press. {{ISBN|0-691-14206-8}}. pp. 65–67, 134–38.</ref> To the extent that medieval natural philosophers used mathematical problems, they limited social studies to theoretical analyses of local speed and other aspects of life.<ref>[[#Grant|Grant]], pp. 101–03, 148–50.</ref> The actual measurement of a physical quantity, and the comparison of that measurement to a value computed on the basis of theory, was largely limited to the mathematical disciplines of astronomy and [[optics]] in Europe.<ref>[[#Pedersen|Pedersen]], p. 231.</ref><ref name="astronomies">McCluskey, Stephen C. (1998) ''Astronomies and Cultures in Early Medieval Europe''. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Pr. pp. 180–84, 198–202.</ref>

In the 16th and 17th centuries, European scientists began increasingly applying quantitative measurements to the measurement of physical phenomena on the Earth. Galileo maintained strongly that mathematics provided a kind of necessary certainty that could be compared to God's: "...with regard to those few [mathematical [[theorem|propositions]]] which the human intellect does understand, I believe its knowledge equals the Divine in objective certainty..."<ref>{{cite book |last=Galilei |first=Galileo |author-link=Galileo Galilei |title=Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems |title-link=Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems |publisher=University of California Press |others=Translated by [[Stillman Drake]] |year=1967 |edition=2nd |place=Berkeley |page=[https://archive.org/details/dialogueconcerni0000gali/page/103 103] |orig-year=Composed in 1632}}

* In the 1661 translation by [[Thomas Salusbury (translator)|Thomas Salusbury]]: "... the knowledge of those few comprehended by humane understanding, equalleth the divine, as to the certainty objectivè ..." p. 92 (from the [http://archimedes.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/cgi-bin/toc/toc.cgi?page=92;dir=galil_syste_065_en_1661;step=textonly Archimedes Project] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512190415/http://archimedes.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/cgi-bin/toc/toc.cgi?page=92;dir=galil_syste_065_en_1661;step=textonly|date=12 May 2011}})
* In the original Italian: "... ma di quelle poche intese dall'intelletto umano credo che la cognizione agguagli la divina nella certezza obiettiva, poiché arriva a comprenderne la necessità ..." (from the copy at the [[wikisource:it:Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo tolemaico e copernicano/Giornata prima|Italian Wikisource]])</ref>

Galileo anticipates the concept of a systematic mathematical interpretation of the world in his book ''[[The Assayer|Il Saggiatore]]'':

{{blockquote|Philosophy [i.e., physics] is written in this grand book—I mean the universe—which stands continually open to our gaze, but it cannot be understood unless one first learns to comprehend the language and interpret the characters in which it is written. It is written in the language of [[mathematics]], and its characters are triangles, circles, and other geometrical figures, without which it is humanly impossible to understand a single word of it; without these, one is wandering around in a dark labyrinth.<ref>[[Galileo Galilei]], ''Il Saggiatore'' (''[[The Assayer]]'', 1623), as translated by [[Stillman Drake]] (1957), ''Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo'' pp. 237–38</ref>}}In 1591 [[François Viète]] published ''In Artem Analyticem Isagoge'', which gave the first symbolic notation of parameters in [[algebra]]. Newton's development of [[infinitesimal calculus]] opened up new applications of the methods of mathematics to science. Newton taught that scientific theory should be coupled with rigorous experimentation, which became the keystone of modern science.{{fact|date=April 2023}}

===Mechanical philosophy===
[[File:Sir Isaac Newton by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt.jpg|thumb|right|[[Isaac Newton]] in a 1702 portrait by [[Godfrey Kneller]]]]Aristotle recognized four kinds of causes, and where applicable, the most important of them is the "final cause". The final cause was the aim, goal, or purpose of some natural process or man-made thing. Until the Scientific Revolution, it was very natural to see such aims, such as a child's growth, for example, leading to a mature adult. Intelligence was assumed only in the purpose of man-made artifacts; it was not attributed to other animals or to nature.

In "[[mechanical philosophy]]" no field or action at a distance is permitted, particles or corpuscles of matter are fundamentally inert. Motion is caused by direct physical collision. Where natural substances had previously been understood organically, the mechanical philosophers viewed them as machines.<ref>[[#Westfall|Westfall]], pp. 30–33.</ref> As a result, Newton's theory seemed like some kind of throwback to "spooky [[action at a distance]]". According to Thomas Kuhn, Newton and Descartes held the [[teleology|teleological principle]] that God conserved the amount of motion in the universe:

<blockquote>Gravity, interpreted as an innate attraction between every pair of particles of matter, was an occult quality in the same sense as the scholastics' "tendency to fall" had been.... By the mid eighteenth century that interpretation had been almost universally accepted, and the result was a genuine reversion (which is not the same as a retrogression) to a scholastic standard. Innate attractions and repulsions joined size, shape, position and motion as physically irreducible primary properties of matter.<ref>Kuhn, Thomas (1970), [http://projektintegracija.pravo.hr/_download/repository/Kuhn_Structure_of_Scientific_Revolutions.pdf ''The Structure of Scientific Revolutions''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020001221/http://projektintegracija.pravo.hr/_download/repository/Kuhn_Structure_of_Scientific_Revolutions.pdf |date=20 October 2014 }}. University of Chicago Press. {{ISBN|0-226-45807-5}}. pp. 105–06.</ref></blockquote>

Newton had also specifically attributed the inherent power of inertia to matter, against the mechanist thesis that matter has no inherent powers. But whereas Newton vehemently denied gravity was an inherent power of matter, his collaborator [[Roger Cotes]] made gravity also an inherent power of matter, as set out in his famous preface to the ''Principia's'' 1713 second edition which he edited, and contradicted Newton. And it was Cotes's interpretation of gravity rather than Newton's that came to be accepted.{{fact|date=April 2023}}

===Institutionalization===
[[File:Gresham College from Record of RS.jpg|thumb|The [[Royal Society]] had its origins in [[Gresham College]] in the [[City of London]], and was the first scientific society in the world.]]
The first moves towards the institutionalization of scientific investigation and dissemination took the form of the establishment of societies, where new discoveries were aired, discussed, and published. The first scientific society to be established was the [[Royal Society]] of London. This grew out of an earlier group, centered around [[Gresham College and the formation of the Royal Society|Gresham College]] in the 1640s and 1650s. According to a history of the college:

<blockquote>The scientific network which centered on Gresham College played a crucial part in the meetings which led to the formation of the Royal Society.<ref>Chartres, Richard and Vermont, David (1998) [https://web.archive.org/web/20120612121813/http://www.gresham.ac.uk/greshamftp/historygreshm_bk2.pdf A Brief History of Gresham College]. Gresham College. {{ISBN|0-947822-16-X}}. p. 38</ref></blockquote>

These physicians and natural philosophers were influenced by the "new science", as promoted by Bacon in his ''[[New Atlantis]]'', from approximately 1645 onwards. A group known as ''The Philosophical Society of Oxford'' was run under a set of rules still retained by the [[Bodleian Library]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Societies/RS.html|title=London Royal Society|publisher=[[University of St Andrews]]|access-date=8 December 2009|archive-date=14 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090414152731/http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Societies/RS.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 28 November 1660, the "1660 committee of 12" announced the formation of a "College for the Promoting of Physico-Mathematical Experimental Learning", which would meet weekly to discuss science and run experiments. At the second meeting, [[Robert Moray]] announced that [[Charles II of England|King Charles]] approved of the gatherings, and a [[royal charter]] was signed on 15 July 1662 creating the "Royal Society of London", with [[William Brouncker, 2nd Viscount Brouncker|Lord Brouncker]] serving as the first president. A second royal charter was signed on 23 April 1663, with the king noted as the founder and with the name of "the Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge"; [[Robert Hooke]] was appointed as curator of experiments in November. This initial royal favour has continued, and since then every monarch has been the patron of the society.<ref name="pw">{{cite web|url=http://royalsociety.org/News.aspx?id=973&terms=prince+of+wales|title=Prince of Wales opens Royal Society's refurbished building|date=7 July 2004|publisher=The Royal Society|access-date=7 December 2009|archive-date=20 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120520230010/https://royalsociety.org/news.aspx?id=973&terms=prince+of+wales|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Académie des Sciences 1698.jpg|thumb|The French [[Academy of Sciences]] was established in 1666.]]

The society's first secretary was [[Henry Oldenburg]]. Its early meetings included experiments performed first by Hooke and then by [[Denis Papin]], who was appointed in 1684. These experiments varied in their subject area and were important in some cases and trivial in others.<ref name=hen1>Henderson (1941) p. 29</ref> The society began publication of ''[[Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society|Philosophical Transactions]]'' from 1665, the oldest and longest-running scientific journal in the world, which established the important principles of [[scientific priority]] and [[peer review]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://rstl.royalsocietypublishing.org/ | title = Philosophical Transactions − the world's first science journal | publisher = The Royal Society | access-date = 22 November 2015 | archive-date = 6 November 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181106193718/http://rstl.royalsocietypublishing.org/ | url-status = live }}</ref>

The French established the [[French Academy of Sciences|Academy of Sciences]] in 1666. In contrast to the private origins of its British counterpart, the academy was founded as a government body by [[Jean-Baptiste Colbert]]. Its rules were set down in 1699 by King [[Louis XIV]], when it received the name of 'Royal Academy of Sciences' and was installed in the [[Louvre]] in Paris.