Astronomy is the study of the heavens and is key for Aristotelian Scholastics. Above the moon there are the celestial heavens (stars), which are close to God, and are perfect and unchanging. In the sub-lunar world nothing is constant, the elements are all mixed and everything changes. Ptolemy’s system fitted with this view, which was the idea that the Earth was the centre of the universe. The moon, sun, planets and a fixed orb of stars revolved around the Earth in a circular motion. Aristotelians and Scholastics viewed the world in terms of perfection and purposes, qualitatively. Things had essences which defined them and their purpose.
Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
Bacon went against the Aristotelian Scholastic approach, stating that philosophy and theology should be kept separate, not intimately blended as they are in scholasticism. He was and advocate of the “double truth”, which is reason (philosophy) and revelation (faith). European thought was seen to be a slave of classical thought so he wanted a complete break from the ancient world, “let all previous knowledge be seen as worthless-nothing”. He was also a great believer in the inductive method, believing that knowledge could be gained through the orderly arrangement of data, which would make the correct hypothesis obvious. In his publication the “New Organon” there are four key themes:
1) Knowledge is human power
2) Must be a separation from science and religion
3) Gain knowledge through induction-proceeding from the particular to general theories
4) Science is dynamic, cooperative and cumulative
Bacon went against the Aristotelian Scholastic approach, stating that philosophy and theology should be kept separate, not intimately blended as they are in scholasticism. He was and advocate of the “double truth”, which is reason (philosophy) and revelation (faith). European thought was seen to be a slave of classical thought so he wanted a complete break from the ancient world, “let all previous knowledge be seen as worthless-nothing”. He was also a great believer in the inductive method, believing that knowledge could be gained through the orderly arrangement of data, which would make the correct hypothesis obvious. In his publication the “New Organon” there are four key themes:
1) Knowledge is human power
2) Must be a separation from science and religion
3) Gain knowledge through induction-proceeding from the particular to general theories
4) Science is dynamic, cooperative and cumulative
In the chapter on the “Rise of Science” Russell focuses on four great men: Copernicus
Kepler
Galileo
Newton
Copernicus (1473-1543)
Copernicus focused upon the Heliocentric Theory, which is the theory that the Sun is the centre of the universe. He then developed this to say that the Earth has a twofold motion: diurnal rotation, and annual revolution about the sun. However he gave no conclusive evidence in favour of his hypothesis.
Kepler
Galileo
Newton
Copernicus (1473-1543)
Copernicus focused upon the Heliocentric Theory, which is the theory that the Sun is the centre of the universe. He then developed this to say that the Earth has a twofold motion: diurnal rotation, and annual revolution about the sun. However he gave no conclusive evidence in favour of his hypothesis.
Kepler (1571-1630)
Also believing in the Heliocentric Theory, Kepler developed his three laws of planetary motion:
1) The planets describe elliptic orbits of which the sun occupies one focus (planets move in ellipses)
2) The line joining a planet to the sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times (planets move fastest when nearest to the sun, and slowest farthest from it)
3) The square of the period of revolution of a planet is proportional to the cube of its average distance from the sun
Also believing in the Heliocentric Theory, Kepler developed his three laws of planetary motion:
1) The planets describe elliptic orbits of which the sun occupies one focus (planets move in ellipses)
2) The line joining a planet to the sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times (planets move fastest when nearest to the sun, and slowest farthest from it)
3) The square of the period of revolution of a planet is proportional to the cube of its average distance from the sun
Galileo (1564-1642)
Influenced by Kepler, Galileo adopted the Heliocentric Theory and he then went on to perfect and build a telescope. He then discovered Jupiter’s four moons which obey Kepler’s laws of planetary motion. Previously there had been seven heavenly bodies, the five planets, the sun and the moon. Seven was seen to be a sacred number, but including Jupiter’s moons it mad eleven. Due to this traditionalists denounced the telescope and refused to look through it, stating it revealed only delusions. Galileo was condemned by the Inquisition (a permanent institution in the Catholic Church to eradicate heresies), first privately in 1616, and then publicly in 1633, where he promised to never again maintain that the Earth rotates or revolves.
Influenced by Kepler, Galileo adopted the Heliocentric Theory and he then went on to perfect and build a telescope. He then discovered Jupiter’s four moons which obey Kepler’s laws of planetary motion. Previously there had been seven heavenly bodies, the five planets, the sun and the moon. Seven was seen to be a sacred number, but including Jupiter’s moons it mad eleven. Due to this traditionalists denounced the telescope and refused to look through it, stating it revealed only delusions. Galileo was condemned by the Inquisition (a permanent institution in the Catholic Church to eradicate heresies), first privately in 1616, and then publicly in 1633, where he promised to never again maintain that the Earth rotates or revolves.
Newton (1642-1727)
His Principia, published in 1687, was a mathematical demonstration of the Copernican hypothesis proposed by Kepler. Newton, for the first time, managed to convince the public that the world was ordered and knowable. He was able to deduce everything in planetary theory: the motions of the planets and their satellites, the orbits of comets and the tides. According to Newton the planets were originally hurled by the hand of God, but once he had done this God decreed the law of gravitation, and everything went on by itself without the need for further divine intervention. Newton’s work was deemed to be exact until two hundred years after his time, when his work was amended by Einstein.
“Nature and Nature’s laws lay hid at night.His Principia, published in 1687, was a mathematical demonstration of the Copernican hypothesis proposed by Kepler. Newton, for the first time, managed to convince the public that the world was ordered and knowable. He was able to deduce everything in planetary theory: the motions of the planets and their satellites, the orbits of comets and the tides. According to Newton the planets were originally hurled by the hand of God, but once he had done this God decreed the law of gravitation, and everything went on by itself without the need for further divine intervention. Newton’s work was deemed to be exact until two hundred years after his time, when his work was amended by Einstein.
God said ‘let Newton be’ and all was light”
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