Developments+in+Scientific+Thought

Shivani Katbamna

Thesis: The scientific discoveries of the 16th-17th centuries helped form a better idea of of the universe and influenced people's thinking in that they began to grow apart from the teachings of the Catholic Church.
 * How did the developments in scientific thought from Copernicus to Newton create a new conception of the universe and of humanity’s place within it? **

I. Scientists > - the speed of the planets increase when they come near the sun > - when the planets are closer to the sun, they have faster orbits
 * Copernicus: heliocentric theory, thought planets moved in perfect circles, __On Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres__
 * Brahe: set up an observatory
 * Kepler: developed Kepler's laws - each planet orbits in an ellipse around the sun
 * Galileo: 1st telescope, discovered uneven surface of the moon, Dialogue
 * Newton: Principia, gravity, calculus, white light

II. Influence on people > > > > > []
 * Ptolemy and the Church advocated the geocentric theory which portrayed Earth as being the center of the universe
 * Thought that God would have put humans in the center of his creation
 * Church harshly criticized the heliocentric theory
 * people had to choose whether to follow the Church or the scientific discoveries of the scientists
 * Problem: people would go against the Church if they believed the scientists, humanity would not be the center of God's creation