|
|
Thomas Kuhn says that scientific revolutions are “the tradition-shattering complements to the tradition-bound activity of normal science” (Kuhn). This means old traditional thinking changed by new, breaking information. Inventions are not scientific revolutions. An example of a scientific revolution would be when scientists realized that, after much evidence was collected, the earth is a sphere - not flat. Scientific advancement is not, as people may think, on a gradual slope with the x-axis being the amount of information, and the y-axis being time. The progress of science is more like a staircase with new ideas leaping forward every long while. If this is the view taken, then scientific revolutions are actually continually occurring. There is also another meaning of ‘the Scientific Revolution’. When a historian mentions the Scientific Revolution, he/she is most often speaking of the most ground-breaking era of scientific revolutions in Europe from the seventeenth through the nineteenth century. Many of the leading scientists in Europe were Christians. This had a very big impact on the outcome of the Scientific Revolution.
How to determine the quality of a scientific revolution:
How much old thought changed; how did the new revelations affect modern science; and how did the nation’s people change? For example, what was the quality of the revolution that the earth is round and not flat? Based on the above questions, all of the old theory was changed, and from then on explorers and sailors were not afraid to sail to the “end of the world”, and future scientists could then calculate various distances and plot courses to all different places all over the world. This also enabled scientists and explorers to draw maps with the correct distances and proportions. So, the quality of this scientific revolution was profound.
What were the quality of the scientific revolutions in Europe?
In this time frame, much happened in Europe that revolutionized the way modern science and medicine is practiced. In 1700, doctors were still bleeding their patients! They thought that the pathogens would eventually just leave in the blood flow. By the end of this period though, what we consider “modern science” was fully formed. Many of the well known scientists that we call “giants” came out of Europe in this era. Not only did the Europeans make great advancement in technology, but they also had the theological thought which proved to be the driving force. After the 13th century, Europe took off in its scientific discoveries and integrated many of them into the culture of the people. Dick Tripp quotes Newton on his site, Exploring Christianity – Science, saying:
“This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being... This Being governs all things, not as the soul of the world, but as the Lord over all.”
Most of the “giants” of the Scientific Revolution in Europe were
Christians. The above quote is from one of the most well known scientists ever.
Isaac Newton was most well known for his law of universal gravitation. He was
also the inventor of Calculus. Dick Tripp quotes the book "What if Jesus
Had Never Been Born", where D. James Kennedy gives a list of some of the
famous Christians of the era. Here is some of it:
Antiseptic - Surgery Joseph Lister
Bacteriology - Louis Pasteur
Calculus - Isaac Newton
Celestial Mechanics - Johannes Kepler
Chemistry - Robert Boyle
Comparative Anatomy - Georges Cuvier
Dimensional Analysis - Lord Rayleigh
Dynamics - Isaac Newton
Electronics - John Ambrose Fleming
Electrodynamics - James Clerk Maxwell
Electromagnetics - Michael Faraday
Energetics - Lord Kelvin
Entomology of Living Insects - Henri Fabre
Field Theory - James Clerk Maxwell
Fluid Mechanics - George Stokes
Galactic Astronomy - Sir William Hershel
Gas Dynamics - Robert Boyle
Genetics - Gregor Mendel
Glacial Geology - Louis Agassiz
Gynaecology - James Simpson
Hydrography - Matthew Maury
Hydrostatics - Blaise Pascal
Ichthyology - Louis Agassiz
Isotopic Chemistry - William Ramsey
Model Analysis - Lord Rayleigh
Natural History - John Ray
Non-Euclidean Geometry - Bernard Riemann
Oceanography - Matthew Maury
It was a natural consequence that so many scientists had a strong Christian faith. The church and modern science were in harmony in Europe. “It could still be said in the mid-nineteenth century that most of the world's scholars and scientists were still professedly Christian” (Tripp np). “The number of pioneer geologists who were Bible-believing Christians is noteworthy. Among them were William Buckland, who held the chair of geology at Oxford, and his counterpart at Cambridge, Adam Sedgwick. Both were leading churchmen” (Tripp np). The Scientific Revolution in Europe far surpassed any scientific discoveries or changes in thought in any other place or time. This did not happen because Europeans had greater intelligence than the ancients or other people groups.
What was the quality of the scientific revolutions in China?
“Chinese science came closest to paralleling Western scientific achievement, and therefore China probably came closer than any other civilization to giving birth to modern science”(Huff, 237). Up to about the 13th century, during the time of Marco Polo, China was very advanced in technology but did not change society to conform to the new ideas. Qian Wen Yuan says about his own country, China, “In any case, there has never been a ‘scientific revolution’ in China, past or present” (Qian). This is a very strong statement. When the context of his book, The Great Inertia - Scientific Stagnation in Traditional China, is taken into consideration, the reader finds that he speaks of a giant ground-breaking, single event. The author goes on to say, “Historically, modern science grew only in Western Europe. That is to say, there was only one Scientific Revolution” (Qian). Asia, of old, was more advanced than the west in technology despite the millennium old tradition taught by Confucius of looking down at merchants as a necessary evil. Buddhism also proved to be a deterrent to advancement as nearly 20% of the male work force quit public production in order to follow the contemplative monastic life which necessitated support from perhaps 40% of the remaining population. Just as the Portuguese began exploring down Africa's west coast, the Chinese ended the enormous explorations of Zheng He with an attitude of self-assured isolationism. When Europe took off with all of its scientific discoveries and revolutions, she left China “in the dust”. Since then, China has not ever fully become as advanced in modern science as the west. Most science currently practiced in China is from outsider’s ideas. “In China there was no single structure of rational knowledge that incorporated all the sciences.” (Sivin 169)
What was the quality of the scientific revolutions in the Ottoman Empire?
The Ottoman Empire was the region to bring forth most of the scientific thought
for a very long period of time. In fact, Copernicus had a theory very similar
to a thought of one of the Ottoman scientists previous to him. “The path
leading the scientific revolution in Europe was paved most significantly by
Arabic-Islamic scientists” (Huff 237). The Islamic culture produced advancements
in the sciences up until about the 13th century, just like China. They also
understood the concept of what they were working on when they invented it. Huff
also says, in reference to the “enlightened men of medicine, philosophy
and science” of the era, “They were held at bay by the religious
authorities of Islam, so that in the long run, no social institutions were founded
that could protect and support freethinking, a term commonly denoting heresy”
(Huff 360). This hindered any scientific revolutions from coming out of the
Islamic world.
Conclusion:
By far Europe had the most qualitative scientific revolutions between 1700 and 1900 AD. Though China had wonderful technology and greatly surpassed the West earlier in history, Europe surpassed all of the other civilizations of it’s time in the scientific realms. This may have been because of the differing worldviews. Europe had just been through the Protestant Reformation, and was mainly considered a Christian state that believed that the pursuit of knowledge was for the glory of God. The more one knew of the creation, the more one could learn of the Creator. China had some wonderful technology early on, but was under a very harsh regime and did not have much freedom of expression. The Ottoman Empire had good scientific discoveries and technology earlier in history, but as time went on, Europe so far surpassed it that it seemed as though Europe was the only one to be so far advanced. Certainly all of these different levels of scientific and technological advancement be the effect of different world views.
Bibliography
1. Westfall, Richard S. The Scientific Revolution
2. Kuhn, Thomas. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. 3rd Ed. 1996
3. Qian, Wen Yuan. The Great Inertia- Scientific Stagnation in Traditional China. 1985
4. Neugebauer, Otto. Exact Science in Antiquity
5. Lloyd, G.E.R. The Ambitions of Curiosity
6. Lloyd, G.E.R. Adversaries and Authorities
7. Sivin, Nathan. Science in Ancient China
8. Huff, Toby. The Rise of Early Modern Science. 1993
9. Razaullah, AuSari S.M. Science and Technology in the Islamic World.
10. Lindberg, David. Beginnings of Western Science.
11. Lindberg, David. Reappraisals of the Scientific Revolution
12. Sivin, Nathan. Article VI, “Science and Medicine in Chinese History”.
| Map Graph Drawing |
Original Source
Document Focus on Facts Biography |
|
Doc.
Based Questions |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
Copyright © 2000-2007 www.hyperhistory.net, all rights reserved