Development Outside The Science: Protestanism

(1) DEVELOPMENT
OUTSIDE THE SCIENCE

Sunday, 6 September 2020
10:23 PM

Nonscientific developments also encouraged the development and acceptance of new scientific ideas.
These developments include the spread of Protestantism, the patronage of scientific research, the
invention of the printing press, and military and economic change.

Protestanism

1.. Protestanism
 Played a limited role in causing Scientific Revolution.
 In the early years of Reformation… Protestants were just hostile as Catholics to new science.
 Reflecting the Protestant belief in the literal truth of the Bible, Luther referred to
Copernicus as “a fool who went against Holy Writ

 16th / 17th century
 CATHOLICS as well as protestants joined sci. research
 Most of prominent EUROPEAN NATURAL PHILOSOPHERS (GALILEO and
DESCARTES) were devout of Catholics.

PROTESTANTS encouraged emergence of modern science in different ways:

1. GAINED STEAM in 17th century
a. Protestant governments were more willing than Catholic authorities -- allow
publications and disseminations of new sci, ideas.
b. Protestant governments, for example, did not prohibit the publication of books that
promoted novel scientific ideas on the grounds that they were heretical, as the papacy did in
compiling the Index of Prohibited Books.
c. The greater willingness of Protestant governments, especially those of England and the
Dutch Republic, to tolerate the expression of new scientific ideas helps to explain why the
main geographical arena of scientific investigation shifted from the Catholic
Mediterranean to the Protestant North Atlantic in the second half of the seventeenth
century.

2. 17th century writers - EMPHASIZED - God revealed his intentions not only in the Bible, but
also in nature itself
a. Individuals have duty to study nature
b. Their duty to read Bible to gain knowledge of God's will.
c. Kepler's claim -
ASTRONOMER- priest of God to the book of nature

3. Protestant scientists believed that the Millenium was about to begin.
a. MILLENIUM - period of one thousand years when Christ would come again and rule the
world
b. Millenarians - believed that during this period knowledge would increase, society would
improve, and humans would gain control over nature.
c. Protestants scientists (BOYLE and NEWTON) - conducted their research and experiments
believing that their work would contribute to this improvement of human life after the
Second Coming of Christ.

Patronage

1. Patronage - Scientists could not have succeeded without financial and institutional support
2. Only an organizational structure could give science a permanent status, let it develop as a
discipline, and give its members a professional identity.

3. The universities, which today support scientific research, were not the main source of that
support in the seventeenth century. They remained predominantly clerical institutions with a
vested interest in defending the medieval fusion of Christian theology and Aristotelian science.
4. Instead of the universities, scientists depended on the patronage of wealthy and influential
individuals, especially the kings, princes, and great nobles who ruled European states.
5. This group included Pope Urban VIII, ruler of the Papal States.

 However, Patronage can be easily withdrawn.
 Scientists had to conduct themselves and their research to maintain the favor of their
patrons.
 Galileo referred to the new moons of Jupiter that he observed through his telescope
as the Medicean stars to flatter the Medici family that ruled Florence.
 His publications were inspired as much by his obligation to glorify Grand Duke
Cosimo II as by his belief in the sun-centered theory.

1. Academies in which groups of scientists could share ideas and work served as SECOND
important source of patronage.
a. One of the earliest of these institutions was the Academy of the Lynx-Eyed in Rome,
named after the animal whose sharp vision symbolized the power of observation required
by the new science.
 Founded in 1603
 By Prince Cesi
 Published many works of Galileo

b. 1647 -- COSMO II - founded similar academy in Florence. Academy of Experiment
 Offered more regular source of patronage than scientist could get from indiv.
positions at court
 But still function of glorifying their founders
 And depended on founders to continue existence

c. 1660 - however, especially the Royal Academy of Sciences in France (1666) and the Royal
Society in England (1662),
 became in effect public institutions that operated with a minimum of royal
intervention and made possible a continuous program of work.
 The mission of the Royal Society in England was the promotion of scientific
knowledge through experimentation. I
 t also placed the results of scientific research at the service of the state.
 Members of the Royal Society, for example, did research on ship construction
and military technology.
 These attempts to use scientific technology to strengthen the power of the
state show how the growth of modern state and emergence of modern science
were related.

Printing Press

1. Printing Press
-Printing made it much easier for scientists to share their discoveries with others.
2. During the Middle Ages, books were handwritten.
 Errors could creep into the text as it was being copied,
 and the number of copies that could be made of a manuscript limited the spread of
scientific knowledge.
3. The spread of printing ensured that scientific achievements could be preserved more
accurately and presented to a broader audience.
4. The availability of printed copies also made it much easier for other scientists to correct or
supplement the data that the authors supplied.
5. Illustrations, diagrams, tables, and other schematic drawings that helped to convey the author’s
findings could also be printed.
6. The entire body of scientific knowledge thus became cumulative. (increased in quality /
progressive)
7. Printing also made members of the nonscientific community aware of the latest advances in
physics and astronomy and
8. so helped to make science an integral part of the culture of educated Europeans

Military and Economic Change

1. The Scientific Revolution occurred at roughly the same time that both the conduct of warfare
and the European economy were undergoing dramatic changes.
2. As territorial states increased the size of their armies and arsenals, they demanded more
accurate weapons with longer range.
3. Some of the work that physicists did during the seventeenth century was deliberately meant
to improve weaponry.
4. Members of the Royal Society in England, for example, conducted extensive scientific research
on the trajectory and velocity of missiles, and
5. so followed Francis Bacon’s recommendation that scientists place their research at the service
of the state.

1. The needs of the emerging capitalist economy also influenced scientific research.
2. The study of mechanics, for example, led to new techniques to ventilate mines and raise coal
or ore from them, thus making mining more profitable.
3. Some of the questions discussed at the meetings of the Royal Society suggest that its members
undertook research to make capitalist ventures more productive and profitable.
4. The research did not always produce immediate results, but ultimately it increased economic
profitability and contributed to the English economy in the eighteenth century

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(1) DEVELOPMENT

OUTSIDE THE SCIENCE

Military and Economic Change

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