The Scientific Revolution reveals a history of development of science that has gradually transformed the views of people on nature and society. Traditionally, the scientific revolution dates back to the eighteenth century, the advent of the Renaissance epoch.
However, ancient Greece was the pioneer in developing science. In particular, the emergence of philosophy as a progenitor of other sciences emerged in Green has given rise to many other disciplines.
In general, scientific revolution can be presented through three historic views on science, including classical, medieval, and modern.
All these periods involve significant contradictions, frictions and challenges that contributed to the modern image of science.
The supporters of humanistic theory agree with the ideas of great influence of people on the development of science. Therefore, all the identified periods represent important historical figures that invested into the scientific progress.
Specific attention should be given to considering such great minds as Plato, the brightest representative of the Hellenic world, Augustine and Aquinas, Copernicus, Kepler, and Cicero.
The representatives of this period is distinguished by logic character of thought that is engaged intensely in deliberations such important questions as life and death, as well as by negligence of conventional virtues.
The medieval period was the hardest for the development of science because of the strict restriction imposed on developing humanitarian disciplines. The Church marked the decline of secular thought that was confined to recognizing Jesus and divine rule.
Therefore, science was highly neglected in society because of increased dominance of religious scriptures. Moreover, religion denied scientific advances because of the threat of increased attention to scientific documents and discoveries that withdraw divine doctrine.
According to Tarnas, “the resurrection Christ brought to mankind was present in the Church” and, therefore, each human being should be attached to the divine doctrines (148). Dependence on the church had created a serious obstacle science because of recognition of biblical history and knowledge only.
Spiritual authority of the church dominated significantly and required full obedience from Church members. The necessity to follow religious tradition was explained by the formalization of rules and established of strict norms in educational and social spheres.
In other words, those people who indulge into studies science were regarded as the one withdrawing divine laws.
The emergence of the Western culture has given rise to the development of new directions of scientific development that differ substantially from the doctrines and rituals previously established in the Church.
Medieval thinkers became obsessed with new options for the evolution of human civilizations. At the end of eighteen century, the era of Renaissance marked the continuation of the philosophical thought of Greek period.
In particular, the Aristotelian natural philosophy received further progress in the advances introduced by Copernicus, the scientific thought related to heliocentric theory of astronomical model of the Solar system, as well as the position of Earth in it.
Heliocentrism opposed significantly to medieval thought about the geocentric theory of Earth system. Limited vision on science, therefore, prevented the medieval thinker to introduce new concepts and frameworks.
The period of revival of Greek philosophy dates back to the sixteenth century, which is also marked by Copernican Revolution. Further scientific progress was introduced through the work of Johannes Kepler who presented the model of elliptical orbits.
The given period is represented as the second revival of the Scientific revolution after the period of educational “darkness”.
In general, the Copernicus Revolution was both the contributor to the development of the era of Enlightenment, as well as the mark of the scientific evolution in various academic fields.
The era of Renaissance had a potent impact on the shifts in religious views on the world. At the same time, religion itself made significant contributions to the development of science and education.
In particular, classical knowledge transmission was due to the contributions made by Byzantine science that transferred their experience to the Renaissance Italy and Islamic countries. Arabic knowledge also spread over the European countries.
In fact, the Christian world has left rich heritage to the Islamic world and provided a foundation for the development of new sciences. Tarnas writes, “…classical civilization had been snuffed out in the West, its great works and ideas left to the Byzantines and later the Moslems to be preserved as in museum” (90).
In this respect, the religion served as a driving force to spread of scientific knowledge and experience all over the world. Interaction between Islamic and Byzantine culture also gave rise to the emergence of various discipline and formation of secular thought.
In conclusion, the Scientific Revolution is a sophisticated ongoing process that underwent several complex stages. Its beginning takes root in the Greek philosophy, faces challenges in the medieval period, and experiences rise in the era of Enlightenment.
All of these periods contributed greatly to the development of new scientific theories and concepts. Although religion reflects antagonistic vision on science, it still provided scientific world with a solid foundation for further evolution, as well as introduced basic for revival of classical thought.
Works Cited
Tarnas, Richard, The Passion of the Western Mind: Understanding the Ideas that Have Shaped Our World View. New York: Ballantine Books, 1993 Print.