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Jamie Palmer 11/21/11

AP European History Maier 2 Scientific Revolution Essay

People today grapple wit t e concept t at uman !eings are "ust collections of matter on a pale !lue dot# wit no universal or intrinsic significance$ % is is understanda!le# as traditional and Ptolemic met ods ad taug t us t at our place in t e universe was a central one$ As t e trut is uncovered# t oug # t is conclusion is revealed to !e a product more of t e people w o concluded it# t an t eir actual o!servations$ %o many people# t e s ift represents an impossi!le p ilosop ical &uestion# one w ic causes t em to reconcile everyt ing t ey !elieve wit t e new findings$ However# w ile t ese discoveries came to lig t# Europe e'perienced less of a s oc( t an one mig t e'pect$ )undamentally# t e pure sciences* discoveries were at odds wit esta!lis ed institutions# including t e c urc # !ut t ey were still pragmatically similar in goal# and t erefore found little pro!lem wor(ing toget er for t e time !eing$ +opernicus wor(ed to discover t e eliocentric t eory of or!it# !ut was una!le to ma(e it accessi!le to t e common man due to is comple' mat ematics$ ,t is for t is reason w y +opernican ideas were a!le to e'ist wit out destruction !y t e c urc # t ey were so inaccessi!le and confined to a group of e'perts -w o didn*t even !ot er to closely review t e laws t emselves.$ /epler t en modified +opernicus* ideas to fit !etter t e o!servations# and made t e revolutionary concept more widely availa!le as well as more controversial# it would seem$ 0 en people too( t e time to test /epler*s simple formulas to t e cosmos# t oug # t ey found t at t ey weren*t dangerously at odds wit t ose ideas of is colleagues# and t at someone w o offered simple laws could !e "ust as rig t as %yc o 1ra e and is answers of comple'ity$ ,t too( /epler for !ot sides to reali2e t e conflict w ic may !e at sta(e ere# and t e possi!le pivotal s ift in perspective w ic man(ind was a!out to em!ar( on$

Jamie Palmer 11/21/11

AP European History Maier 2

0 en 3alileo 3alilei turned is telescope towards t e s(y# e was merely oping to give su!stance to t e eavenly !odies# and per aps identify w at t e distant ones mig t !e made of$ 3alileo*s o!servations laid plainly t at t e Eart was not t e center# nor was it particularly special as planets go$ % e s oc( of t is revelation was too great for many# especially t ose wit in t e c urc 4 as t ey forced im to sign a recantation of all of is t eories and o!servations of t e eavens$ His main contri!ution was not is confirmation of /epler# !ut is o!servations towards t e properties of o!"ects on Eart $ Relying on t e earlier trust of simplicity# esta!lis ed !y /epler# 3alileo created t eories a!out t e !e avior of o!"ects close to Eart # and used ideas li(e inertia to solve some of is most pu22ling c allenges$ % roug o!servation and simplicity# e continued to assert science in a way t at was significant !ecause of t e c urc *s o!"ections to is studies$ He connected simplicity# !ut not t e same formulas# to people down on Eart # a point w ic s ould ave worried t e c urc even more# per aps t an a confirmation of /epler*s formulas$ ,t was 5ewton w o e'pressed t e truly orrifying idea w ic # to some# could not e'ist in co erence w ile one still !elieved in 3od$

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