The Scientific Revolution
From Oxford to Florence and Back Again
- Course Code
- HIST 0520
- Course Type
- Tutorials
- Subject Credit
- Course Availability
Studying nature in Europe in 1450 was dramatically different from doing so in 1700. In late medieval Europe, nature was made of four elements, the earth was at the center of the universe, most natural knowledge circulated in philosophical manuscripts, and oceanic navigation was practiced only by a few. But by Newton’s (1643-1727) time, matter was made of atoms, the Earth rotated around the Sun, mathematicians debated philosophers in printed books, and scholars collected data from across European empires. Historians have often called these changes a Scientific Revolution. But unlike a political revolution, this one developed slowly, alongside major cultural, religious, and institutional changes that took place between 1450 and 1700. In this course, you will read the main texts associated with these changes, some of them in their first editions, and gain skills to understand and communicate them in their historical context. The tutorial will cover the following themes:
1. The Medieval Foundations of Modern Science
2. The Copernican Revolution and Galileo
3. The Mathematization of the World
4. The Anatomical Revolution
5. The New Atlantis and the First Scientific Academies
6. Mechanical Philosophy, Robert Boyle, and the Oxford Physiologists
7. Sir Isaac Newton and the Laws of Physics
8. Was There a Scientific Revolution?