NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
... iting. The combined influence of the Renaissance and the Reformation had generated an attitude of scepticism towards all authority. Soon this skepticism led to a questioning of established beliefs in the sciences, just as it had in religion and politics. COPERNICUS (1473 -- 1543) As mentioned above, sometime around 150 AD, Ptolemy wrote what was to become the defining text for the science of astronomy, an immense book known as the Almagest or "The Greatest. " It's position as the defining text would go unchallenged for the next 1400 years. Ptolemy incorporated a huge number of tables that enabled astronomers to calculate the positions of the planets for hundreds of years.
The central premise of Ptolemy's work was that the earth was the center of the universe, and that the planets, the sun and moon, and the stars went around the earth in a circle. In order to explain certain observable anomalies, Ptolemy posited that each of the planets were also describing smaller circles (or epicycle) as they proceeded in their orbit. With the instrumentation at his disposal, for the most part his unaided eyes, Ptolemy had devised a system that accurately accounted for the observed motions in the heavens. The authority of Ptolemy's volume and the conceptualization of the solar system that it presented possessed a longevity that is usually reserved for religious texts. Finally, in 1530, the gauntlet of challenge was cast by a Polish mathematician named Nicolaus Copernicus. Copernicus' asserted a helio-centric rather than a geo-centric model of the solar system.
The sun was at the center, and the earth went around it, as did the other planets. Only the moon continued to go around the earth. The publication of these ("On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres -- De Revolutionibus Orbium Caelestium) theories took place in 1543, near the time of Copernicus' death, so he did not live to see the revolutionary impact his ideas would have on human society. Soon, however, the theological implications of the heliocentric model became evident, and ecclesiastic resistance mounted.
The church had long maintained that the universe had been created for mankind, and that the human species was both the pinnacle and the center of creation. It was only reasonable to assume that the earth, as the home of mankind and the chosen place of God's incarnation, should be the center of the universe. To assert anything else was the threaten the very foundation of the system. As with any reform or revolution, a radical second-generation soon emerges. Extremists not only asserted the validity of Copernicus' position, but began to flaunt the implications of that position for established theology. Giordano Bruno, an intellectual radical, not only asserted the veracity of Copernicus' assertion, but he pressed further.
Space was infinite, according to Bruno, and the stars are scattered out through this expanse, not simply resting on the outer sphere of the cosmos. Moreover, there were an infinite number of inhabited worlds. Such assertions were too much for the Church to tolerate, and in 1600, Bruno was burned at the stake. Hard evidence supporting the claims of Copernicus would have to come from others. TYCHO BRAHE (1546 -- 1601) The next step towards the acceptance of the helio-centric model was taken by the Danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe (pronounced brahe or bra-hee). Ironically, while he was gathering information that would ultimately prove the Copernican theories, he spent most of his life in opposition to them.
Tycho's contribution lay in the exactitude of his naked-eye observations of celestial movement, and the remarkable advances he made in instrumentation to measure these movements. Though he made the observations and produced remarkable exact tables of the movements of the heavenly bodies, Tycho did not possess the mathematical aptitude necessary to refine his raw data. Upon his death the table were confiscated for a time by a remarkable German astronomer in Tycho's employ. JOHANN KEPLER (1517 -- 1630) For all his genius, Tycho still held to a medieval view of the world.
The sun still revolved around the earth once a year, though Tycho did reach a compromise with Copernicus and allowed for the other planets to revolve around the sun. By and large, however, his model of the solar system was still constructed in terms of a medieval theology. The earth, the site of God's unfolding plan of redemption, was the center of the universe. In all likelihood, due to his improvident life-style, the remarkably accurate measurements Tycho made would have been lost had it not been for the efforts of Johannes Kepler. Kepler's early life showed little promise; he was born prematurely, developed smallpox at the age of seven months, and was afflicted with poor vision from his childhood.
From such questionable beginnings, Kepler's intellectual prowess eventually led him to a place at the University of Tbingen Though he was given a remarkable amount of latitude, Tbingen was a Protestant institution, and Luther's opposition to the Copernican system still made it difficult for a scientist to support the concept while simultaneously pursuing gainful academic employ. Kepler, however, tried, and defended the heliocentric model in public debate. His defense of Copernicus made continuing at Tbingen an impossibility. Other institutions, however, were more open-minded, and in 1594 he was offered a professorship of astronomy at the University of Graz. Here he gained the academic freedom he so desired, but the position was not entirely to his liking. At this point in history, part of the job description of every professional astronomer was to make astrological predictions.
Timidly, Kepler spoke against the absurdity of using the stars as a means of gaining insight into the future. Nevertheless, he fulfilled the expectations of his superiors, predicting a cold winter, and an invasion by the Turks. Remarkably, both predictions turned out to be correct. Though the respect Kepler desired did not come in the manner he would have wished, it did come. Kepler did not complain, since the new respect was accompanied by a corresponding increase in salary. Kepler's break with the medieval world-view developed rather slowly.
While lecturing at Graz, Kepler began to contemplate the relationships between certain geometric forms. Would not the same great mind that created the perfection of the geom...
Free research essays on topics related to: solar system, tycho, kepler, tycho brahe, center of the universe
Research essay sample on The Scientific Revolution Medieval World View
