Copernicus And The First Pioneers Of Science

During the seventeenth century, the scientific revolution in Europe was at its peak, changing people’s lives through the new techniques of the scientific method. Citizens of western civilizations had previously used religion as the lens through which they perceived their beliefs and customs in their communities. Before the scientific revolution, science and religion were intertwined, and people were taught to accept religious laws and doctrines without questioning; the Church was the ultimate authority on how the world worked. However, during this revolution, scientists were inspired to learn and understand the laws of the universe had created, a noble and controversial move toward truth seeking. The famous scientists of the time, such as Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo and Newton, were known to be natural philosophers, intending to reveal God’s mystery and understand (through proof) the majesty of God. Throughout previous centuries, people had hypothesized how the world and natural phenomenon may work, and new Protestant ideals demanded constant interrogation and examination. Nevertheless, some of these revelations went against the Church’s teachings and authority. If people believed the Church could be wrong, then they could question everything around them, as well. As a result, the introduction of the scientific method, a process by which scientists discovered and proved new theories, was revolutionary because it distinguished what could be proved as real from what was simply

There will always be a battle between religion and science, it is a truth universally acknowledged. Galileo attempted to make the two compatible by suggesting that the truth can only be sought out if the notion under consideration can be accurately tested and if the opposing view can be founded as false. Galileo’s goes into depth about the truth of scripture and the sciences, intertwined with the reason of man, in his letter to Christina of Lorraine, Grand Duchess of

The most significant origin of the conflict between religion and science during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was the condemnation of Galileo by the Roman Catholic Church. Since Galileo supported a

During most of the 16th and 17th centuries, it was not easy for scientists to make new discoveries and present them to the world. The Catholic Church, a dominating force during that period, persecuted anyone who would spread ideas and opinions that contradicted what the Bible stated. Both Copernicus and Galileo believed in the heliocentric theory, also called Copernicus theory, which stated that the sun was at the centre of the universe and the earth revolves around it. However, the Catholic Church did not agree with this idea because the Bible stated that the earth was at the centre of the universe and the sun revolved around it, which is the complete opposite. Due to this disagreement, Copernicus and Galileo were threaded by the Catholic Church and

Accordingly, a religious person is devout in the sense that he has no doubt of the significance and loftiness of those super personal objects and goals which neither require nor are capable of rational foundation. They exist with the same necessity and matter-of-factness as he himself. In this sense religion is the age-old endeavour of mankind to become clearly and completely conscious of these values and goals and constantly to strengthen and extend their effect. If one conceives of religion and science according to these definitions then a conflict between them appears impossible. For science can only ascertain what is, but not what should be, and outside of its domain value judgments of all kinds remain necessary. Religion, on the other hand, deals only with evaluations of human thought and action: it cannot justifiably speak of facts and relationships between facts. According to this interpretation the well-known conflicts between religion and science in the past must all be ascribed to a misapprehension of the situation which has been described.

1). Copernicus came from Poland, a very Catholic nation, which explains his choice to dedicate his book to Pope Paul III. John Calvin, a theologian who founded the Calvinist sect of Protestantism, was very fond of astronomy, saying that it shows the wisdom of God (Doc. 2). Other religious figures condemned the work of scientists, like Giovanni Ciampoli, who in a letter to Galileo insisted that Galileo censure facts due to the disagreement of church doctrines to the findings of Galileo (Doc. 3). Other philosophers merged their ideas on the sciences to religious beliefs to please the church and their own traditional beliefs. In a book by Walter Charleton, an English doctor and philosopher, he states that the creation of atoms and arrangement of them could only be achieved by a higher power (Doc. 8). His occupation as a doctor may have led him to this conclusion as the human body is a very complex machine, and it seemed that only God would be capable of engineering such an organism. Another philosopher, Gottfried Leibniz, compares God to an engineer manipulating his machines, further affecting the work of scientists by meshing religious and scientific ideas (Doc. 12). Many scientists’ works were condemned by the church at this time for blasphemy, so many turned to deism, where God made the Universe like a clock and let it run on its own. Many scientists’ work during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was

During the sixteenth and seventeenth century, the world of science became exposed to new scientific discoveries that were not welcomed by the church. For decades, people believed and did everything the Roman Catholic Church told them because there were no documents or no other proof of scientific knowledge to go on. Friendship should be spread through the whole world of learning…(Document 9)” You will learn better if you are friends because you can exchange information and find out more than if you were enemies. The Roman Catholic Church was threatening by the Scientific Revolution because Copernicious’s, Galilei’s, and Newton’s new science discoveries open people minds to change.

For most people of the modern age, a clear distinction exists between the truth as professed by religious belief, and the truth as professed by scientific observation. While there are many people who are able to hold scientific as well as religious views, they tend to hold one or the other as being supreme. Therefore, a religious person may ascribe themselves to certain scientific theories, but they will always fall back on their religious teachings when they seek the ultimate truth, and vice versa for a person with a strong trust in the sciences. For most of the early history of humans, religion and science mingled freely with one another, and at times even lent evidence to support each other as being true. However, this all changed

When dwelling into the explorations about science and religion, one can find it quite amusing. "If science and religion are to continue to coexist it seems opposed to the conditions of modern thought to admit that this result can be brought about by the so-called

The Pivotal Dichotomies of Science and Religion Science can help identify and elaborate upon the laws of nature, help humans ascertain an improved understanding of the universe, and enable people to acquire powerful thinking skills to generate innovative and beneficial ideas. However, in the recent centuries many scholars have addressed the numerous conflicts that have emerged between the fields of science and religion. Although certain similar factors can render science and religion compatible, many differences have caused a contentious divisiveness to permeate between the two fields. Many philosophers have contemplated and debated the relationship between science and religion.

The Scientific Revolution not only led to countless inventions that changed the way of life, but changed people’s perspectives on many subjects such as the natural world. Copernicus changed the traditional view of the universe from an earth centered theory to a sun centered theory based on data collected from his predecessors in the field of astronomy. The key to proving this new view of the universe was the collaboration of other scientists, such as Galileo, and the usage of new astronomical instruments, particularly the telescope. The telescope allowed systematic observations of the universe, which ultimately supported the heliocentric view of the universe. This new view questioned everything that was fundamental to the Christian faith, which infuriated the Catholic Church (Spielvogel 475-480, 493).

Copernicus’s theory declares “the sun to be situated motionless in the center of the revolution of the celestial orbs while the earth revolves about the sun” (Moss, 1983) which seemed to be in disagreement with religious justifications. The church dreaded the idea of “science” and the repressed truth exposed by scientists

In the history of the Catholic Church, no episode is so contested by so many viewpoints as the condemnation of Galileo. The Galileo case, for many, proves the Church abhors science, refuses to abandon outdated teachings, and is clearly not infallible. For staunch Catholics the episode is often a source of embarrassment and frustration. Either way it is undeniable that Galileo’s life sparked a definite change in scientific thought all across Europe and symbolised the struggle between science and the Catholic Church.

Humans have always wondered what the universe looks like. Creating theories and refuting against themselves, by the 16th century, the geocentric view of the universe was the most accepted assumption of what the universe looks like. Copernicus and Galileo were two who challenged the theory and convinced the world that the geocentric view is, in fact, wrong. In other words, they decided to fight against the societal oppression of a widely accepted concept to create a controversy that changed the way everyone looked at the universe. By this, that individuals change their minds when given logical reasoning and scientific evidence can be implied, although unhurriedly, regardless of how popular and supported the knowledge is.

In this essay I am researching a famous astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus. I will be talking about his life, his accomplishments, and why he is famous. When I started researching his name I was a little disappointed. I went to the Biography Reference Bank first. When I searched for the name Nicolaus Copernicus not as many sources popped up compared to if I were to type in any other famous person name. When I went to Academic Search Premier there were a little more results than the other. Nevertheless, there was not that many to go off of. I decided to go with one source from the Academic Search Premier and the other from the UCO Library database.