Beginning in the late 17th Century and continuing on into the 18th Century, there arose in Europe a startling change in the way that people began to think about and view the world. This change has been given the name scientific revolution. During this time men began to reject the old traditions of the Medieval Age and began to use observation and experimentation as a means to acquire information and knowledge. Although this method of thinking is today widely accepted, it was considered extremely dangerous at its beginning and those who held these ideas were considered to be revolutionaries. Three of these revolutionaries are Isaac Newton, Galileo Galilei, and Anton Van Leeuwenhoek. This essay will examine the contribution that these men made to their field of thinking and the reasons why ideas would be considered so dangerous.
Isaac Newton is one of the most well known revolutionaries. Newton was an English physicist, mathematician, and natural philosopher.
Galileo Galilei. Portrait by Ottavio Leoni. Detail...
Antoni van Leeuwenhoek
Leeuwenhoek_Microscope_ReplicaHe was considered to be one of the most important scientists of all time. Born in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire in England. Newton's father died before his birth. He was very inattentive at school. In 1656 his mother died. In January of 1665 he received a bachelors degree. Isaac Newton died on March 20, 1727, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. He was the first scientist to be so honored. He was the one who discovered the State of Nature. There are three laws in his State of Nature. The first one is that every object stays in a state or rest of motion in a straight line unless deflected by and outside force. The second on is the rate of change is proportional to the force acting upon it. The last one is for every action has an equal and opposite reaction. This was...