Research Paper on Scientific Revolution - Include Copernicus, Ptolemy, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton

Essay by Walkthisway442High School, 11th grade May 2004

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Throughout history there have been numerous revolutions worldwide. From industrial revolutions, to religious revolutions, to scientific revolutions, all of which have greatly advanced mankind. The scientific revolution was, perhaps, the most important revolution of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. In each revolution, there are many specific noteworthy people that are the base of the revolution who have contributed tremendously. Of these, Nicholas Copernicus, Claudius Ptolemy, Tycho Brahe, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, and Isaac Newton are quite possibly the most important minds of the scientific revolution. These people all contributed in some way to help the scientific revolution evolve.

In European history the term 'Scientific Revolution' refers to the period between Copernicus and Newton. But the chronological period has varied dramatically over the last 50 years. The broadest period acknowledged usually runs from Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543) and his De Revolutionibus to Isaac Newton (1642-1727). Some historians have cut this back, claiming that it properly extends only to the publication of Newton's Principia (1687) or to his Opticks (1704) or to Newton's death (1727).

More radical proposals have suggested that the Scientific Revolution might apply to the so-called Enlightenment 'Newtonians' thus extending to roughly 1750. Further, some historians have cut back the earlier period. Some have all but removed Copernicus from their chronological definition, claiming that the 'Copernican Revolution' virtually began and ended in 1610 with the work of Galileo and Kepler. Historians have consistently disputed the presumed beginning and ending dates of the much-disputed 'Scientific Revolution'.

The men who created the Scientific Revolution were convinced that they were participating in a major upheaval of human thought. The philosophes of the Enlightenment were equally convinced. They chose their heroes from the leaders of the Scientific Revolution, and they looked upon the period as...