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Background
The making of the Scientific Method began thousands of years before, when the
ideas of inductive and deductive reasoning were pieced together
Early Methods of reason
The Renaissance
Theory, Grosseteste was the first in the Latin West to develop an account of an
experimental method in science. He was also considered the first writer to make
systematic use of a method of experimental verification and falsification. And he
gave special importance to mathematics in attempting to provide scientific
explanations of the physical world (Crombie 1955).
Roger Bacon(1214-1292)
Inspired by Grosseteste, Roger Bacon defined the cycle of observation, hypothesis,
experimentation, and independent verification. He writes about experimental
science in his Opus Maius that all sciences except this either merely employ
arguments to prove their conclusions It alone, in truth, has the means of finding
out to perfection what can be done by nature (Opus Maius, Roger Bacon)
The spread of ideas and the scientific method
During the Renaissance, teachings from Plato, Aristotle, and even Galen of
Pergamon (An ancient scholar who summarized Plato, Aristotle, Stoic, and Epicurus
methods into his own) were translated and became common among the people of
Europe. Additionally, in order to increase the availability of firsthand experience,
teaching experiences such as botanical gardens were created and increased the
popularity of firsthand experimentation.
The Scientific Method
The Scientific Method, one of the key reasoning devices used today to split fact from
fiction, was truly birthed during the Scientific Revolution. Its history is spread
throughout the era and shows mans movement towards reason.
Main Players
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon was the individual who first began to build up the power of the
Scientific Method. Although Aristotle had built up an organized system of reasoning,
conclusions stemming from it were not always sound. As an example, Thomas
Hobbes, a critic of Aristotelianism, brings up Aristotles idea of heaviness saying it is
as if stones and metals had a desire, or could discern the place they would be at,
as man does (Thomas Hobbes). Seeing this obvious failure, Bacon sought to create
a new form of reasoning that could actively fill in the gaps, and rejecting
unreasonable conclusions, such as with claimed miracle cures where Bacon was
not yet prepared either to accept or to reject the reality of the claimed effect, and
he suggested that it be subjected to more critical trial (Steven Shapin, the
Scientific Revolution).
Rene Descartes
Descartes also sought to become the architect of modern reason, and so tried to
develop a sound foundation on which the rest of reasoning could be placed. From
there the phrase I think therefore I am stemmed, as the first axiom on which all
other reasonings could be founded.
Galileo Galilei
Galileo was one of the first to see the potential of math when applied to science.
Math had long been recognized as one of the purest forms of logic, nearly always
true, but it had almost never been used to prove actions in the real world. Galileos
mathematical law of fall pertained to ideal bodies moving in a frictionless
environment. It is possible that no, or very few, real bodies have ever moved in
precise obedience to such laws. Galileo announced that motion is subject to the
law of number (Steven Shapin, The Scientific Revolution).
Isaac Newton
Newton was truly the beginning of the Scientific Method. He merged the mechanism
of Aristotle together with mathematics, and they were merged in a new definition
of proper natural philosophy The Principia unified mathematics with both celestial
and terrestrial mechanics All bodies whatsoever, Newton said, are endowed
with a principle of mutual gravitation (Steven Shapin, The Scientific Revolution).
Confronting Challenges
Religion
The creators of the scientific Method, and in fact many of the scientists living in that
time had to choose between two sides, whether they were Christian or Atheist.
Choosing one side, many scientists found themselves attacked by the other, and
sometimes even their own side as well.
Francis Bacon is widely thought to have cleverly pretended to be religious in order
to escape persecution and allow his ideas for reasoning into the known world.
Descartes, although claiming to have been religious, was branded as both too
religious by Atheists, and too secular by the church, leading to his books being
banned by the Catholic Church.
Although he was a devout Catholic, Galileos support and evidence of the
heliocentric theory was interpreted as heresy, a violation of the council of Trent, and
Protestantism, and was forced to abandon and never advocate the heliocentric
theory again. He would later break this promise through his Dialogue, and be placed
under house arrest for the rest of his life.
Newton was not strictly Catholic, and instead Arian, and so vehemently fought
against the persecution of Arians. After about 50 years of life, however, Newton
turned to religious studies, and so escaped further persecution for his scientific
studies.
Uses in the Scientific Revolution
Descartes
Revolutions began, challenging the way people had to live. The French and
American revolutions had their roots embedded in the changing political
philosophies from the time, inspiring documents such as the constitution and the
Declaration of the Fundamental Rights of Man.
The Catholic Church was subject to a second great schism when people began to
doubt whether certain systems in the church that had never been questioned were
truly necessary. This was the beginning of the Reformation, which would result in
the birth of a plethora of new branches of Christianity.
Analysis
The Scientific Method was most certainly Mans exploration, encounter, and
exchange with reason, resulting in massive changes of thought in any area dealing
with the existence of truth. Humanity began to doubt things they had been told
were unquestionable, and in the process found themselves moving towards more
truth, intellect and stability.
Exploration
The Scientific Method allowed humanity to pass over the chasm of uncertainty and
discern fact from fiction. It ().
Encounter
In using the Scientific Method, Mankind itself encountered real reason, not governed
by rules but rather by observations
Exchange
The nature of the way the Scientific Method derives Knowledge allows a mutualistic
relationship between Mankind and the world around it, allowing it to learn more
about nature, and allowing nature to prosper from Mankind.
Conclusion
Although often overlooked, the creation of the Scientific Method was truly the birth
of and encounter with classical reasoning in humans. It allowed us to explore the
world around us, and created a way for us to exchange information with the
environment. Through it we have learned everything from how to govern people, to
how to govern oneself. We have learned how to listen to nature, and how to make
nature listen to us.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle/#PhaEndMet
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John Gribbin https://johngribbinscience.wordpress.com/about/
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