Microlecture 8 – The Scientific Method and
Its Practice
The Scientific Revolution went hand in hand
with advancements in many other different
fields. Scholars, thinkers, and philosophers
developed new methods to seek answers to long-standing
problems, in their quest, they were helped
by skilled craftsmen who invented new instruments
to conduct experiments. Although the phenomenon
was international and created a world intellectual
community, women were usually excluded from
the process.
Francis Bacon was the earliest propagandist
of the scientific method. Rejecting Aristotelian
and medieval ideas of using speculative reason
to build general theories, Bacon argued that
scientific knowledge needed to pursue empirical
research and experimentation. Bacon's main
contribution was to formalize the empirical
method, into the general theory of inductive
reasoning known as empiricism.
In continental Europe, the French philosopher
and mathematician René Descartes discovered
analytic geometry and used mathematics to
elaborate his vision of the cosmos' workings.
Descartes's mechanistic philosophy of the
universe depended on the idea that a vacuum
was impossible, which meant that every action
had an equal reaction, continuing in an eternal
chain reaction.
Descartes's most important achievement was
to develop his initial vision into a whole
philosophy of knowledge and science. When
experiments proved that sensory impressions
could be wrong, Descartes decided it was necessary
to doubt them, and everything could be reasonably
be doubted. To get to principles and scientific
laws, it was essential to use deductive reasoning.
The Methods developed by both Bacon and Descartes
had flaws. However, their approaches are combined
in the modern scientific method that crystalized
after them.
The Scientific Revolution was also important
in other fields. The human body, for example,
was the object of intense inquiry. For centuries
the Greek believes first outlined by Galen
were the only explanation about the functioning
of the body. According to him, the body contained
four humors: blood, phlegm, black bile, and
yellow bile. Illness was believed to be the
result of an imbalance of these humors.
The Swiss physician and alchemist Paracelsus
was an early proponent of the experimental
method in medicine. He believed that illness
was the consequence of chemical imbalances
rather than a problem with the humors.
Flemish physician Andreas Vesalius studied
anatomy by dissecting human bodies. In 1543,
the same year Corpernicus published his revolutionary
work, Vesalius published "On the Structure
of the Human Body." The book contained two
hundred precise drawings that revolutionized
the understanding of human anatomy. In 1628,
English royal physician William Harvey discovered
the way blood circulates through veins and
arteries.
The Irishman Robert Boyle was a revolutionary
chemist. He undertook experiments to discover
the basic elements of nature, which he believed
was composed of infinitely small atoms. Boyle's
law states that the pressure of gas varies
inversely with volume.
Even though we tend to think that the relationship
between science and religion was fundamentally
hostile and that the pursuit of knowledge
based on reason and proof was incompatible
with faith, during the Scientific Revolution,
most practitioners were religious devotes.
They saw their work as a celebration of God's
glory.
The Catholic church proved to be more hostile
towards science than protestants, Jewish,
and Muslims. Heliocentrism was a menace to
the Catholic's understanding of the universe,
and as a consequence, they had difficulties
accepting the Copernican system. Perhaps,
the most well-known story about this was Galilei's
trial by the papal inquisition after the publishing
of his "Dialogue on the Two Chief Systems
of the World."
The rise of modern science had many consequences.
First, it let to the rise of a new social
group, the international scientific community.
In this community, there are competing interests,
values, and powers involved. Second, science
became a political tool and, in that sense,
closely tied to states and governments and
their agendas.
Contemporary historical research has proved
that the Scientific Revolution was not the
exclusive work of exceptional geniuses. It
is essential to recognize the critical role
of skilled craftsmen in the development of
the experimental method. It was them the ones
who designed and invented most instruments
to measure the natural world.
Finally, it is important to mention that none
of this scientist, who challenged ideas about
the universe's nature, did question traditional
inequalities between the sexes. For the most
part, women were excluded and relegated from
these communities, and as a consequence, their
subordinated role in society was reinforced.
