5. Scientific Revolution and the Royal Society Flashcards
(3 cards)
What individuals were key to the scientific revolution?
. Galileo - Italian astronomer, physicist, engineer, philosopher and mathematician.
. William Harvey - English physician who was the first to describe accurately how blood was pumped around the body by the heart.
. Robert Boyle - Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist, physicist and inventor.
. Robert Hooke - English natural philosopher, inventor and architect. His Micrographia of 1665 contained pictures and instructions on how to use a microscope more effectively.
. Isaac Newton - English physicist and mathematician who discovered gravity, thought to be one of the most influential scientists of all time.
. Francis Bacon - English philosopher of science, regarded as the Founder of Empiricism as he argued that scientific knowledge should be based on observation with a skeptical and methodical approach.
What was the significance of the Royal Society?
The Royal Society’s membership was derived from the elite and professional class, indicating the acceptance of science among the political class. In order to attract members and funding, the meetings of the Royal Society became a place of public demonstration of exiting science. The Society’s journal ‘Philosophical Transactions’ was created in 1665 and was the world’s first scientific journal. It was owned by the Society’s first secretary Henry Oldenburg and was published monthly, recording new ideas, demonstrations and included letters from scientists around the world.
How did Charles II help to make the Royal Society fashionable?
Charles II had an amateur interest in science (he had studied mathematics and set up a chemical lab in his chambers in Whitehall). His support of the Royal Society made an impression on fashionable society, even if they didn’t understand many of the new discoveries.
