The document discusses intellectual revolutions that defined society, focusing on scientific revolutions from the 14th to 18th centuries in Europe. It describes how early philosophers developed ideas about the natural world, and how the scientific revolution challenged existing religious views and established the scientific method. The revolution transformed society by establishing science as a discipline and field of inquiry, and shifting views about the relationship between humanity, nature, and the cosmos from geocentric to heliocentric models. Key figures like Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler played important roles in this intellectual transformation through their scientific theories and observations.

1. LESSON 1 Intellectual Revolutions that defined Society
Science is as old as the world itself. From the genesis of time, science has existed. It is always interwoven in the society. So how can
science be defined?
1. Science as an Idea (Theories and systematic explanations and observations about the natural and physical world)
2. Science as an Intellectual activity (Process of study involves scientific method)
3. Science as a body of knowledge (subject or a discipline/field of study e.g. Biology, Chemistry, Physics etc.)
4. Science as a personal and social activity (Both knowledge and activities done by human to improve life and survival)
Humans beings have embarked in scientific activities in order to know and understand everything around them. They have developed
Philosophy (Noble ideas/set of beliefs) to provide alternative or possible explanations to certain phenomena and also used Religion
to rationalize the Origin of Life and all lifeless forms.
Scientific Revolution was the golden age for people committed to scholarly life in science but it was also a deeply trying moment to
some individuals that led to their painful death or condemnation from religious institutions who tried to preserve their faith, religion,
and theological views. Some rulers and religious leaders did not accept many of the early works of scientists.
It also marked the birth of science as a discipline and as a field of inquiry and gave birth to the development of the scientific method.
It is the period of enlightenment when the developments in the fields of mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology, and chemistry
transformed the views of society about nature. The ideas generated during this period enabled the people to Reflect, Rethink, and
reexamine their beliefs and their way of life.
Scientific revolution is very significant to:
 Human Development
 Societal Transformation (transformed world of ideas and explanations of the natural world)
 Formulation of Scientific ideas/method
 Strong foundation of modern science
The idea of Scientific revolution is claimed to have started in the early 14th
up to the 18th
century in Europe. Why in Europe? the
probable answer is (in 1423) the invention of the first printing machine and during 1440 the first printed books were made in Europe,
also, the unprecedented intellectual activities done in various places of learning, and the growing number of scholars in various fields
of interests. But this does not mean, however that science is a foreign idea transported from other areas of the globe.
Trivia: -In the Middle Ages, there were very few books. Most books belonged to churches, or universities, or to the upper class.
Books were written by hand. Many were beautiful illuminated manuscripts with hand-painted pictures. They were so
expensive that most people could not buy them.
-It took 300 calf skins (native young cow) or 100 pig skins to print the Bible only in Latin text (Translation was prohibited) In 1382,
the Bible first translated from Latin into English by John Wycliffe, beginning a movement for translating it into many European
languages.
-Rome was politically powerful because Rome had the Pope; the person in control of the Roman Catholic Church.
History of science in the Renaissance
Renaissance (14000-17000 century) French for “Rebirth”, it was the period of in European history where people taking an interest
in the learning of ancient times, particularly learning Ancient Greece and Rome (400 BC – 400 AD). In the city of Florence, Italy where
blooming intellectual activities took place.
Before the invention of the printing press, knowledge belonged to priest, monasteries and universities. Suddenly many thousands of
people, even merchants could learn far more than they ever could before.
Some famous Renaissance Men:
1. Galileo Galilei theory of pendulum, use of telescope, Galilean moons are the four largest moons of Jupiter—Io, Europa,
Ganymede, and Calisto.
2. Leonardo da Vinci (painter, scientist, musician, philosopher) paints Vitruvian man, the Last Supper and the Mona Lisa in
Milan.
3. Michelangelo paints the Sistine Chapel Ceiling in Rome.
4. Johann Gutenberg prints his famous Bible.
5. Christopher Columbus sailed from Spain across the Atlantic Ocean to the West Indies.
6. Vasco da Gama sailed from Portugal, around Africa to Calicut in India.
7. Ferdinand Magellan leads an expedition to sail around the world, under the command of Juan Sabastian del Cano.
Republic of the Philippines
ZAMBOANGA STATE COLLEGE OF MARINE SCIENCES & TECHNOLOGY
Fort Pilar, Zamboanga City
College of Education and Natural Sciences
NGEC 7- SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY 06/18-001
Ancient Greeks:
Plato: all things are made of triangles
Socrates: dialectic method to find answers
Aristotle: the Earth is in the center of the universe (later supported by C.Ptolemy)
Hippocrates: the human body is made with four humors
Democritus: education is a refuge for the unfortunate

2. RENAISSANCE SCIENTISTS
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473- 1543) A Renaissance mathematician and astronomer who formulated a heliocentric view of the
universe. His teaching that the earth revolved around the sun placed him in opposition to the established teachings of the church. He
was also an astronomer, physician, economist, diplomat, classics scholar and jurist.
Paracelsus (1493 – 1541) Swiss-German physician and leading health reformer. Paracelsus founded the discipline of toxicology
and pioneered the use of chemicals in treating patients. He rebelled against the medical orthodoxy of the medieval ages,
emphasising practical experience rather than ancient scriptures. Paracelsus helped transform health care and was often considered
the “Luther of Medicine” for his willingness to overturn conventional orthodoxy.
Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626) English philosopher, statesman and scientist. Bacon is considered the father of empiricism for his
work and advocacy of scientific method and methodical scientific inquiry in investigating scientific phenomena.
Galileo (1564 – 1642) Creating one of the first modern telescopes, Galileo revolutionized our understanding of the world supporting
the work of Copernicus. His work Two New Sciences laid the groundwork for the science of Kinetics and strength of materials.
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) German scientist who played a key role in the 17th Century scientific revolution. He created the laws
of planetary motion, which influenced Sir Isaac Newton’s theory of gravitation.
GEOCENTRIC/PTOLEMAIC SYSTEM (Aristotle/Claudius Ptolemy)
In astronomy, the geocentric model (also known as geocentrism, or the Ptolemaic system) is a superseded description of the
universe with Earth at the center. Under the geocentric model, the Sun, Moon, stars, and planets all orbited Earth.[1]
The geocentric
model served as the predominant description of the cosmos in many ancient civilizations, such as those of Aristotle and Ptolemy.
HELIOCENTRIC MODEL (N.Copernicus /J.Kepler / G. Galilei)
Heliocentrism is the astronomical model in which the Earth and planets revolve around the Sun at the center of the Solar System.
Historically, Heliocentrism was opposed to geocentrism, which placed the Earth at the center. The notion that the Earth revolves
around the Sun had been proposed as early as the 3rd century BC by Aristarchus of Samos, but at least in the medieval world,
Aristarchus's Heliocentrism attracted little attention—possibly because of the loss of scientific works of the Hellenistic Era.
It was not until the 16th century that a geometric mathematical model of a heliocentric system was presented, by the Renaissance
mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic cleric Nicolaus Copernicus, leading to the Copernican Revolution. In the following
century, Johannes Kepler elaborated upon and expanded this model to include elliptical orbits, and Galileo Galilei presented
supporting observations made using a telescope.
References:
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance
https://www.biographyonline.net/people/famous/renaissance.html