The Effects of the Scientific Revolution Essay - 1346 Words

History 208 Primary Source Paper â€Å"Scientific Revolution† 2.24.11 Nicholas Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton, Francis Bacon and Joseph Needham. According to some excerpts from â€Å"Why Europe?† by Jack Gladstone and â€Å"China, Technology and Change† by Lynda Norene Shaffer, the work of these notable men can be traced back to having a significant role in the scientific focus of modern society, or what we now know to be the â€Å"Scientific Revolution† of the seventeenth century. In a world where we are desperately dependent on advancements in modern science, we rarely stop to think about what got us to this point. We all too often overlook many of the global events that ultimately helped develop a universal method for understanding and†¦show more content†¦The introduction of gunpowder in Europe made castles and other medieval fortifications obsolete and helped to liberate Western Europe from feudal aristocratic power. The compass facilitated voyages that lead to Atlantic Europe’s sole possession of t he Western Hemisphere and helped open up the first all-sea route from Western Europe to the ports of East Africa and Asia. China possessed all three of these technologies by the latter part of the Tang dynasty (618-906), between four and six hundred years before they appeared in Europe. It is stated in the document that historians are now beginning to use the term â€Å"revolution† when referring to technological and commercial changes that culminated in the Song dynasty, in the same way that they refer to the changes in eighteenth and nineteenth-century England as the Industrial Revolution. In this source document, I interpret that Shaffer’s objective is to inform the reader of the astounding technological advances brought to fruition by China and their impact on Europe, the â€Å"Scientific Revolution†, and the world as we know it today. I do not sense a form of bias in any direction. I feel her target audience is relatively universal with a potential focus in terest of those involved in the study of early Chinese and European history and culture. The second source I am choosing to use is Jack Goldstone’s â€Å"Why Europe?† This document focuses less on the actual scientific technology advancementsShow MoreRelatedThe Impact of Scientific Revolution on Physics as an Independent Field of Study1214 Words   |  5 PagesTHE EFFECT OF SCIENTIFIC EVOLUTION ON PHYSICS AS AN INDEPENDENT FIELD OF STUDY INTRODUCTION The early period of the seventeenth century is known as the â€Å"scientific revolution† for the drastic changes evidenced approach to science . The word â€Å"revolution† connotes a period of turmoil and social upheaval where ideas about the world change severely and a completely new era of academic thought is ushered in. 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