Module 1 March 13, 2024

In this part of the lesson, the contributions of three notable scientists are analyzed. For sure there
were many scientists who worked before and after these individuals. However, it is important to
note that these men, particularly their ideas, had shaken the world:

1. Nicolaus Copernicus
One of the Renaissance men in science is Nicolaus Copernicus. Since the ancient Greece,
knowledge about the nature of the universe had been essentially unchanged. This was about
1500 years before Copernicus was born (Gribbin 2003). In many ways, Copernicus resembled
the Greek ancient philosophers or thinkers by doing nothing extensive such as observing
heavenly bodies or inviting people to validate his ideas. His scientific ideas were an example of
what is called today as a thought experiment. Upon finishing his doctorate degree, he was
appointed as canon at Frombork Cathedral in Poland. Despite his duty as a canon, he sustained
his interest in astronomy. Copernicus was influenced by the book Epitome, published by a
German Johannes Mueller in 1946, containing observations of the heavens and some
commentary on earlier works especially that of Ptolemy.

In 1500s, Copernicus' idea and model of the universe was fundamentally completed. Later, he
disseminated a summary of his works to his few close friends in a manuscript called
Commmentariolus (Little Commentary). There was no proof that Copernicus was concerned
about the risk of persecution by the church if he published his ideas formally.

The publication of his book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the
Heavenly Spheres) in 1543 is often cited as the start of the scientific revolution. In this book, he
presented a model of the universe in which everything moved around a particular center at
consistent rate, placing the sun to be the centerpiece of the universe while all the planets are
orbiting the sun every year (Gribbin 2003). Copernicus' model automatically positioned the
planets into a logical sequence. The moon, however, would still be seen orbiting the Earth.

In his model, Copernicus outlined two kinds of planetary motion:

the orbits of Venus and Mercury lay inside the orbit of the Earth, thus, closer to the Sun; and
the orbits of Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter lay outside the Earth's orbit, thus, farther from the Sun.

From this model, he would work on the length of time it will take for each planet to orbit once
around the sun. The result would form a sequence from Mercury, with a shortest year, through
Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn with the longest year. He positioned the planets in order
of increasing distance from the sun. One of the great problems in Copernicus model, however,
was the position of the stars. The stars cannot be placed in a static location like crystals in a
distance sphere.

Module 1 Science, Technology, and Society GE 6

Copernicus was a man of courage. His Copernican model makes sense now, but during his time,
it was judged to be heretic and unacceptable idea. The Roman Catholic Church prohibited and
ignored the publication of the Copernican model for the rest of the 16th century.

2. Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin is prominent for his theory of evolution that significantly and radically changed our
concept of the world's creation and its evolution. Johnson (2012) described Darwin as:

"A genius who came from a line of intellectually gifted and wealthy family."

Darwin developed his attention in natural history when he was a student of Shrewsbury School.
He would devote time observing the surroundings while collecting specimen and reading books
in his father's library (Gribbin 2003). While he had the privilege to study in best schools, he was
observed to be unexceptional compared to other students. He had a hard time studying medicine
that his father imposed to him. Darwin's life soon transformed when one of his professors
endorsed him to join a five-year expedition through the HMS Beagle on the Islands of Galapagos.

In 1589, Darwin published his book The Origin of Species, which is considered the most important
work in scientific literature. Darwin collected significant data to support his theory with
overwhelming evidence. His book presented pieces of evidence on how species evolved over
time. He also presented pieces of evidence on the traits and adaptation that are unique for
different species. Darwin's skills as a scientist moved beyond the realm of plants and animals into
the realm of humans. His book, The Descent of Man, was impressive yet very controversial.
Darwin's theory of evolution scientifically introduced the idea that all organic life, including human
beings, under the realm of evolutionary thinking. This superseded the prevailing religious or
biblical views that God created human beings.

Darwin's accomplishments were so diverse. He made major contributions on evolutionary biology

and philosophy of science. Moreover, Darwin challenged religious and unscientific ideas that were
deemed to be prominent during his days. His unorthodox way gave more value to evidence- based
science.

Module 1 Science, Technology, and Society GE 6

 3. Sigmund Freud

Freud is famous in the field of psychology. Rosenfels (1980) described him as:

"A towering literary figure and a very talented communicator, who did his share to raise the
consciousness of the civilized world in psychological matters."

Freud also made a substantial contribution to the scientific world through the development of an
important method to gather dependable data to study human behavior popularly known as
psychoanalysis. For Freud, this method of psychoanalysis is an excellent method to study the
human mind and neurotic illness scientifically.

Freud was not a conventional thinker. According to Weiner (2016), his method of psychoanalysis
was verified to be successful in understanding neurological conditions that were not known to
medicine during his time. His method is unorthodox, focusing on the evil nature of man and human
sexuality. This posed immense challenges to scholars and ordinary citizens of his time. Some
people found his ideas to be difficult, particularly his explanations on human sexuality.

Freud was born in a much later period than the scientific revolution, but his impact on knowledge
could be found in many aspects of the human scene, involving art, literature, philosophy, politics,
and psychotherapy. Whether he is more of a psychologist or a scientist is for people to decide.
The fact remains that Freudian ideas and theories are still considered today as a brilliant
motivation to study human mind and behavior in a more scientifically, accepted way.

Module 1 Science, Technology, and Society GE 6

Name: Date:
Year and Section: Score:

APPLICATION AND ASSESMENT

These are intellectuals who built critical contributions to science during the scientific
revolution. Among them are Nicolaus Copernicus, Charles Darwin, and Sigmund Freud. Answer
the following questions:

On Copernicus:
1. What is the contribution of Copernicus in the philosophy of science?

2. What lessons could be learned from the experiences of Copernicus?

3. How can science influence religion today?

On Freud:
1. How can you explain Freudian ideas as a scientist?

2. If Freud is still alive today, what do you think are the modifications he would make to revise
his theory?

Module 1 Science, Technology, and Society GE 6

On Darwin:

1. What is Darwin’s contribution to the modern science?

2. How can Darwin’s evolutionary theory influence the following fields in modern times:

• Economy?

• Agriculture?

• Political Science?

• Religion?

Module 1 Science, Technology, and Society GE 6