INTELLECTUAL REVOLUTIONS THAT DEFINED SOCIETY
Science is as old as the world itself. There is no individual that can exactly
identify when and where science began.
The idea of scientific revolution is claimed to have started in the early 16 th
century up to the 18th century in Europe.
Why in Europe? The probable answer is the invention of the printing
machine and the blooming intellectual activities done in various places of
learning, and the growing number of scholars in various fields of human
interests.
Scientific revolution was the period of enlightenment when the
developments in the fields of mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology, and
chemistry transformed the views of society about nature. It explained the
emergence or birth of modern science as a result of these developments
from the disciplines mentioned.
The ideas generated during this period enabled the people to reflect,
rethink, and reexamine their beliefs and their way of life. There is no doubt
that it ignited vast human interests to rethink how they do science and view
scientific processes.
Scientific revolution was the golden age for people committed to scholarly
life in science but it was also deeply trying moment to some scientific
individuals that led to their painful death or condemnation from the
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.
SOME INTELLECTUALS AND THEIR REVOLUTIONARY IDEAS
Theory – an idea about how something in nature works that has gone
through rigorous testing through observations and experiments designed to
prove the idea right or wrong.
Heliocentric Theory
Theory of Evolution by means of Natural Selection
Theory of Psychoanalysis
Copernican Revolution
What did people believe before the Copernican Revolution?
Geocentric Theory/Model – any theory of the structure of the solar system
(or the universe) in which Earth is assumed to be at the center of it all. The
most highly developed geocentric model was the Ptolemy of Alexandria
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) – was a mathematician and astronomer
who proposed that the sun was stationary in the center of the universe and
the earth revolved around it.
“ON THE REVOLUTIONS OF CELESTIAL SPHERES”
According to his theory the Sun is in the center of the Universe, and the
other planets are circling in orbits around it.
“all the sphere revolve about the sun… therefore the sun is the center of
the universe” – Copernicus 1543 – from the final version of Commentarious
He died the year his major work was published, saving him from the
outrage of some religious leaders who later condemned his heliocentric
view of the universe as heresy. By the late 18 th century, the Copernican view
of the solar system was almost universally accepted.
Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium.
G. Bruno. J. Kepler, and Galileo were among the scientific supporters and
defenders of the theory.
The Copernican Revolution gives us an important framework for
understanding the universe.
The entire universe obeys the same physical law everywhere (and at all
times).
Darwinian Revolution by Charles Darwin
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent
that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” – Darwin
He is famous for his theory of evolution. He changed the concept of world’s
creation and its evolution.
Johnson (2012) described him as a genius who came from a line of
intellectually gifted and wealthy family.
According to Johnson (2012) Darwin went to the best schools and was
observed to be a mediocre student. His life changed when one of his
professors recommend him to join a five-yea voyage through HMS Beagle
on the Galapagos Island.
Darwin published his book The Origin of Species in 1598. His book is
considered to be the one pf the most important works in scientific
literature. His book presented evidence on how species evolved over time
and presented traits and adaptation that differentiate species.
Sigmund Freud and His Contribution to Science
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
- Austrian, doctor
- Father of psychoanalysis
- One of the first psychologists to study human motivation
Freud believed that mental illness is a result of nurture, not nature.
He asked the question: “What makes people do things?”
Answer: MOTIVATION
Needs that motivate human behavior (food, shelter, clothing…)
Being deprived of a need arouses a feeling called a DRIVE OR DESIRE.
Animals respond instinctively, humans learn various ways to respond.
Human motivation explains the reasons why people behave the way they
do. People have DRIVES OR DESIRES in the back of their minds.
Ie: Will to liv, will to die
Some of these desires cause people to behave irrationally.
People are born with a certain number if instincts or DRIVES (human
instinctive behavior)
The human mind has 3 aspects which influence behavior:
ID
- Unconscious part of the mind (this part of the mind seeks to bring us
pleasure).
- The primitive parts of our personality including aggression and sexual
drives.
EGO
- Conscious part of the mind (Rational Self). Decides what action to take for
positive means and what to do based on what is believed is the right thing
to do. Aware of reality.
SUPEREGO
- Unconscious part of the mind that acts as our conscience.
- Reminds us of what we should do.
The ID and the SUPEREGO are in constant conflict. Your DRIVE tells you to
do one thing, while SOCIETY tells you to do something else.
Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, compared the human mind
to an iceberg. The tip above the water represents consciousness, and the
vast region below the surface symbolizes the unconscious mind. Of Freud’s
three basic personality structures – only the id, ego, and superego – only
the id is totally unconscious.
If you don’t resolve this conflict between the ID and the EGO, you may
experience unhappiness or mental distress.
Thus, in order to understand motivation, you must understand what is in
your unconscious memory. This is the basis for PSYCHOANALYSIS.
Freudian Revolution
Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud is credited for stirring a 20 th
century intellectual revolution named after him the Freudian
Revolution.
Psychoanalysis as a school of thought in psychology in at the center
of this revolution
Freud developed psychoanalysis a scientific method of
understanding inner and unconscious conflicts embedded within
one’s personality springing from free associations, dreams, and
fantasies of the individual.
Psychoanalysis immediately shot into controversy for it emphasized
the existence of the unconscious wherein feelings, thoughts, urges
and emotions and memories are contained outside of one’s
conscious mind.
Freud suggests that humans are inherently pleasure-seeking
individuals.
The theories of personality structure, function, and particularly
development, may play an increasing role in the development and
organization of a freer, healthier and stabler society. The method of
scientific analysis and dynamic interpretation likewise has an
increasingly broadening application.
Reflect in how the following theories. What is their theories all
about and how it contribute and shape modern perspective in
science.
a. Copernicus’ heliocentric theory
b. Darwin’s theory of evolution
c. Freud’s psychoanalytic theory
Other Scientific Revolution
Meso America
Middle East
Asia
Africa