The Role of Tools in the Scientific Revolution

Up until the 17th century, everything was believed to be of a certain way: apples fell from trees, theologians knew everything and most importantly, the Earth was the center of our solar system. Although this belief stems back to the grasp that theology held on the expression of new intellectual thought, there were great strides being made through the 16th and 17th centuries that would force a change of the geocentric belief. It is the argument of this paper that the Scientific Revolution, whereby the shift from a geocentric to heliocentric model, was necessitated by the tools and socio-cultural conventions developed in response to emerging intellectual thought. Before I can present my argument, I need to define the basis for which I call a tool. In the scope of this paper, a tool is referred to as certain principles and/or instruments which are used to heighten the basic level of intellectual thought.

Until the 15th century, due to the ways in which the four faculties of the university were intellectually weighed against each other, it was very hard for any discovery not based in theology to be brought to the forefront of intellectual investigation. This belittlement of the arts faculty would be a troublesome task to overcome if the geocentric model was to be overturned and the new heliocentric model was to be validated. To further the complication, “other faculties[outside of theology] could not delve into theological matters, but theologians could use other sciences for theological interpretations ”(Course Lecture) which presents two sides both seeking the pursuit of truth through two different paths but one discounts and guards itself out of fear of being disproved. It wouldn't be until the mid-16th century that a published...

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...alileo’s ability to play on the patron-client relationship within the court system was pivotal in the acceptance of the heliocentric model whereby allowing progression of the Scientific Revolution. With the discovery of Jupiter's four moons, Galileo was presented with a discovery that needed to be made known but done so in a tactful way. It would be through the aforementioned court system that he would do this. In doing so the Medici court would uphold its self-referentiality by exclaiming their patron to have inherited the divine characteristics of the moons of Jupiter. From this you can see that the court distinguishes itself as something more than the other courts while science gains the backing of a highly regarded social institution. This relationship by two seemingly different institutions is the last bit in the shift from geocentric to heliocentric.