Christopher Kelty - Nanotechnology: Content and Context

Collection edited by: Christopher Kelty and John Hutchinson

The beginning of the seventeenth century isknown as the scientific revolution for the drastic changesevidenced in the European approach to science during that period.The word revolution connotes a period of turmoil and socialupheaval where ideas about the world change severely and acompletely new era of academic thought is ushered in. This term,therefore, describes quite accurately what took place in thescientific community following the sixteenth century. During thescientific revolution, medieval scientific philosophy was abandonedin favor of the new methods proposed by Bacon, Galileo, Descartes,and Newton; the importance of experimentation to the scientificmethod was reaffirmed; the importance of God to science was for themost part invalidated, and the pursuit of science itself (ratherthan philosophy) gained validity on its own terms. The change tothe medieval idea of science occurred for four reasons: (1)seventeenth century scientists and philosophers were able tocollaborate with members of the mathematical and astronomicalcommunities to effect advances in all fields; (2) scientistsrealized the inadequacy of medieval experimental methods for theirwork and so felt the need to devise new methods (some of which weuse today); (3) academics had access to a legacy of European,Greek, and Middle Eastern scientific philosophy they could use as astarting point (either by disproving or building on the theorems);and (4) groups like the British Royal Society helped validatescience as a field by providing an outlet for the publication ofscientists work. These changes were not immediate, nor did theydirectly create the experimental method used today, but they didrepresent a step toward Enlightenment thinking (with an emphasis onreason) that was revolutionary for the time. Assessment of thestate of science before the scientific revolution, examination ofthe differences in the experimental methods utilized by differentscientists during the seventeenth century, and exploration intohow advances made during the scientific revolution affected thescientific method used in science today will provide an idea of howrevolutionary the breakthroughs of the seventeenth century reallywere and what impact theyve had.