The Age of Reason
• The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Europe are called the Age of Reason
– Many believed that reason could replace faith in the Bible
– Emphasis on man’s ability often turned people away from the Creator
Contributions from the Past
Hippocrates
• Father of Medicine
• Rejected notion that disease was a supernatural punishment by the gods
Hippocrates
Hippocratic Oath (original)
I will prescribe regiments for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone
I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan; and similarly I will not give a woman a pessary (device) to cause an abortion.
In every house where I come I will enter only for the good of my patients.
If I keep this oath faithfully, may I enjoy my life and practice my art…but if I swerve from it or violate it, may the reverse be my lot.
Euclid
• Father of Geometry
• Founded a school of Mathematics
• His textbook, Elements, formed the basis for all geometry textbooks
Euclid
Eratosthenes
• Determined the distance around the earth
• Devised the lines of latitude and longitude found on maps today.
Albert the Great
• A Dominican friar
• Played an important role in introducing Muslim documents to medieval universities
Albert the Great
Roger Bacon
• Made significant contributions in the areas of physics, geography and optics
Roger Bacon
• Medieval science came to a sudden halt with the appearance of the Black Death
• During the Renaissance, tradition was replaced with observations
– Scientists experimented, recorded findings, and reached conclusions
Copernicus(koh PUR nuh kus)
• He believed that the earth revolved around the sun, not the sun around the earth.
Copernicus
Galileo Galilei
• Used the telescope to support Copernicus’s ideas
Galileo Galilei
• People were scared of Copernicus and Galileo’s findings.
– If they were right, the Bible must be wrong because is says that the sun appears to move through the heavens
– Also if the earth, man’s home, is not at the center of the universe, then perhaps man is not important in this world.
Sir Isaac Newton
• Discovered the laws of gravity and motion
• Developed an advanced form of calculus
• Invented the reflecting telescope
Sir Isaac Newton
Edmond Halley
• Recorded the position and motion of hundreds of stars.
• Developed theory about the orbit of comets
Edmond Halley
Sir William Herschel
• Discovered the planet Uranus
• Built a massive forty-foot long telescope
Sir William Herschel
Paracelsus
• Stated the body was mostly chemicals and should be treated with chemicals
Paracelsus
Andreas Vesalius
• Developed his work on anatomy by dissecting human bodies
Andreas Vesalius
William Harvey
• Discovered that blood is pumped by the heart and travels through the body in blood vessels
William Harvey
Edward Jenner
• Discovered a way to prevent people from getting smallpox through a vaccine
Edward Jenner
Robert Boyle
• Contributed to Chemistry with his work with gases
• He was a Christian who lectured in defense of Christianity
Robert Boyle
Antoine Lavoisier
• Father of Modern Chemistry
• Named Oxygen and Hydrogen
• Formulated the law of conservation of matter – matter cannot be created or destroyed, rather, it can only change form
• Assembled the first known list of elements
Antoine Lavoisier
Three mathematical improvements
1. Use of Arabic numbers
2. The decimal point
3. Mathematical notation
Five thousand, three hundred seventy five plus ten thousand, six hundred fifty three
Ch. 9 Sec. 2Discussion Question
1. What is the significance of Jenner’s discovery
for you personally?
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