Ihc new philoM)phy talK all in doubl." So wrote the English poet |ohn Donne in lf>11, lamenting that a fresh world view that In-had seen gaining acceptance in his lifetime left “all in pieces, all coherence gone." Old certainties had indeed been challenged over the course of the previous century, and by no one more disturbingly than the Polish ecclesiastic Nicolaus Copernicus, who had argued that the Sun, not the Earth, was the center of the universe.
In the decades following Donne's complaint, students were to push onward with the investigation of the natural world, showing over-greater concern for direct observation and making use of experimentation In a more systematic way than their learned forebears had done. In their quest to discover the fundamental laws governing the behavior of objects and substances, they would develop a view of a world ruled by natural forces rather than by the direct supervision of God. Although their discoveries fundamentally changed the way in which people viewed the universe, these
Seekers were generally far frt)m revolutionary in their intentions. Most of them believed that If Nature* resembled a machine, it was nonetheless one that had been created by God, and in the intricate regularity *)f its workings, they saw a reflection of divine perfection.
Alongside Ihc scientific work itself, new methodologies evolved that emphasized objective investigation. The English philrts-opher Francis Bacon advocated induction, a method of logic whereby systematic, controlled observation and experimentation establishes specific facts, which are then used as a foundation for determining general principles. In contrast, the French philosopher Rene Descartes championed the deductive method of reasf)n—the development of a logical, step-by-step argument from basic premises. The two approaches were to dominate Western scientific thought in the centuries to come.
Ottavio Leoni's crayon portrait of Galileo dates from 1624, when the scientist was in Rome arguing for papal acceptance of the Copernican theory. Eight years later, he published a book comparing the Copernican with the traditional view of the universe. Pope Urban Vlll's initial approval of this project turned to animosity when the work seemed to mock his opinions, and Galileo was condemned to house arrest.
World History
