Isaac Newton: The Father of the Scientific Revolution

The Scientific Revolution occurred in the period between Copernicus' death in 1543 and Sir Isaac Newton's work in the decade of the 1680s.[1] During that period, the field of science advanced dramatically, spurred in no small measure by Newton's scientific insights, such as his observations on the laws of motion and his concept of universal gravitation. Moreover, although Newton's contemporaries included other notable scientists, including Edmund Halley-after whom Halley's Comet was named-Mason notes that it was "another hundred years before men of his caliber appeared again."[2] Indeed, the scientists that came after Newton, as Mason points out, included "few important theorists in astronomy."[3] Mason recounts how Hooke, Halley, and Wren were unable to figure out to calculate "the curve which a body would describe if subject to an inverse square law attractive force," and first Hooke then Halley appealed to Newton for the answer.[4] Newton did not disappoint; he delighted Halley by providing the answer: an ellipse.[5] Given Newton's superior scientific understanding and the fact that he originated several concepts and theories that became the foundation for future scientific work, it would be reasonable to call him "the father of the Scientific Revolution."

In granting Newton the title of "the father of the Scientific Revolution," one implies that he was the undisputed author of the Revolution and that he had "childr

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Category: Science - I