The Scientific Revolution began in the 17th century, and was a time period in which reason was applied to achieve a greater understanding of nature.4 The invention of the printing press expanded the opportunity for scientists to spread their ideas and inventions. Essentially, between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Europe experienced a proliferation of inventions and scientific theories. Copernicus argued against Ptolemy’s geocentric theory of the universe, and commenced a radical transformation in the way that people viewed our universe with the introduction of a heliocentric worldview. Galileo, another famous astronomer, later confirmed Copernicus’s theory using science. Sir Francis Bacon also believed in demonstrating an understanding of nature through disciplined scientific methods, and invented the scientific method. Inventions like the air pump, water pump, and the first versions of the microscope were invented during this time.5 Marquise du Châtelet was one of many women during this time interested in the sciences, and published her own books such as the Fundamentals of Physics.6 Educators can begin to challenge students on their object-based analytical skills by describing the inventions or books and eventually forming educated predictions regarding their purpose, role, and users.
Students of the Scientific Revolution later became known as the Philosophes of the Enlightenment, a movement of ideals that influenced modern government, human rights, and understandings of reason.7 Many of these philosophers, like John Locke, Voltaire, Montesquieu, Hobbes, and Rousseau, published texts that would widely circulate. Diderot published his famous Encyclopédie, which influenced the books that later generations used for research before the invention of the Internet. Women philosophers like Mary Wollstonecraft argued that women should also be educated, and that they deserved equal rights. Many of these texts would question traditional institutions and beliefs, like the Church, monarchies, and medieval worldviews, and argue for the establishment and protection of democracies and individual rights. It is important to note that other parts of the globe experienced their own Enlightenments.
Lessons for the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment
- Scientific Revolution
- Do Now/Writing Prompt: If you could invent anything, what would it be? Describe it and its function in at least five sentences.
- Introduce background information on the Scientific Revolution through readings, videos, etc.
- Exit Ticket: What are three things you learned about the Scientific Revolution?
Activities: Scientific Revolution
- Practice the material culture methodological practices on the inventions of the Scientific Revolution
- Describe, deduce, and speculate what the inventions could have been used for.
- Have students compare Ptolemy’s and Copernicus’s models of the universe
- Incorporate a gallery walk of the different philosophers and their inventions
- Biographies of the various philosophers will be printed and displayed throughout the classroom for students to walk around and take notes or answer questions.
- DIY Printing Press: Students can use styrofoam, markers, a sponge, and water to create a sketch and stamp their drawings on construction paper.
- Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiQ11AuHtHM.8
Object Analysis of an Invention
Figure 1: This image is a sketch of Boyle’s Air Pump.
Source: Public Domain9
- Framing the Group Activity: Teacher will divide the class into groups of four and each group will attempt to describe, deduce, and speculate on the object in question.
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Description:
- Materials: The invention seems to consist of metal, glass, wires, nails, etc.
- Size/Shape: The contraption is at least a foot tall with various levels and components.
- Color/Texture: The materials that make up the invention are hard, sturdy, transparent (at the top).
- Parts/Condition: The bottom half is the support structure made out of metal. In the middle of the bottom half there is a handle that appears to be made out of steel. In the center of the object there is a cylinder-like object that is attached to a hollow glass sphere.
- Markings: On the edges of the sketch, there are various parts of the invention that are magnified and labeled by number. There is similar shading and lighting for both the materials that comprise the center and top half of the object, which suggests that they are the same material. The shortened “fig.” for “figure” indicates that the inventor speaks English.
- Deduction: Although students of the object cannot physically handle it, scholars can imagine how to handle the object and ask questions. First, all of the levels of the object would need to be accessible in order to have access to all three handles. Is the sphere, considering its hollow nature, meant to contain a substance? If it is truly meant to be a container, why did the inventor choose the shape of a sphere and not a rectangular prism? Why is it enclosed? Is it meant to contain a liquid, gas, or solids? One must also take into account the only entry point for a substance to enter the sphere, which is located on the very top of the sphere, making it unlikely that a large solid material would be stored in this round container. Although the large sphere is the container that is most likely to catch an observer’s attention, one may also question the function of the smaller container that it is attached to indirectly. Their attachment indicates the possibility of the transfer of a substance between the two, which would further point to the object’s function of storing either a liquid or gas.
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Speculation:
- Best Guess: This is likely an early invention that is meant to transfer either delicate liquids or gases.
- Approximate Date: 1600s-Pre-1800s
- Invention Location: A lab or storage room
- Users: Likely middle or upper-class male scientists who spoke English
- More research on the history of the sketch and its creator will help confirm findings.
Activities: The Enlightenment
- Do Now/Writing Prompt: If you could make your own government, what would it be?
- Introduce background information on the Enlightenment and various influential philosophers
- Students can construct biographies of the various philosophers on poster board
- Reading can be provided with questions for students to familiarize themselves with the philosophers and their arguments. Videos can also be provided as a substitute (See resources like Edpuzzle)
- Object analysis of Diderot’s Encyclopédie
- Using a page from the encyclopedia, students can analyze the page’s content and speculate on the kind of book that it belongs to.
- The end of the Enlightenment period will conclude with a debate, where students will be prompted to argue that their philosopher had the most impact on our lives today (students should be allotted a class period or two to prepare)
- Discussion protocol: Fishbowl, socratic seminar, small groups, etc.
