History's Greatest Contributor to Science

Isaac Newton is famous for his laws of motion (Newton’s Laws), which are still taught today in physics classes. In fact, those concepts were covered within the first week of the physics course I am enrolled in. In reading further into the life of Newton, I was surprised to see how expansive his works are; he single-handedly made many contributions to science. He lived from 1642-1727 and appears to have always been a quirky individual. 

His knack for science showed even when he was a child, as he would construct accurate sundials and even create a mouse-powered flour mill. Having noticed his talent, his uncle enrolled him at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1661. Here Newton began to explore the world of mathematics and taught himself the concepts of trigonometry and geometry in order to better understand a book on astrology. He earned his B.A. in 1664, the year the Great Plague struck England, and the university shut down from then until 1666. During this time Newton explored some of his greatest ideas. By the age of 25, he made the following major breakthroughs: 

He invented calculus (although he did not publish his works until later on in life). 

 

He created the three laws of motion (Newton’s Laws):

1. An object at rest will stay and rest; an object in motion will stay in motion; unless it is acted upon by a net outside force.
2. The relationship between force F, and an object’s mass m and its acceleration a, being F = ma.
3. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

He discovered the law of universal gravitation.

He proved that white light is actually a spectrum of different colors of light.

These ideas have done a lot to benefit the world of science and math, but his legacy doesn’t end there. By the age of 26, after the college re-opened, Newton was teaching as a professor in mathematics. It is said that Dr. Isaac Barrow, who once was Newton’s teacher, resigned out of respect so that Newton would become Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. He continued lecturing in math for next 20 years while keeping up with his works and experiments. In 1672 he invented a telescope that used reflection. He published his Principia (mathematical principles of natural philosophy) in 1687, which included his laws of motion and universal gravitation, an explanation of Kepler’s laws of planetary motion, and a wide range of other explanations related to astronomy. He spent much time studying alchemy and chemistry (the famous lead to gold experiments), and even spent some time considering theology and writing religious tracts during the 1690’s. Unfortunately he postponed publishing his works on calculus until 1693—which was 9 years after Leibiniz had already published his identical process. Of course this lead to much dispute throughout the century, however, Newton and Leibiniz both stayed above the argument. Newton’s Opticks was published in 1704, covering reflection, refraction, and color. It is considered one of the great works of science history. 

Isaac Newton died a bachelor at the age of 85 in 1727. It could be argued that he has made the most contributions to science out of anyone in history, and while he may have been seen as eccentric, there is no doubt that he was a mathematical genius.

Sources: 

• Isaac Newton (Bellevue College)  
• Isaac Newton (Holistic Numerical Methods)
• Isaac Newton (Wikipedia) 
• Newton, Isaac (1642-1727) 
• What Did Isaac Newton Invent?
• Newton's Three Laws of Motion

Rene Descartes and the Roots of Psychology

Psychology is most commonly placed under the category of social science; however the field of psychology incorporates other fields as well such as natural sciences (math, chemistry, and biology) and humanities (philosophy, history, and religion). In some cases it is beneficial to separate the physical realm from the mental realm, but in the case of psychology it is difficult to separate the two concepts. Behavioral psych (physical) vs. cognitive psych (mental) is the product of this attempt at separation around the 1950’s, both sides having pros and cons. Today the field of psychology is really at its prime when all of these subjects can be used together, and though there are specific sub-fields of psych, they are all related in this way. 

 I was quite surprised, though, when in my research I started to explore the substantial impact that mathematics in particular have had on the evolution of psychology. Focusing specifically on Rene Descartes and what discoveries he has made, I found that we have him to thank for greatly influencing the direction the subject has followed. He was a mathematician and philosopher who lived from 1596-1650. He was most comfortable in the subject of math because everything was very definite. His ultimate quest seemed to be to find the absolute truths in life.

 He was a very logical and rational thinker, and would doubt anything that he could not prove to be true. This is one reason why he favored the subject of math and tried to apply those methods to other areas of study to obtain a certainty of truth. Thus he was lead to devise the following system of rules for his method of reasoning:

1. To proceed by means of doubt, to take nothing for granted, to avoid bias and prejudgment;
2. To divide the substance of the argument into the simplest parts;
3. To proceed step by step from the simple to the more complex;
4. To “enumerate” and review so as to make sure nothing is missed in the argument, and that as many sources for the correct conclusion as possible may be collated

 I found it interesting that, in essence, Descartes’s method of reasoning is the scientific method we currently use: to make an observation, propose a theory, specifically define your research question and variables, gather evidence to develop a hypothesis, then test and retest for an absolute result. This process based on mathematical thinking is fundamental to any field of research science, and it is so important because it’s not safe to assume when you’re in a real world application. Psychologists use systems like this every day. 

 Even though this method gave Descartes a way to test the authenticity of things, it also gave him reason to doubt many things—including his own existence. After meditating on the issue, he came to the conclusion “I think, therefore I am.” He wouldn’t be able to doubt the existence of himself unless he first existed in order to do the doubting. After coming up with that famous phrase/idea, Descartes pondered on the idea of dualism: though we are one being, we have two separate parts, a body and a soul, that don’t necessarily need each other but still work together.

 

I concluded that I was a thing or substance whose whole essence or nature was only to think, and which, to exist has no need of space nor of any material thing or body. Thus, it follows that this ego, this mind, this soul, by which I am what I am, is entirely distinct from the body and is easier to know than the latter, and that even if the body were not, the soul would not cease to be all that it now is.

Prior to Descartes, it was thought that the soul controlled the body. But through further study and the dissection of animals, he associated the body as being like a machine. His belief was that animals are completely autonomous and only humans had a mind, but our bodies are also autonomous and can act independent from the mind. For example, the body can be split and different parts removed, but the soul stays intact. However, even though they are two separate things, mind and body are still able to interact causally. Another important part of his idea is that it associated the mind with knowledge, emotion, and reasoning. Before, mental processing was considered a physical behavior, but to Descartes it was a whole new realm. Today this logical approach is a very interesting and controversial topic when associated with psychology. Neuroscientists tend to believe in materialism (that physical begets mental) over dualism, but some still favor the Cartesian theory. Whichever you favor could drastically affect the way you perceive test results, make correlations, assume causality, or treat a patient while in the field.

Another great influence that the mathematical approach has had on the science of psychology is the invention of the Cartesian Plane. It is said that Descartes discovered the coordinate system when watching a fly on the wall and realized it was possible to describe its location using numbers. This lead to the link between algebra and geometry. Because of his discovery, we are now able to easily grasp the concept of independent and dependent variables and make graphs to show correlations found by quantitative research.Used in combination with the scientific method, these tools have been utilized by research psychologists.

Rene Descartes has given the world much more than a philosophical statement and a coordinate plane: his works have greatly impacted modern society. Without these advancements in mathematics and logical reasoning, the field of psychology would not be nearly as expansive as it is today, and as a result our knowledge about human functioning would be much more primitive. This is why it is so important that psychology is associated with other fields of study. It is also important not to underestimate the significance of mathematics in the modern world and across all areas of our lives. 

Sources:

• Cartesian Dualism: Mind anf Brain Interaction 
• Descartes and Kant: Philosophical Origins of Psychology 
• Dualism 
• Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
• Rene Descartes 
• *my general knowledge of  psychology and the scientific method are accredited to Rob Mansell's psychology classes at CCC

The Blending of Science and Scripture

Today, Nicolaus Copernicus is a well-known astronomer from the late 15th to the early 16th century. He believed in the theory of a heliocentric solar system: that the sun was the center of the universe and that other planets orbited the sun. At the time, this was greatly contrary to the common belief in Ptolemy’s geocentric system of astronomy—which put the earth at the center of the universe (thus it is not a “solar system”). There were two main reasons behind this belief being popular. One being that it went well with observations made by the Greeks (such as gravity); the other was the Roman Catholic Church at that time believed in the Ptolemaic theory because some scripture seemed to suggest the sun was in motion while the earth was stationary.

Copernicus was not the first to believe in a heliocentric model, Aristarchus of Samos had the same idea around 200BC. However, in the 16th century there was more evidence to support the theory. Copernicus himself made observations and recorded data, these were later complied into “Nicolai Copernici de hypothesibus motuum coelestium a se constitutis commentariolus” (“Nicholas Copernicus' little treatise on the hypothesis formulated by himself for the heavenly motions”), or “Commentariolus” for short. This manuscript was shared only among his friends, not to be published. Word got around to other astronomers, who, along with his friends, urged him to publish. Even as he worked on his book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the revolutions of the celestial spheres), he seemed to stall going public with his ideas. Many believe he was afraid of criticism from other scholars; others believe it had to do with religion (he was a Canon in a Catholic Church). His book was finally published as he was on his death bed around 1543. 

Copernicus was never persecuted by the Church for his works in astronomy. Although, come the 17th century, he and his works were considered heretical. Those who taught his theories were persecuted for being heretics. Galileo Galilei is a famous example, after the Church found him guilty for teaching his beliefs he was sentenced to house arrest for the rest of his life. Just a few years later, the church would come to accept this new theory as evidence was piling up. In 1741 Galileo was cleared of his charges by Pope Benedict XIV. In 1992 Pope John Paul II officially apologized for the way Galileo was treated by the church. Nicolaus Copernicus, who had previously been buried in an unmarked grave beneath Frombork Cathedral, was honored with a reburial in 2005 and given a tombstone engraved with his model of the solar system.

It is ironic though, that both theories have been found to be incorrect as Copernicus’s model had the planets orbiting in circles around the sun rather than elliptical orbits. Nevertheless, he is still seen as a hero today.

Geocentric:

 

Heliocentric:

Today's Solar System:

Sources:

• When the Earth Moved
• Nicolaus Copernicus
• Historical Background
• Difference Between Geocentric and Heliocentric
• Heliocentric Model
• Meet Mr. Universe
• Nicolaus Copernicus Given a Hero's Burial More Then 450 Years After His Death