History

Of all the radical changes that swept across the European continent during the 18th and 19th century, the most influential of all could be said to be the epistemological transformation which was nurtured by emergence of the scientific revolution. This revolution was associated with the radical emergence of technological changes coupled with the scientific discoveries of the natural sciences (Morgan, 2000).

 In general, scientific revolution was in reality perceived as a series of changes which occurred and shaped the structure of the European thoughts by clearing mental doubts and dissonance about the world, through presenting sensory and empirical verifications about the world and the universe (Peter, 1998). Consequently, scientific revolution brought different divisions of phenomena by categorizing events into different separate sciences which further created an image in the minds of mankind that the world could be meant to function like a machine. These changes began to transform human experiences almost in all major spheres of life.

The emergence of scientific revolution in Europe had diverse and rather radical transformations which swayed across the European continent. The term itself  scientific revolution was  perceived as a very great and rather significant enlightenment to the European  world and it spearheaded  two very interrelated and sequential kind of intellectual movements and perception of the Europeans about the world around them.

These great intellectual movements were significantly witnessed between the years 1500s to 1800s (Baker, 2002). During this great period the European continent was in a state of distraught due to a variety of various factors such as economic crisis, social and religious challenges which gradually evolved chaos among the European citizens.

From an economic perspective, industrial revolution in Europe introduced a new age of economic prosperity as a result of increased and improved international trade. By and large, scientific revolution further opened the European minds and way of thinking such that they got a wider view of looking at the world in the search for truth and facts about the nature human existence and the world around them.

This benefited many such that they got an opportunity in which they could now question the religious teachings which were roaming across the European continent by giving more and more tangible and rather justifiable facts about the understanding of the universe and the forces which govern it (Morgan, 2000). Additionally, the period further transformed lives of people from individuals to groups by establishing social classes which totally shaped the life in general for all European citizens.
 By the 17th century,  the European continent was undergoing a period of economic turmoil and instability  due to hiked profits from the sale of the precious mental in the world market, which further caused inflation and pushed the monarchies to also increase  the general taxation (Baker, 2002). This inflation caused uproar among the lower social classes who earned very little pay and they could not stand the high tax rates. But, the ant vent of the scientific revolution was perceived as a revelation of hope which led to development and emergence of world trade.

Economic improvements were witnessed by a greater magnitude with increased involvement in world trade which later led to an even distribution of wealth and a greater understanding of other foreign cultures (Shapin, 1998). By extension, philosophical and scientific knowledge become more prominent among the many people including the third class population through the introduction of inexpensive printing which was done in lager scale.

Major scientific discoveries were witnessed on the onset of the 17th century.  For instance, the scientific invention which was advanced by Isaac Newton, Galileo Galiley and others who proved to the world that  the earth was not actually the center of the great universe, an invention which challenged the religious indoctrinations by then,  as the only major sources scientific knowledge.
 Galileo Galiley also made it clear that the universe was not governed by abstract supernatural forces as religion had implanted in their mind, but it was composed and governed by natural laws which could rationally and easily be understood and comprehended (Baker, 2002). Above all, another very radical shift of thought was observed in the year 1517, at the face of industrial revolution when Martin Luther, staged a very success protest against the domination of the Roman church in Europe.
This protest spearheaded by Luther against the church marked a very significant beginning on the decline of power vested upon the church which had dominated peoples minds on the inquiry about the natural world (Shapin, 1998). Thus, the church reformation worked towards abolishing and eliminating the control of the church over the European intellectuals and this formed a very significant milestone towards the secularization of the science in Europe.

Although it is believed that the process of scientific development was a comprehensive one, over a course of several centuries, Copernicus, is believed to be the very first person to present the first significant break of the medieval knowledge and science. In the year 1543, Copernicus published his very first volume on the revolution of heavenly spheres.

In this discourse, Copernicus explained and described his theory of heliocentrism, which disapproved the Ptolemaic notion which had being reinforced by the church that the earth was the center of the great  universe (Morgan, 2000). Copernicus again promoted and spearheaded the concept that the earth revolves round the sun through making very careful observations of natural occurrences and continued to challenge the Christian worldview about the truth of existence and nature.

 It is from the notion of the heliocentric theory that was advanced by Copernicus, which posed a greater challenge to the European, that science began to receive world wild acceptance through the wide distribution of information which was enhanced by the adoption of new, cheap and accurate printing press and duplicating technology.

 The age of enlightenment and the evolution of the scientific age was a marked period of radical economic, social and religious advancements which enhanced the well being of individuals in Europe. It further transformed the economic systems of the Europeans to capitalist nationalistic economic systems (Peter, 1998). The  new  scientific revelation which was being preached by the scientists become too common and it was received with open hand by the majority of the population who had failed to make sense out of the ideological messages preached by the church which seemed to have no substantial evidence.

As result there was a growing concern and interest for having more scientific experimentations and instruments among the popular classes.  Information about this kind of enlightenment grew faster and it was accelerated by the invention of large scale printing devices and machinery which was less expensive.

Thus, presence of dense print media which published articles, speeches and debates allowing the third class population to read and be educated about the new enlightenment made it easier to spread the message about scientific revolution and the facts about the nature of the earth and the universe (Hall, 1999). These teachings were further accompanied by relevant facts and proofs that had been made by several people such as Isaac Newton, Galileo, Copernicus and the like.

The speculations of the church slowly declined as the Europeans gained the believe that each and every person had a tremendous capability which could be achieved by  his own through taking critical analysis of the world and assessing the matter which it is made up of (Baker, 2002).  In order to override the religious biasness established by the church against all the other sources of knowledge, scientists of the day decided to publish their findings and discoveries. Some of these people included scholars like Galileo Galiley who was actually  forced pushed to renounce his discoveries.

In conclusion it became very apparent that the impact of scientific revolution on the third class population had made radical effects which could be observed creating a new kind of enlightenment by making them come even more skeptical of religion and its   ideologies. People all across Europe become very optimistic about possibilities of individual and personal achievements and advancements in the new scientific age. This enlightenment was amicably welcomed with open arms by the majority of the population who further felt that they were no longer restricted to church and they could express their views and beliefs in an open forum.