Evolution of Scientific Thought: From Ancient Greece to Modern Mechanics
Greco-Medieval Scientific Thought
This period begins when Greek thinkers moved away from mythological explanations. We must remember that myths were fantastic tales in which the protagonists were gods (in human form) or heroes. These stories purported to explain natural phenomena and, occasionally, social customs. For example, wind was attributed to the action of the god Aeolus.
From the 6th century BCE, the Greeks began to suspect that everything happening in reality could not be the result of the whim of gods. They became convinced that there must be another explanation. Thus, the Greeks began to use reason to understand and interpret all natural phenomena. This marked a shift from transcendent and pre-rational explanations (myths) to a rational approach.
Aristotle’s Influence on Ancient Science
The most influential figure was Aristotle, a philosopher. During these centuries, philosophy and science were closely linked.
Aristotle conceived of the universe as a finite, orderly, and stable reality, where there was no vacuum; everything was full of matter. His worldview had these features:
A Teleological Model
The universe, or nature as a whole, was understood as a living organism striving to achieve a goal, much like an embryo developing into an adult.
An Essentialist Model
All phenomena were explained by the inherent qualities of objects (e.g., a stone falls due to its weight).
A Geocentric and Heterogeneous Model
The Earth remained at the center of the universe. There were distinct sublunary and supralunar realms.
A Deterministic Model
Everything that happened was predetermined. Nothing was left to chance; nothing was truly new. Everything was predictable because every event had a cause and effect, and nature contained unchanging substances.
Scientific Practice in the Middle Ages
Thus, if one could propose laws that accurately described the functioning of the entire universe, one could also predict future events. Throughout the Middle Ages, this closed view of nature prevailed. During this period, the task of a scientist was primarily descriptive.
Science followed a biological model: the scientist’s task was to describe and classify things.
Ptolemy, in the 2nd century CE, adopted the Aristotelian scheme, which would prevail throughout the Middle Ages. It’s important to remember that throughout the Middle Ages, theology, philosophy, and science were closely intertwined.
The Mechanistic Model: Renaissance to Newton
We now enter the Renaissance, a period marked by profound changes in the understanding of humanity itself. The shift occurred from the theocentrism of the Middle Ages to anthropocentrism (man as the center and measure of all things). With the arrival of Modernity, this period marked the beginning of what we call modern science.
This period would be crucial in the evolution of scientific thought. From the 16th century, scientists such as Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo marked a turning point in the history of science. We must also add Isaac Newton (17th-18th centuries), whose mechanistic worldview represented the culmination of this era.
Key Features of the Mechanistic Worldview
Ordered, Stable, and Deterministic Universe
Maintained a vision of the universe as an ordered, stable, and deterministic whole (similar to the Greco-medieval model). Nature was still regarded as something easy to predict if its governing laws were known. Nothing was new; nothing happened by chance.
Heliocentrism
The Sun was at the center of the universe, and the Earth revolved around it. This imposed a criterion of simplicity in explaining reality: the simplest explanation was considered the most rational.
Infinite and Homogeneous Universe
The universe was seen as infinite and homogeneous. There were no distinct sublunary and supralunar realms. The same laws explained phenomena for bodies on Earth and in the heavens.