Scientific Revolution: Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and the New Cosmos

Shifting the World's Image: Geocentric to Heliocentric

The geocentric model (Earth at the center of the universe) was finally replaced by the heliocentric model (Sun at the center of the universe). This fundamental shift underpins modern science, introducing a new, unitary conception of the universe.

Unlike the Aristotelian interpretation, which posited distinct supralunar and sublunary worlds—the latter allowing for decomposition and imperfections—the Scientific Revolution established a universe without privileged regions. Consequently, the universe is now understood as homogeneous in its material and phenomena, with the same laws governing movements on Earth and throughout the cosmos.

Modern science would not have been possible without significant contributions, primarily from the medieval fourteenth century. During this period, Aristotle's model faced a crisis, leading to the recognition of a need to investigate phenomena and understand the world mathematically. This involved a recovery of Pythagoreanism and Platonism, alongside the application of mathematical developments transmitted by Islamic culture.

Modern Science: Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo

Introduction to Modern Scientific Principles

In the development of modern science, figures such as Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo stand out as pivotal landmarks. Their journey was continued by many other thinkers across fields like astronomy and physics. While astronomy was not the entire science of the Renaissance, it was the field where the scientific revolution truly began, replacing the Aristotelian-Ptolemaic model that had prevailed for fourteen centuries with a new scientific paradigm.

This revolutionary period, spanning from the birth of Copernicus (1473) to the death of Galileo (1642)—though the full transformation wasn't complete until Newtonian physics—established two basic principles crucial for the development of science:

• The Universe is governed by a single set of mechanical laws, functioning like a machine.
• Mathematics is the valid instrument for understanding this machine and its laws.

To these principles, the Principle of Economy of Nature can be added, a concept that has evolved over centuries: Nature acts as simply as possible, thus a simpler explanation is always preferable to a more complicated one.