History Of Modern Science

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History of Modern Science

Modern Science as people presently know, has not always been that way. In the 16th

century and years before the 21st century, the world of science was a blur. The past

generation grappled to understand the world that they lived in; the occurrences that affected

their lives, and many other natural phenomena. This essay discusses various people whose

ideas and zeal to research the different subjects; the structure of the universe, geology,

anatomy, molecular biology, evolution, and classification of organisms, that people today can

understand the world and how everything fits in place.

Science has evolved a great deal, and this evolution is because ancient scientists

dedicated their time to study (Betz). Areas like genetics, geology, anthropology, medicine,

and many other fields are the way they are because of the few courageous and hardworking

people who made it their life’s work to study them.

Galileo Galilei often called the father of astronomy, built the first telescope with

which he observed the universe. Using his telescope, he discovered craters, valleys and

mountains on the moon, and similar features on the planet earth. Besides, Galileo also

discovered sunspots, the dark spots on the sun (Betz). Although as a researcher, Galileo was a

great mind, the Catholic Church which had a say in matters at the time, judged his ideas to be

heretical and wanted him to retract his opinions about creation and others which contradicted

their religious beliefs. He, however, refused to withdraw his ideologies, and this led to the

Church subjecting him under house arrest for the rest of his life.

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Rene Descartes is one of the proponents of the scientific method; he improved on the

idea and process of quantitative analysis. Descartes invented analytical geometry and applied

these subjects to the expression of physical theory. He proposed that space had three primary

variables; X, Y, and Z.

Newton, a mathematician by profession, is the other instrumental figure who

contributed significantly to the advancement of modern science. He was the pioneer of the

notion of gravity and proposed three laws of motion by which people use to calculate and

explain practically gravitational-motions. Modern-day scholars also credit Newton as the

pioneer of the scientific method (Betz). He is the proponent of how to test ideas and theories

and evaluating them against experimental data. Furthermore, he added the time factor-t- to

Descartes’ three variable of space.

Geology, as it is today, has undergone massive changes since the first geologists

started studying the subject. Lyell was an authority in geology; with his ideas of timelines of

the earth and the different species it sustained at different times, he was of the notion that

some creation took place and each species lived in different times. Lyell also gave birth to

Charles Darwin’s idea of Evolution. Darwin proposed that every species and especially

humans went through a process of evolution. He was of the view that the human species

developed to be better over time; to adapt to the changing environmental conditions.

After Darwin’s theories of evolution then came the idea of classification of organisms

into taxonomic units. Cuvier was interested in Linnaeus’ work of identifying and describing

species. He developed his ideas while considering the classification of various species.

Lamarck, another proponent of evolution, was of the belief that species adapted to suit their

environment. These adaptations were then passed on to their offspring. The three led to a

revolution in the field of classification to the current era where there is an immense

knowledge of taxonomy and evolution.

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Another aspect of modern science is the human anatomy, which is also an additional

area that interested early scientists. At the helm of the subject is Andreas Vesalius who lived

between the years 1514-1564. Vesalius is instrumental in the way people view modern

anatomy. During a period where anatomy was an unstudied area, Vesalius conducted many

dissections of the human body and drew illustrations of the work he did. Also, he pioneered

anatomy, and it is from his contributions that modern anatomical studies have advanced to

the current position.

Anatomy gave way to study of other microscopic aspects of the human body such

molecular biology. Through the persistence of James Watson and Francis Crick, DNA

structure has become common knowledge. The two conducted extensive studies on the

structure of the DNA and the genetic composition of life. Their work was so revolutionary so

much that they were awarded a Nobel prize in the mid-19s. As a result, the study of genetics

has advanced modern science to the point that scientists can alter the structure of an organism

to fit various purposes.

Another essential scholar is Nicolaus Copernicus who proposed the heliocentric

model in which he said that the earth and other planets revolve around the sun, which is at the

centre of the universe. The scientists of the time went by Ptolemy’s idea that the sun revolved

around the earth; therefore, Copernicus’ discovery came to be known as the Copernican

Revolution. He also discovered that the earth rotates on its axis and the moon orbits the earth.

Kepler is the other authority on outer space. Just like Copernicus, he was a theoretical

scientist; doing observations instead of experiments. However, he was instrumental in

coming up with the laws of planetary motion. Kepler’s laws inform the present day

generation of a planet’s orbit and the distance between the earth and the sun.

All the persons discussed in this essay played a critical role towards the advancement

of science. It is because of their ideas and zeal to conduct further research on the various

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subjects; the structure of the universe, geology, anatomy, molecular biology, evolution, and

classification of organisms, that people today are able to understand the world and how

everything fits in place. These pioneers are practically the proponents of modern science. If

they had not thought to pursue their various interests, modern science would be a non-

existent term.

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Works Cited

Betz, F. ‘‘Origin of Scientific Method.’’ Springer, 2011.

www.springer.com/cda/content/document/cda.../9781441974877-c1.pdf .Accessed 11

Dec. 2017.

Famous Scientists. "Andreas Vesalius." famousscientists.org. 22 Dec. 2015.

<www.famousscientists.org/andreas-vesalius/>. Accessed 11 Dec. 2017.

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