The acceptance of heliocentrism by scientific and philosophical circles was not the result of a single "revolution," described as a transition from one dominant paradigm to a new dominant paradigm, according to the oversimplified views of Thomas Kuhn. The ascendancy of heliocentrism is indeed the result of a slow maturation, of a progressive evolution, from Antiquity to the Renaissance.
Observations are a necessary guide toward an intuitive idea. The scientist uses this idea to build a quantitative picture of the World. He can predict the outcome of new observations, which either confirm or falsify the theory.
Thus observations of the starry vault, the two luminaries, Sun and Moon, and the five planets known at the time of Copernicus, are carried out with increasing accuracy. They guide the scientist toward a description of the world. Different observations lead to different constructions: hence Aristotle, Heraclides of Pontus, and Aristarchos develop very different pictures of the World almost simultaneously. From these pioneers, two main lines of thought emerge: a strict geocentrism, and (but less forcefully) a heliocentric concept. One may ask: why less "forcefully"? Because dogmas (or paradigms!) dictate our mental image of the World; these dogmas may come from the dominant religion, or from the overwhelming strength of a particular theory. Geocentrism is therefore a powerful, ubiquitous dogma, resulting from the Holy Scriptures as well as from the Ancients' simplistic interpretation of daily observations of the sky. But a permanent conflict exists between those who want to "save the phenomena" (a real scientific attitude, promoted by Plato and Aristotle) and those who, for their own reassurance, are content to "save the Scriptures".
Other examples are described: Relativity, and modern cosmology. In all these cases, in scientific progress one finds a sort of "point-counterpoint" between observations, intuition, and reason. Due to their often preponderant weight, dogmas only act as a brake on the progress of ideas. But Reason must obviously have the last word.
Date: Monday, October 31, 2005
Time: 16:00
Place: Concordia University, Loyola Campus, Science Pavilion (Building SP), 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, 3rd Floor
Room: SP 365.01
Contact: (514) 848-2424 ext 2595
Note: There are regular shuttle buses traveling between Sir George Williams Campus (1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W.) and Loyola Campus; see Shuttle bus schedule.
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Inter-University Physics Seminar |