RAMIDO, Angel Mae
Scientist/Philosopher
Nicolaus Copernicus
CLOHS – H141
Contribution
Nicolaus Copernicus was a Polish astronomer
known as the father of modern astronomy.
He was the first modern European scientist
to propose that Earth and other planets
revolve around the sun, or the Heliocentric
Theory of the universe. Prior to the
publication of his major astronomical work,
“Six Books Concerning the Revolutions of the
Heavenly Orbs,” in 1543, European
astronomers argued that Earth lay at the
center of the universe, the view also held by
most ancient philosophers and biblical
writers. In addition to correctly postulating
the order of the known planets, including
Earth, from the sun, and estimating their
orbital periods relatively accurately,
Copernicus argued that Earth turned daily on
its axis and that gradual shifts of this axis
accounted for the changing seasons.
In “Six Books Concerning the Revolutions of
the Heavenly Orbs,” Copernicus’
groundbreaking argument that Earth and the
planets revolve around the sun led him to
make a number of other major astronomical
discoveries. While revolving around the sun,
Earth, he argued, spins on its axis daily. Earth
takes one year to orbit the sun and during
this time wobbles gradually on its axis, which
accounts for the precession of the equinoxes.
Major flaws in the work include his concept
of the sun as the center of the whole
universe, not just the solar system, and his
failure to grasp the reality of elliptical orbits,
which forced him to incorporate numerous
epicycles into his system, as did Ptolemy.
With no concept of gravity, Earth and the
planets still revolved around the sun on giant
transparent spheres.
 In his dedication to De revolutionibus –an
extremely dense scientific work–Copernicus
noted that “mathematics is written for
mathematicians.” If the work were more
accessible, many would have objected to its
non-biblical and hence heretical concept of
the universe. For decades, De revolutionibus
remained unknown to all but the most
sophisticated astronomers, and most of
these men, while admiring some of
Copernicus’ arguments, rejected his
heliocentric basis.

Charles Darwin Charles Darwin is often cited as the greatest

biologist in history. His most famous
work, On the Origin of Species, explains the
theory of evolution by natural selection,
providing numerous supporting examples.
Darwin believed that all of life on earth had
descended from a common ancestor, whose
offspring could vary slightly from the
previous generation. Successive generations
of life took part in a struggle for existence in
which the best adapted variations survived to
seed new generations. Less well adapted
variations became extinct.

Darwin's greatest contribution to science is

that he completed the Copernican Revolution
by drawing out for biology the notion of
nature as a system of matter in motion
governed by natural laws. With Darwin's
discovery of natural selection, the origin and
adaptations of organisms were brought into
the realm of science. The adaptive features
of organisms could now be explained, like the
phenomena of the inanimate world, as the
result of natural processes, without recourse
to an Intelligent Designer. The Copernican
and the Darwinian Revolutions may be seen
as the two stages of the one Scientific
Revolution. They jointly ushered in the
beginning of science in the modern sense of
the word: explanation through natural laws.
 Darwin's theory of natural selection accounts
for the “design” of organisms, and for their
wondrous diversity, as the result of natural
processes, the gradual accumulation of
spontaneously arisen variations (mutations)
sorted out by natural selection. Which
characteristics will be selected depends on
which variations happen to be present at a
given time in a given place. This in turn
depends on the random process of mutation
as well as on the previous history of the
organisms. Mutation and selection have
jointly driven the marvelous process that,
starting from microscopic organisms, has
yielded orchids, birds, and humans. The
theory of evolution conveys chance and
necessity, randomness and determinism,
jointly enmeshed in the stuff of life. This was
Darwin's fundamental discovery, that there is
a process that is creative, although not
conscious.

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist

who is perhaps most known as the founder
of psychoanalysis. Freud's developed a set of
therapeutic techniques centered on talk
therapy that involved the use of strategies
such as transference, free association, and
dream interpretation.

Psychoanalysis became a dominating school

of thought during the early years of
psychology and remains quite influential
today. In addition to his influence on
psychology, Freud's ideas have permeated
popular culture and concepts such as denial,
Freudian slips, the unconscious, wish
fulfillment, and the ego are even commonly
used in everyday language.

Regardless of the perception of Sigmund

Freud’s theories, there is no question that he
had an enormous impact on the field of
psychology. His work supported the belief
 that not all mental illnesses have
physiological causes and he also offered
evidence that cultural differences have an
impact on psychology and behavior.

His work and writings contributed to our

understanding of personality, clinical
psychology, human development,
and abnormal psychology.

REFERENCES

History.com Editors. (2019, October 24). Nicolaus Copernicus. Retrieved from

https://www.history.com/topics/inventions/nicolaus-copernicus

Retrieved from https://www.pnas.org/content/104/suppl_1/8567

Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/sigmund-freud-biography-1856-1939-2795544