Intended Learning Outcomes (At the end of the chapter, the students should be able to:)

1. Explain how the Intellectual Revolution changed the way how humans see the world.

COPERNICAN REVOLUTION
In the early times, people questioned what created days and nights. They wanted to understand what
heavenly bodies like stars, moons, and planets are. The invention of the telescope allowed the people to take a
peek at the outer space, but more importantly, it also intrigued them to know what was actually out there.
Many Greek philosophers and intellectuals wrote about planets in an attempt to explain the movements
of heavenly bodies and their effects on the world as they knew it. Many of these philosophers agreed that
planets moved around in circular motion, and that these movements created days and nights, among others. A
famous philosopher and astronomer, Claudius Ptolemy, stated that the planets, as well as the sun and the moon,
moved in a circular motion around the Earth. The sun and moon’s revolutions explained the existence of days
and nights. He believed that the Earth was at the center- a concept known as geocentrism. Ptolemy’s
geocentric model was widely accepted by the people and was one of the greatest discoveries of that time.
In the 16th century, Nicolas Copernicus, a Polish mathematician and astronomer, challenged the
Ptolemaic model. He introduced a new concept known heliocentrism, which suggested that the center of the
Solar System was not the Earth but actually the sun. This idea was rejected at first by the public. It appalled
many since their religious belief had taught them that the Earth was created first before all other things.
Copernicus was even persecuted as a heretic because his teachers were against what was widely accepted by
religion. After sometime, astronomers realized that the Copernican model simplified the orbits for planets. It
also answered issues that could not be explained using the geocentric model. Other works that supported this
model started to emerge as well. It was eventually accepted by the people in a period which was called the
birth of modern astronomy. This era began what was known as the scientific revolution which resulted in the
transformation of society’s thoughts and beliefs.
DARWINIAN REVOLUTION
The Darwinian revolution was considered to be one of the most controversial intellectual revolution of
its time. In 1859, Charles Darwin, an English naturalist, biologist, and geologist, published his book, On the
Origin of Species. In this book, Darwin introduced the theory of evolution, which posited that populations pass
through a process of natural selection in which only the fittest would survive. He stated that organism have the
ability to adapt to their environment and would gradually change into something that would be more
competitive to survive, a process known as evolution. However, this theory became very controversial as
people perceived it to be contradictory tot eh church’s teachings that the source of life is a powerful creator.
The theory emerged at a time when most of the population believed and accepted the biblical version of the
Earth’s creation. Because of this conflict, the people were divided- some believed that the theory explained the
origin of life, but the religious and the faithful strongly refuted it. It even sparked a massive debate between
science and religion. It was only after some times that people came to understand that Darwin’s theory of
evolution was not in fact against the teachings of the church and both can coexist.
FREUDIAN REVOLUTION
In the past, the field psychology was always classified under philosophy. Psychology was considered
more of an art rather than a science. In the late 19 th century, Sigmund Freud was able to change people’s
perception of psychology with his revolutionary theory of psychoanalysis.
Psychoanalysis is the study that explains human behavior. In his theory, Freud explained that there are
many conscious and unconscious factors that can influence behavior and emotions. He also argued that
personality is a product of three conflicting elements: id, ego and superego. Science hardliners brushed off the
legitimacy of psychoanalysis as a science since its concepts were more philosophical and supernatural. Many
believed that Freud’s theory had no scientific basis as no empirical or experimental data could support it.
Despite criticisms, Freud still continued to work on refining his theory and in fact tried to explain how
psychoanalysis can be a clinical method in treating some mental disorders. Soon enough, people were able to
understand the concepts of psychoanalysis, which eventually resulted in classifying psychology as a science.
These three revolutionizing theories are just some of the many scientific idea that transformed and
molded societies and beliefs. The changes they brought to the perspectives and perceptions of the scientific
community and the public are evidence of science and technology’s link to humanity. Through scientific
research and experimentations, people will continue to deepen their understanding of the world and the
universe.