1. The Revolution in Astronomy, 1543-1632
   Building upon new knowledge, ideas, and experiences occurring since the Renaissance, advances in astronomy resulted in radically new material and philosophical world-views.
   1. The Inherited World-View and the SixteenthCentury Context
      Princely patronage, intellectual inquiry, and the discovery of the New World led to scientific studies questioning the authority of ancient and Christian theories of an earthcentered cosmos.
   2. The Copernican Challenge
      Copernicus's mathematical model of a heliocentric system proved a simple, useful, and elegant tool to calculate planetary movement and reform the calendar.
   3. The First Copernican Astronomers
      Brahe's and Kepler's observations and calculations developed and confirmed Copernican theory.
   4. Galileo and the Triumph of Copernicanism
      Galileo's popular publications of his telescopic observations and Copernican ideas threatened the accepted ecclesiastical order.
2. The Scientific Revolution Generalized, ca. 1600-1700
   Breakthroughs in astronomy encouraged broader scientific exploration, theorization, and application.
   1. The Promise of the New Science
      Francis Bacon pioneered inductive reasoning and the empirical method, reflecting contemporary interest in science as an ideological and practical tool for rulers and elites.
   2. Scientific Thought in France: Descartes and a New Cosmology
      Descartes's deductive method and belief in objectivity led to the development of a mechanistic, rational universe that worked independently of, but not without, God.
   3. Science and Revolution in England
      Political and religious flux contributed to greater interest in scientific philosophy and practice as well as the birth of the Royal Society.
   4. The Newtonian Synthesis: The Copernican Revolution Completed
      Scientific curiosity and religious certainty merged in Newton's groundbreaking studies and publications on the laws of gravity and motion.
   5. Other Branches of Science
      Mechanistic theories of nature encouraged new research and conclusions in chemistry, physiology, and biology.
3. The New Science: Society, Politics, and Religion
   Science offered many attractive applications and possibilities, but belief in the equality of matter implied an equality of people that eventually threatened traditional ideas of politics and social order.
   1. The Beginnings of Scientific Professionalism
      Royally sponsored societies in England and France encouraged research, publication, and professional standards while downplaying unofficial scientific venues where women excelled.
   2. The New Science, the State, and the Church
      Models of scientific order cemented an early appeal of science for rulers, but the religious turmoil of the era made both Catholic and Protestant leaders wary of science.
   3. The Mechanistic World Order and Human Affairs at the End of the Seventeenth Century
      Scientific models and pragmatic understandings of human nature supplanted religion's role in political and moral philosophy.