Question 1

Was science opposed to religion?

Accepted Answer

This question asks students to confront one of the prevailing myths about the development of early modern science, specifically that science and religion were two opposing forces. In confronting the mythology, answers will attempt to place the development of science and the efforts of individual scientists within their specific social and cultural context. A good answer should:
$\bullet$Discuss the broader misperceptions and highlight how the development of modern science was not the work of a number of brave and progressive individuals who worked against the forces of ignorance and superstition. 
$\bullet$Point out how most of the scientists we associate with the Scientific Revolution were devoted Christians who considered their scientific inquiries to be a form of worship. 
$\bullet$Provide specific examples highlighting how science and religion were intertwined. Possible examples include:
o Galileo's letter to the Grand Duchess Christina of Tuscany. 
o Isaac Newton's religious beliefs, especially his attempts at calculating the Second Coming and Apocalypse and his belief in God as the supreme mechanic of the universe. 
$\bullet$Explain why there was the potential for conflict. In particular, this explanation should highlight how Aristotle's thought had been integrated into Catholic theology and challenges to Aristotle's worldview challenged the interpretation of Scripture. It may also draw attention to critiques of Descarte and how mechanical philosophy was critiqued as the gateway drug to atheism.

Question 2

In his book The Scientific Revolution, Steven Shapin explains, "There was no such thing as the Scientific Revolution, and this is a book about it." Was there a Scientific Revolution in the early modern period?

Accepted Answer

This question asks students to engage with the debate over whether there was such a thing as a Scientific Revolution. In answering this question, students will outline the broader debate amongst historians and will formulate their own analysis based on specific examples from the period. A good answer will:
$\bullet$Outline the historical debate and draw attention to the different interpretations of what the changes in science constituted as a whole. Key considerations in this discussion include Herbert Butterfield's concept of a revolution; Betty Jo Teeter Dobbs' discussion of the teleological narrative, Richard Westfall's point about the importance of the concept, and Steven Shapin's broader synthesis that explains how there both was and was not a Scientific Revolution. .
o Developments in medicine, which saw the authority of ancient writers such as Galen and Hippocrates questioned and then rejected. 
$\bullet$Evaluate whether these changes constituted a revolution. Here, answers should explain what they mean by "revolution" and determine if the examples fit within that definition.

Question 3

How did Sir Francis Bacon and René Descartes argue that one should approach the quest for knowledge of the natural world?

Accepted Answer

Sir Francis Bacon and René Descartes both attempted to explain how to gain knowledge and scientific certainty. Bacon used an inductive and imperial method, where individuals began with observation, data collection, and experimentation. Individuals were to collect facts and once enough facts were collected, the truth would emerge on its own. In contrast, Descartes used deductive reasoning where individuals were to reject anything they could not be certain of. Only what people were certain of could be the foundation of further investigation, which involved deducing ideas from certain facts.

Question 4

What was the mechanical philosophy?

Accepted Answer

Mechanical philosophy was a way of under

Question 5

What was a trading-post empire?

Accepted Answer

The term "trading-post empire" is typica

Question 6

What was the Newtonian synthesis?

Accepted Answer

The Newtonian synthesis was Sir Isaac Ne

Question 7

How have new theories and approaches changed how historians understand contact between Europeans and Indigenous populations?

Accepted Answer

Various theories, including postcolonial

Question 8

In placing the sun at the centre of the universe, Copernicus was deliberately setting out to challenge and overthrow the old system of astrology based on Aristotle and Ptolemy.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 9

Two scientific fields that witnessed the most dramatic changes during the early modern period were ________ and ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  chemistry; alchemy 
B)  astronomy; physics 
C)  biology; medicine 
D)  astrology; astrophysics 
E)  geology; mathematics 
A)  chemistry; alchemy 
B)  astronomy; physics 
C)  biology; medicine 
D)  astrology; astrophysics 
E)  geology; mathematics

Question 10

Galileo is rightly credited as the father of the new "experimental method."

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

What was new about the new worlds of the early modern period?

Accepted Answer

This question asks students to consider

Question 12

What were the consequences of European exploration?

Accepted Answer

This question asks students to consider

Question 13

Although technological developments were important, the early Atlantic voyages were aided more by the steady accumulation of practical knowledge that sailors accumulated than by technological innovation.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 14

With the ________ in 1493, Pope Alexander VI drew a line down the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and ruled that Portugal had exclusive rights to the lands east of the line and Castile had exclusive rights to the lands west of the line.

Accepted Answer

A)  Treaty of Versailles 
B)  Treaty of the New World 
C)  Treaty of Columbus 
D)  Treaty of Tordesillas 
E)  Treaty of Rome 
A)  Treaty of Versailles 
B)  Treaty of the New World 
C)  Treaty of Columbus 
D)  Treaty of Tordesillas 
E)  Treaty of Rome

Question 15

The fields of astronomy and physics witnessed an unraveling of the old system. How was the old system of understanding the universe unraveled?

Accepted Answer

This question asks students to consider

Question 16

During the later medieval period, trade in luxury goods from Asia and the Ottomans was dominated by ________ merchants.

Accepted Answer

A)  Venetian 
B)  Byzantine 
C)  Genoese 
D)  Spanish 
E)  Dutch 
A)  Venetian 
B)  Byzantine 
C)  Genoese 
D)  Spanish 
E)  Dutch

Question 17

This period is characterized as an age of discovery. What was discovered in the early modern period?

Accepted Answer

This question asks students to consider

Question 18

Why was Galileo charged with heresy?

Accepted Answer

Galileo was charged with heresy because

Question 19

Sir Isaac Newton's synthesis of ideas in his Principia was not immediately accepted because he could not explain how gravity worked.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 20

________ was the founder of modern anatomy and one of the first individuals to question the medical wisdom of ancient authorities.

Accepted Answer

A)  Galen 
B)  William Harvey 
C)  Robert Boyle 
D)  Andreas Vesalius 
E)  Paracelsus 
A)  Galen 
B)  William Harvey 
C)  Robert Boyle 
D)  Andreas Vesalius 
E)  Paracelsus

Was science opposed to religion?

In his book The Scientific Revolution, Steven Shapin explains, "There was no such thing as the Scientific Revolution, and this is a book about it." Was there a Scientific Revolution in the early modern period?

How did Sir Francis Bacon and René Descartes argue that one should approach the quest for knowledge of the natural world?

What was the mechanical philosophy?

What was a trading-post empire?

What was the Newtonian synthesis?

How have new theories and approaches changed how historians understand contact between Europeans and Indigenous populations?

In placing the sun at the centre of the universe, Copernicus was deliberately setting out to challenge and overthrow the old system of astrology based on Aristotle and Ptolemy.

Two scientific fields that witnessed the most dramatic changes during the early modern period were and .

Galileo is rightly credited as the father of the new "experimental method."

What was new about the new worlds of the early modern period?

What were the consequences of European exploration?

Although technological developments were important, the early Atlantic voyages were aided more by the steady accumulation of practical knowledge that sailors accumulated than by technological innovation.

With the ________ in 1493, Pope Alexander VI drew a line down the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and ruled that Portugal had exclusive rights to the lands east of the line and Castile had exclusive rights to the lands west of the line.

The fields of astronomy and physics witnessed an unraveling of the old system. How was the old system of understanding the universe unraveled?

During the later medieval period, trade in luxury goods from Asia and the Ottomans was dominated by ________ merchants.

This period is characterized as an age of discovery. What was discovered in the early modern period?

Why was Galileo charged with heresy?

Sir Isaac Newton's synthesis of ideas in his Principia was not immediately accepted because he could not explain how gravity worked.

________ was the founder of modern anatomy and one of the first individuals to question the medical wisdom of ancient authorities.

Continuities in Society and Economy

Europe in the Age of the Renaissance

The Reformations

The Age of Religious War

Absolute and Limited Monarchies in the Seventeenth Century

Diplomacy and Warfare in the Age of Absolutism

Economy and Society Transformed: The Eighteenth Century

Culture and Religion in the Age of the Enlightenment

The Eighteenth-Century State System

Europe in the World, 1650-1800

Filters

Exam 5: Discovering New Worlds

Was science opposed to religion?

In his book The Scientific Revolution, Steven Shapin explains, "There was no such thing as the Scientific Revolution, and this is a book about it." Was there a Scientific Revolution in the early modern period?

How did Sir Francis Bacon and René Descartes argue that one should approach the quest for knowledge of the natural world?

What was the mechanical philosophy?

What was a trading-post empire?

What was the Newtonian synthesis?

How have new theories and approaches changed how historians understand contact between Europeans and Indigenous populations?

In placing the sun at the centre of the universe, Copernicus was deliberately setting out to challenge and overthrow the old system of astrology based on Aristotle and Ptolemy.

Two scientific fields that witnessed the most dramatic changes during the early modern period were ________ and ________.

Galileo is rightly credited as the father of the new "experimental method."

What was new about the new worlds of the early modern period?

What were the consequences of European exploration?

Although technological developments were important, the early Atlantic voyages were aided more by the steady accumulation of practical knowledge that sailors accumulated than by technological innovation.

With the ________ in 1493, Pope Alexander VI drew a line down the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and ruled that Portugal had exclusive rights to the lands east of the line and Castile had exclusive rights to the lands west of the line.

The fields of astronomy and physics witnessed an unraveling of the old system. How was the old system of understanding the universe unraveled?

During the later medieval period, trade in luxury goods from Asia and the Ottomans was dominated by ________ merchants.

This period is characterized as an age of discovery. What was discovered in the early modern period?

Why was Galileo charged with heresy?

Sir Isaac Newton's synthesis of ideas in his Principia was not immediately accepted because he could not explain how gravity worked.

________ was the founder of modern anatomy and one of the first individuals to question the medical wisdom of ancient authorities.

Continuities in Society and Economy

Europe in the Age of the Renaissance

The Reformations

The Age of Religious War

Absolute and Limited Monarchies in the Seventeenth Century

Diplomacy and Warfare in the Age of Absolutism

Economy and Society Transformed: The Eighteenth Century

Culture and Religion in the Age of the Enlightenment

The Eighteenth-Century State System

Europe in the World, 1650-1800

Filters

Two scientific fields that witnessed the most dramatic changes during the early modern period were and .