The two events that shaped European society between 16th and 19th centuries were the so called “Lutheran Reformation” started by Martin Luther and the “Scientific Revolution” initiated by Copernicus. Although both of them have profoundly changed the European way of thinking, it is possible to suggest that the Scientific Revolution had a stronger impact on the European society.
The magnitude of the effect of these two events can be evaluated based on several aspects. First of all, Scientific Revolution had an impact on all European countries, while the Reformation took place mainly in Central/Northern Europe. Secondly, although both had a huge effect on the perception of the Catholic Church shifting the focus from God to Humankind, however only Scientific Revolution deeply changed the way of thinking of human beings, while Reformation had an impact mainly on the religious and economic views of life. Thus, before the Scientific Revolution the medieval science was tightly connected with Ancient science based on Aristotle’s principles and it was dominated by qualitative and finalistic theories. Scientific Revolution, however, has shifted the focus towards more quantitative approach, thus it explored the reality that was measurable and could be explained by the mechanical movement.
The methodology underlying the Scientific Revolution is still used nowadays in every scientific approach. Thus, every theory should be supported by empirical evidence and every methodology can be challenged by following empirical evidence/methodology. It is important to emphasize that the Scientific Revolution was possible only with the development of the middle class, which represented individuals, who were driven by own gains and tried to establish control over the forces of nature. Therefore, this middle class has become the major force in the Reformation movement, which suggests the close connection between Reformation and the Scientific Revolution.
References
Cohen, Florish H. The Scientific Revolution. 1st ed. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1994.
