Britain and the Rise of Science

Page 1 of 6

• 1. Laying the groundwork at Oxford
• 2. The empire of man over things
• 3. Democratising the Great Instauration
• 4. Science and commerce in Restoration London
• 5. The roots of industrialisation
• 6. Find out more
• Print entire article

Laying the groundwork at Oxford

Modern science began when mathematical models replaced abstract ideas of 'sympathies' and 'innate virtues' as ways of explaining how the world works, and how we might harness nature to enhance human power over it. Arab and Indian mathematics and science played an important part in laying the foundations for modern science, and major early figures came from mainland Europe and beyond. In Britain, scientific development reached its zenith in the second half of the 17th century, during the period known as the 'scientific revolution'.

'The 'new philosophy'...emerged from the ivory towers of Oxford and Cambridge and started to make an impact on people's everyday lives.'

The foundation was laid for modern science in Britain long before the Polish mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) demonstrated a model of the universe in which the Earth and other planets revolved around the Sun. At Merton College, Oxford, Robert Grosseteste (1168-1253) and his student Roger Bacon (1219-1292) argued that geometry was the basis for comprehending the mysteries of nature, and that mathematical models provided our understanding of the world around us.

By the time Galileo, in Italy, announced that the Copernican system was more than merely a mathematical model, and that the earth 'really' moved around the sun, the 'new philosophy' had emerged from the ivory towers of Oxford and Cambridge, and started to make an impact on people's everyday lives.

Next 

Published: 2002-07-01