Natural science:
astronomy
1543, the polish astronomer Copernicus published the theory of celestial bodies, in which he proposed a Heliocentrism system different from Ptolemaic geocentric theory. Bruno, an Italian thinker, declared in his works "On Infinity, Universe and All Worlds" and "On Cause, Origin and Unity" that the universe is infinite in space and time, and the sun is only the solar system, not the center of the universe. Galileo invented the astronomical telescope in 1609, published the Star Messenger in 16 10, and published the Dialogue between Ptolemy and Copernicus in 1632. Kepler, a German astronomer, put forward three laws of planetary motion in New Astronomy (1609) and Harmony of the World (16 19) by studying the observation data of Tycho, a Danish astronomer, and determined that the planetary motion around the sun along an elliptical orbit is not constant.
mathematics
Algebra made great progress in the Renaissance, and the solutions of cubic and quartic equations were found. Cardano, an Italian, published a formula for finding the roots of cubic equation in his book Great Skills, but the discovery of this formula should be attributed to another scholar, tartaglia. The solution of the quartic equation was discovered by Ferrari, a student in cardano, and also recorded in The Great Book. Bombelli expounded the irreducibility of cubic equations in his works, used imaginary numbers, and improved the popular algebraic symbols at that time. Symbolic algebra was founded by the French mathematician Veda in the16th century. He published "Introduction to Analytical Methods" at 159 1, systematically arranged algebra, and for the first time consciously used letters to represent unknowns and known numbers. In his other book, On the Identification and Correction of Equations, David improved the solutions of cubic and quartic equations, and established the relationship between the roots and coefficients of quadratic and cubic equations, which is known as Vieta's theorem in modern times. Trigonometry also made great progress during the Renaissance. On Triangle, written by German mathematician Reggio Montanus, is the first trigonometry work independent of astronomy in Europe. The book systematically expounds the plane triangle and spherical triangle, as well as a very accurate trigonometric function table. On the basis of redefining trigonometric function, Rhaticus, a student of Copernicus, made a more accurate trigonometric function table.
physics
In physics, Galileo discovered the three laws of falling body, parabola and shaking through many experiments, which made people have a new understanding of the universe. His student Torricelli proved the air pressure through experiments and invented the mercury barometer. Pascal, a French scientist, discovered the law of pressure propagation in liquids and gases. British scientist Boyle discovered the law of gas pressure.
Physiology and medicine
Belgian doctor Vesaliua Uss published the book Human Body Structure, which challenged Galen's "Trinity" theory. Spanish doctor Servit discovered the small circulation system of blood, which proved that blood flows from the right ventricle to the lungs and reaches the left ventricle through a tortuous route. Harvey, a British anatomist, published the theory of heart-blood movement through a large number of animal anatomy experiments, which systematically explained the law of blood movement and the working principle of the heart. He pointed out that the heart is the center of blood movement and the source of strength. This great discovery made him the founder of modern physiology.
"great geographical discovery"
There has been a revolutionary leap in navigation technology, and explorers from Portugal, Spain and Italy have started a series of long-distance navigation activities. The geographical discoveries of Columbus and Magellan provide strong evidence for the theory of the earth circle.
The rediscovery of printing in Europe and the spread of papermaking, compass and gunpowder (the four great inventions of China) from the East promoted the rapid spread of scientific ideas.
For a long time, the Renaissance was regarded as a simple restoration of classical culture. In fact, the Renaissance did not really want to "restore" classical culture, but to attack the culture and system at that time, so as to establish a new culture and create public opinion for the establishment of a new social system.
Renaissance is a period of gradual development, with no clear dividing line and events. But the Renaissance changed people's thinking at that time, which led to the religious reform and fierce religious war. The later Enlightenment took the Renaissance as an example. /kloc-historians in the 0 th and 9 th centuries believe that the subsequent scientific development, geographical discoveries and the birth of nation-states all originated from the Renaissance. Renaissance is the watershed between the middle ages and modern times in the "dark age" and the public opinion premise of bourgeois revolution. Renaissance is a prelude to liberating Europe from the shackles of decadent feudal religions and expanding it to the whole world.
Different views on the Renaissance.
The word "Renaissance" was first put forward by French historian Misley in 1855, which was used to summarize16th century's "exploration of the world and mankind". Since then, historians have had many different opinions on its interpretation.
Most people think that the Renaissance originated in Italy in the15th century, and then spread throughout Europe. Renaissance represents the classical cultural connection between the west and ancient times (before the Middle Ages), and it is the absorption of Arab knowledge (especially mathematical knowledge). The Renaissance made people pay attention to the quality of life in this world (such as humanism). Renaissance is also a knowledge explosion caused by the application of printing and new technology in the fields of art, poetry and architecture. These new technologies have fundamentally changed the form and content of art and literature. During this period, this view holds that with the rise of communication and exploration, the Renaissance represents that Europe has changed from a stagnant pool to a turbulent river for a long time. Therefore, the Renaissance in Italy is usually regarded as the beginning of modernity.
Marxist historians believe that the Renaissance was a "pseudo-revolution" in art, literature and philosophy. These changes only affected a small number of rich people, while the life of most European population remained basically unchanged compared with the Middle Ages. So they don't think the Renaissance is an important event.
Today, most historians believe that the Renaissance represents a great change in rational thinking and thinking, rather than material changes. Perhaps the most important point of view for the Renaissance is that people living in the Renaissance think that they are living in a new era, an era completely divorced from the Middle Ages.
Johan Huizinga (1872–1945) acknowledged the Renaissance, but questioned whether it brought beneficial changes. He believed that the Renaissance was an era of decline from the Middle Ages, which destroyed many important things. For example, Latin, used by churches and others at that time, has developed greatly since classical times and is a living language. However, people who were obsessed with classical purity in the Renaissance thought that Latin contradicted its classical form, so the natural evolution of Latin stopped. Robert lopez thought that the Renaissance was a period of economic depression. However, George Sarton and Lynn Thorndike believed that the Renaissance slowed down the progress of science.