What is the Scientific Revolution, and how did it happen? Why did it happen in Europe, and not anywhere else?
In this talk to his Chinese high school students, Jiang Xueqin explains that the Scientific Revolution happened because of a change in focus from asking “What is Truth?” to asking “How can we know Truth?”.
To resolve the geocentric vs. heliocentric debate, Europeans pioneered the Scientific Method, a system of processes and protocols to test and refine hypotheses. This led to an explosion of technological innovation.
Jiang Xueqin concludes by arguing that the Scientific Method has ossified into an imperial bureaucracy. Today, geniuses like Galileo, Newton, and Einstein would be shunned for their eccentricities.
Have we come to the end of the Scientific Revolution?
References:
1. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn
2. The New Atlantis by Francis Bacon
3. The Cosmic Serpent by Jeremy Narby
