ABSTRACT
This chapter explores some of the exciting developments by contrasting the 'methodologies' of Francis Bacon and Rene Descartes, followed by a number of case histories from Copernicus to Newton. As in the late medieval period, there were no deep conflicts between religion and science for most natural philosophers. Aristotle and Ptolemy shared a few basic concepts. They both believed that each of the seven planets was embedded in its own ethereal sphere and was carried around by it. Copernicus acknowledged Ptolemy's argument that the Earth was at the centre of the universe or near the centre because of observed irregularities in the planetary movements. Scholars agree, however, that Copernicus thought of himself as reviving the best traditions of Greek astronomy and believed that his mathematical approach represented a physical truth or reality as part of God's creation.
