Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries there was a great amount of work done by scientists. New ideas, like heliocentricism for example, were developed in the minds of these great scientists and then shared with the world. The world, however, was not always willing to accept these ideas. The Church did not approve of what scientists were saying because it conflicted with what the Bible told them to be true. This in turn caused many fundamentalist people who practiced Catholicism to also turn away the new ideas scientists were coming up with. Religious beliefs were incorporated into law for states and many leaders were religious, such as the Pope leading the Holy Roman Empire. While the new ideas provided knowledge for the people, a balance had to be kept. The influences of the Church, political leaders, and the people of the states, negatively affected scientists because they could not inform people of their and many times they had to deny what they believed in.
Religious beliefs were the number one thing that caused the stifling of scientists ability to express their ideas. Many people were afraid that the new ways of thinking would disprove the beliefs that had been held for hundreds of years. For example, in a letter to Galileo, who was a scientist that believed in the idea of heliocentricism, the Italian monk, Giovanni Ciampoli said, "Someone adds to this and says you assume that the moon is inhabited by humans. Then another starts discussing how they could be descended from Adam or how they could have gotten out of Noah's ark" (Doc. 3) Many people felt that the scientists were trying to disprove the Bible. However, the scientists were not trying to do this at all. Most scientists were Catholic or had some other religious affiliation. An English doctor and natural philosopher named Walter Charleton stated how he believed it to be impossible for atoms to have been made without the help of an "Infinite Wisdom and Power," referring to God (Doc. 8) The German philosopher, Gottfried Leibniz, said that God "governs" the mind, implying that God put the ideas of the scientists into their heads. (Doc. 12) The scientists were not trying to disprove religious beliefs, but build upon them.
Religious beliefs were apart of politics. The Spanish Inquisition, for example, was a political institution run by Catholics. They were against new ideas in science and they tried to make Galileo deny what he believed in. They decided which books could be published and sold and which could not, meaning that scientific books, such as Galileo's, were often times rejected. Thomas Hobbes argued that people always debate over what is right and wrong, but in geometry no one does because it does not affect what people really care about (Doc. 7). Some rulers did allow sciences to be taught and ideas expressed. For instance, Louis XIV, King of France, supported the sciences. In a drawing of his visit to the French Royal Academy from 1671, he can be seen in a room full of scientific objects, such as skeletons, globes, maps, etc (Doc. 10). Jean Baptiste Colbert, a French finance minister under Louis XIV, wrote in a letter that, "Because of the splendor and happiness of the State consists not only of maintaining the glory of arms abroad....we have been persuaded for many years to establish several academies for both letters and sciences (Doc. 11).
There were also social aspects that contributed to the scientists not being able to work or express beliefs. Women were very low on the social status. It was hard for male scientists to let their voices be heard, but it was practically impossible for women. Margaret Cavendish, an English natural philosopher, says that she would have set up her own school for natural philosophy, but because she was a woman she could not (Doc. 9).
In conclusion, religion, politics, and society inhibited scientists from expressing their ideas. Some politicians accepted the sciences, but many had to keep a balance between the Church and academics. Overall scientists were negatively affected.
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