Ancient Science
Throughout human history, science has existed in some way, shape, or form. It may not have looked the same as what we think now with lab goggles and test tubes, but back in the day, as we and the world around us evolved, so did our understanding of it by the discoveries we were making. At the time, ancient science, in early ancient civilizations, was primarily focused on benefiting immediate society or understanding the world. The methodologies weren’t the greatest and there weren’t as many guidelines to follow. The scientists at the time were simply looking for explanations on the natural world and the basics of how or why. Early documentation shows more information on medicine, astronomy, astrology, and alchemy, and not just knowledge for the sake of knowledge [1,2].
Imagine a house where Aristotle, Dante Alighieri, Leonardo DaVinci, and Galileo Galilei lived as roommates. In reality, they lived at different periods in time, but let's imagine it anyways! Hover over some of the rooms in their house below to learn about ancient science.
Consider how Plato would be looking to understand the world in his philosophy of science and the world and creating the Academy to help further education of individuals, but not necessarily supporting society. However, even with wanting to find the answers to what is happening around them, medieval and ancient scholars would be drawing answers to match their religious and theological beliefs [2].
It was not until the 18th century that states in the Western world worked to separate church and school, and until then there always had to be reconciliation with religion. Consider some of the few scientific beliefs, past and present, below; do they have a religious basis, are they still considered to hold true today or have they been proven wrong? Consider also if any of the beliefs that still hold true today are influenced by religion [2].
Aristotle’s Law of Motion was “the idea that motion must take place in a medium with density, so there could be no motion in a vacuum.” Take what you know about space being a vacuum. Does this reign true or false? Has it changed now [2]?
If you consider where a lot of our original theories and scientific basis come from, it is rooted in philosophy, and it generated a lot more questions than received full-fledged answers. You may be thinking why? Why were there more questions than answers? Why were people not interested in having definitive answers? A lot of the work that early scholars did was setting up the groundwork for later discoveries and theories. If you remember above, Aristotle’s Law of Motion, it is not complete. It has more questions than answers. His theories were not taken to heart because there was still so much left unanswered, such as how things speed up and slow down in the law of motion he proposed. At the time though, they didn’t have the means to test further into the questions they had [2].
Back in the old days, the term multi-hyphenate may not have existed, but many of the scholars were multi-hyphenates. They would be doing studies and asking questions to find answers in a wide range of subjects. Leonardo da Vinci was a painter, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. Aristotle was a philosopher and polymath, meaning that his learnings lay in many disciplines, such as natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology and the arts. But science was not as complex in the early years, so to speak. We were looking for the answers to very surface level questions. But now, we are asking more questions and questions that require much deeper research. That is why it has become more specialized, leading to many collaborations between different disciplines. One person cannot know everything (there is so much to do and learn!), and asking for help in your journey to find answers is a great way to learn more. Therefore, you will see larger teams working together to find answers [2].
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Based on Dante Alighieri’s, The Divine Comedy, the Earth is motionless and is fixed at the centre of the universe [2].
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We no longer know this as true. The Earth rotates on its axis and it revolves around the Sun, which is at the centre of our solar system.
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We learn from existence and nature of God (his work and word) [2].
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We know this to not be entirely true as church and school have separated. We learn from and through many aspects of the natural world and our scientifically vetted discoveries and inventions.
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Celestial spheres carry the planets and stars in their courses. Hell is in the centre, purgatory in the middle, and paradise beyond that [2].
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We know that gravity is what causes the planets and other celestial bodies to travel the way they do in space and there is no hell, purgatory, or paradise in that same space (space travel is not as fun as they show in the movies).
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Remember to scroll over each room to learn more about ancient science!
About Us
Science for Everyone is a Canadian Nonprofit Organization that provides educational resources to help raise the level of scientific literacy in the general population.