The Invention of Scientific Method

    Scientific Method, the term denoting the principles that guide scientific research and experimentation and also the philosophic bases of those principles. Philosophy in general is concerned with the why as well as how of things but science occupies itself with the latter question in a very rigorous manner. The era of modern science is generally considered to have begun with the Renaissance but scientific approach to knowledge can be observed throughout the human history.
Three Characteristics of science
1) Objectivity: Objectivity indicates the attempt to observe things as they are, without falsifying observation in accordance with the preoccupied world view. They (scientists) do not let their feelings get in the way of their observations of real things. They often work in laboratories or in other areas where they can carefully control what they are working on. They always try to report their findings so others can check them out and then utilize them in their own work. They do not clean more than they can prove. They always concern about what is rather than 'What should be' so as to derive objective reality of the things.

2) Dealing with things not emotion: Science deals almost exclusively with things, not ideas or feeling, and with the external world and its workings, not inner states and their workings, the human body is considered to be a part of the external world, the soul is not. So, scientists work to understand the body but not the soul. Most scientists doubt whether soul exists or not. The solar system and the universe are also part of the external world, so scientists also go through them.

3) Dealing with special way: Science deals with in a special way, employing special methods and a language for reporting results that is unique to it. At first, they make hypothesis that hypothesis is put under a test in a controlled environment to find out whether it is valid or not. The environment to find out whether it is valid or not. The environment must be carefully controlled so that extraneous elements do not intrude to invalidate the experiment. Scientific method also involves the interplay of inductive reasoning (reasoning from specific observation and experiments to move general hypothesis and theories) and deductive reasoning (reasoning from theories to account for specific experimental results). By such reasoning processes, science attempts to develop the broad law-such as Newton's law of gravitation that has become part of our understanding of the natural world.
Aristotelian Science: Matter
    To invent scientific method, thinkers of the 17th century first had to deal with the world view of the greatest scientist having influence until that time, Aristotle. Two aspects of the world, in particular, concern us: matter and motion.

1) Theory of Matter: According to Aristotle, every material thing has both a material and a formal aspect. Matter is a thing's potentiality and form is what gives shape to matter. Aristotle found quite different between the world below the moon and the world above the Moon. In the world below the moon which he called sublunary world, there are four kinds of stuff out of which things are made. These elements are fire, water, earth and air. Aristotle said that a man has a good amount of earth in him which makes him heavy, a good amount of water which produce his blood and other internal fluids, a good amount of air which he breathes in and out, a good amount of fire which gives him heat and is in a sense the essence of the life in him. But in the world above the Moon, the planets and Moon are made out of fifth element that he called Quintessence. They are also fusion of formal and maternal aspects but their matter is quite different from that of below the Moon as the Quintessence exists in them in pure form unlike in the sublunary world.
2) Theory of motion: Regarding the theory of motion, Aristotle had different view about the motion in sublunary world and the world above the moon. The motion of material and immaterial things in the sublunary world is rest. The motion may be natural or violent, but it is seeking for a place to get rest. If the thing moves without external force that is natural state whereas if external force is applied to move the thing that is violent state. When a stone is thrown it drops to stop somewhere though the motion is violent, anyway it searches for place having got rest. Earth, water and to a certain extent air naturally seek a place that is downward, toward the center of the earth. Fire goes up, yet it is below the sphere of moon. Air, being mixture of fire and water, sometimes goes down and sometime up. But these elements or sublunary world seek a place for getting rest. In the world above the moon, everything is made out of Quintessence so the natural motion of celestial bodies is circular. They move in circle around the earth in every twenty-four hours. Aristotelian theory of motion gives a geocentric world picture which had lasting impact up to the seventeenth century.

The Revolt against Aristotle
    During 17th century, Aristotelian, Theory was dismantled by so many scientists and thinkers. He was of the operation that all heavenly bodies move in circular motion around the earth. But Nicholas Copernicus dismantled that view by saying that it is not the sun that moves around the earth. But Nicholas Copernicus dismantled that view by saying that it is the earth that moves around the sun. But at that time he did not say it defying as it meant going against the contemporary belief of the society. Another Danish astronomer Tycho Brache is famous for discovering a new star, having no existence in Aristotelian theory. He discovered that new star in 1572 and observed that over a period of months and in 1573 published a monograph on it that made him instantly famous and instantly controversial. Actually, new starts were not supposed to come into being in the Aristotelian and Christian universe. The world below the moon was chaotic, imperfect and unpredictably changeable. But in the world above the moon nothing is changed all the celestial or heavenly bodies' continued to reflect God's immutable love for the world and mankind. The contemporary theologians criticized Tycho Brache's monograph but Tycho did not believe that. William Gilbert by studying about lodestones produced the theory of magnetism. He asserted that due to the magnetic quality, planetary bodied come together the found the presence of magnetic force both above and below the moon. But as for Aristotle, in the world above the moon everything is made out of Quintessence, not anything like magnetic force. But for Gilbert, earth itself is big magnet. Gilbert also facilitates the heliocentric world view. Again Kepler brought great change in Aristotelian science. Facilitating the heliocentric world view, he said that heavenly bodies do not move in circular motion as Aristotle asserted but they move in elliptical motion. He also asserted defying Aristotelian concept that when planets are near the sun, they move quickly and vice versa. He also found the mathematical relation between the planets and the distance from the sun. He also believed in the concept of inertia. Galileo also opposed the Aristotelian concept that the surface of the moon is made out of Quintessence. When he saw the moon with the telescope then he found the surface of the moon as that of the earth having rock, mountains, and valleys etc, so, the moon itself is destructible, he said. He also put forward his argument by saying that it is the sun in the center and all planets, move round the sun. Though he dismantled the Aristotelian science, he was accused of being a Bible killer by contemporary theologians. At last he recanted whatever he said before.
     Rene Descartes, 17th century philosopher did not believe upon Quintessence as such, he always searched for certainty in everything. His concept was that everything must be doubted so as to derive truth. His famous dictum is: "I doubt therefore I think, I think therefore I am." He also believed that the material universe can be described in mathematical terms. He also believed that human mind always should free from any preoccupied notion and we should also reduce anything mathematically to reach in the heart of the thing. Newton also challenged Aristotelian view of the world. He got influence from Gilbert's magnetism, heliocentric worldview of Copernicus and Descartes' view about doubting. He proposed three laws of motion unlike Aristotle
1. Everything remains in rest or in motion unless the external force is used upon it. There is no natural state of rest as such as asserted by Aristotle. It is also called the law of inertia. This law discards the so-called Quintessence.
2. The change of motion is directly proportional to the change of force.
3. Each action has an equal but opposite reaction.
These above mentioned laws by opposing Aristotelian science paved way for development of modern science.