- Introduction
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Technology, Knowledge, Worldviews
- Early Modern Authority
- Feedback Patterns in 19th-Century Ideologies
- The Railroad & Photography
- Competition in the Development of R&D
- Op-Ed: The Internet and Information
- Op-Ed: Photography, Editing, and the Destabilization of Truth
- Op-Ed: The Effects of Technological Immersion
- Op-Ed: Artificial Intelligence Is a New Kind of Technological Beast
- Technology, Empire, War
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Technology, Popular Culture, Gender
- Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe
- The Trial of Marion Gage
- Nando's
- Women and Magazines in the Nineteenth Century
- Cold War Propaganda and Television
- Reproductive Repression
- Op-Ed: The Theatre Experience in the Age of Streaming
- Op-Ed: Compulsory Sterilization in Women's Prisons
- Op-Ed: The Future of Meat
- Creating Lives
- The Toolbox of Invention
- A&SC Highlights
Technology's Influence on Power Continued
Similar to Gutenberg’s revolutionary printing press in the fifteenth century, the effects of advancements in science, specifically astronomy, took authoritative power away from the Church. During the period right before and during the Enlightenment in Europe, religion was incorporated into astronomy, as the earth was known to be the center of the entire universe and the heavens were on the outermost parts of the universe. However, astronomers and scientists began questioning this theory that was rooted in religious aspects. Nicolas Copernicus suggested the possibility that the earth might not be fixed but rather that “the Earth is not the center of [the stars’] circular movements.” (Copernicus 274)3 Copernicus was the first to make this claim, utilizing mathematical logic. He was careful not to fully support his claim and simply stated his findings as a hypothesis or theory. The idea that the earth was not the center of the universe was very problematic for the Church. Although the Church allowed Copernicus’s claims without punishment, it became concerned because if the earth is not fixed and centered, clergymen did not have any explanation for where God and Heaven exist.
Galileo Galilei took Copernicus’s claims even further by truly backing them as fact. Galileo argued that the earth constantly orbits the sun, and he began to spread his findings by teaching others how to build telescopes to see the proof for themselves. Contrary to Copernicus, Galileo was unable to get passed the Church unpunished. The Church made it very clear to Galileo that he needed to teach his ideas as theories rather than facts, but he denied its requests and continued to spread the idea of the heliocentric solar system. In doing so, Galileo challenged the intellectual authority of the Church; he took away their power to control people’s actions and beliefs. The implications of his and other modern thinkers’ ideas was the conflict of religion and faith with reason and logic. People began to think for themselves, and religion seemed to be left out of the equation. Society looked to science for truth rather than the Church, therefore greatly reducing its influence and authority.
The overall effects of new technologies and scientific developments throughout the Early Modern period in Europe had lasting effects on ideas of authority, power, and the source of truth. Before the invention of the printing press, the Catholic Church acted as not only a source of religion but also a source of overall truth and authority over all people. However, the printing press allowed for the spread of ideas that would soon shift more power to the state. With Martin Luther’s use of the printing press and a strategy of printing short pamphlets to quickly distribute criticisms of the Catholic Church, he was able to propel the Reformation forward. As a result, Lutheranism became more prevalent and city councils received more power over their subjects. Mathematicians and astronomers like Nicolas Copernicus also helped in the decrease of the Church’s power through their discoveries of the heliocentric solar system. The new idea of the sun being centered rather than the Earth seemed to erase religion’s place in astronomy; the Church was unable to answer questions of where God and the Heavens existed in this new system. The overall scientific and technological advancements during this period seemed to accidentally replace the need for religion in all aspects of life with a new belief that all of the secrets of the world could be found through human investigation. Before this revolution, the idea of Divine Monarchs was one of the most popular forms of government. The Monarch’s power came from God, and he ruled by God’s will. Truth was known to originate from religion. Although religion remained, it had little to no influence over government and the laws that rule society. The overall power of truth and authority had been officially transferred to the state.
By Leigh Lewis, Computer Science, LMU 2021