What marked the Scientific Revolution?

• A. Invention of the printing press and increased literacy.
• B. Return to Aristotelian philosophy and church doctrine.
• C. Adoption of empirical method and scientific inquiry; contributions by Copernicus, Galileo, Newton; emphasis on reason over dogma.
• D. Feudal economic systems expanding.

Answer: (C)

The defining shift of the Scientific Revolution is the adoption of an empirical method and scientific inquiry, with reasoning and observation taking center stage. Scientists began to test ideas through experiments and measurements, using mathematics to explain how the natural world works. Figures like Copernicus challenged the old geocentric view with a heliocentric model, Galileo supported these ideas with telescopic observations and experimental results, and Newton unified celestial and earthly phenomena with universal laws of motion and gravity. This move away from relying on authority or dogma toward evidence-based explanations marks the period as the turning point in science.

While the spread of ideas through the printing press helped knowledge travel, it isn’t what fundamentally defines the shift in how science was done. Returning to Aristotelian philosophy and church doctrine would reinforce medieval ways, not mark a revolution in thinking. Feudal economic systems expanding also don’t capture the core change in scientific method and inquiry.