Science in the Renaissance

[[Image:Da Vinci Vitruve Luc Viatour.jpg|240px|right|thumb|[[Leonardo da Vinci]]'s ''[[Vitruvian Man]]'', an example of the blend of art and science during the Renaissance]]

[[Image:Da Vinci Vitruve Luc Viatour.jpg|240px|right|thumb|[[Leonardo da Vinci]]'s ''[[Vitruvian Man]]'', an example of the blend of art and science during the Renaissance]]

'''Science in the Renaissance''' was predominantly an extension of medieval traditions of [[natural philosophy]] but also produced new ideas and methods in [[History_of_mathematics#Renaissance|mathematics]], [[History_of_anatomy#Leonardo_da_Vinci|anatomy]] and [[Copernican heliocentrism|astronomy]] as well as a revolution in the European understanding of the Earth's [[Waldseemüller map|geography]]. The collection of ancient scientific texts began in earnest at the start of the 15th century and continued up to the [[Fall of Constantinople]] in 1453, and the invention of [[printing]] allowed a faster propagation of new ideas. Nevertheless, some have seen the Renaissance, at least in its initial period, as one of scientific backwardness. Historians like [[George Sarton]] and [[Lynn Thorndike]] argue that [[Renaissance humanism|Renaissance humanists]] favored human-centered subjects like politics and history over study of [[natural philosophy]] or [[applied mathematics]]. More recently, however, scholars have acknowledged the positive impact of rediscovery of lost or obscure texts, the increased emphasis on the study of language and the correct reading of texts,{{Cite journal|last=Rose|first=Paul Lawrence|date=1973|title=Humanist Culture and Renaissance Mathematics: The Italian Libraries of the Quattrocento|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2857013|journal=Studies in the Renaissance|volume=20|pages=46–105|doi=10.2307/2857013|jstor=2857013|issn=0081-8658|url-access=subscription}}{{Citation|last1=Anglin|first1=W. S.|title=Mathematics in the Renaissance|date=1995|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-0803-7_25|work=The Heritage of Thales|pages=125–131|editor-last=Anglin|editor-first=W. S.|series=Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics|place=New York, NY|publisher=Springer|language=en|doi=10.1007/978-1-4612-0803-7_25|isbn=978-1-4612-0803-7|access-date=2021-04-09|last2=Lambek|first2=J.|editor2-last=Lambek|editor2-first=J.|url-access=subscription}}{{Cite journal|last=Jayawardene|first=S. A.|date=June 1978|title=The Italian Renaissance of Mathematics: Studies on Humanists and Mathematicians from Petrarch to Galileo. Paul Lawrence Rose|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdfplus/10.1086/352043|journal=Isis|volume=69|issue=2|pages=298–300|doi=10.1086/352043|issn=0021-1753|url-access=subscription}} the invention and rapid spread of the [[moveable type]] [[printing press]], and the discovery of the [[Americas]].

'''Science in the Renaissance''' was predominantly an extension of medieval traditions of [[natural philosophy]] but also produced new ideas and methods in [[History_of_mathematics#Renaissance|mathematics]], [[History_of_anatomy#Leonardo_da_Vinci|anatomy]] and [[Copernican heliocentrism|astronomy]] and included a revolution in the European understanding of the Earth's [[Waldseemüller map|geography]]. The collection of ancient scientific texts began in earnest at the start of the 15th century and continued up to the [[Fall of Constantinople]] in 1453, and the invention of [[printing]] allowed a faster propagation of new ideas. Nevertheless, some have seen the Renaissance, at least in its initial period, as one of scientific backwardness. Historians like [[George Sarton]] and [[Lynn Thorndike]] argue that [[Renaissance humanism|Renaissance humanists]] favored human-centered subjects like politics and history over study of [[natural philosophy]] or [[applied mathematics]]. More recently, however, scholars have acknowledged the positive impact of rediscovery of lost or obscure texts, the increased emphasis on the study of language and the correct reading of texts,{{Cite journal|last=Rose|first=Paul Lawrence|date=1973|title=Humanist Culture and Renaissance Mathematics: The Italian Libraries of the Quattrocento|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2857013|journal=Studies in the Renaissance|volume=20|pages=46–105|doi=10.2307/2857013|jstor=2857013|issn=0081-8658|url-access=subscription}}{{Citation|last1=Anglin|first1=W. S.|title=Mathematics in the Renaissance|date=1995|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-0803-7_25|work=The Heritage of Thales|pages=125–131|editor-last=Anglin|editor-first=W. S.|series=Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics|place=New York, NY|publisher=Springer|language=en|doi=10.1007/978-1-4612-0803-7_25|isbn=978-1-4612-0803-7|access-date=2021-04-09|last2=Lambek|first2=J.|editor2-last=Lambek|editor2-first=J.|url-access=subscription}}{{Cite journal|last=Jayawardene|first=S. A.|date=June 1978|title=The Italian Renaissance of Mathematics: Studies on Humanists and Mathematicians from Petrarch to Galileo. Paul Lawrence Rose|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdfplus/10.1086/352043|journal=Isis|volume=69|issue=2|pages=298–300|doi=10.1086/352043|issn=0021-1753|url-access=subscription}} the invention and rapid spread of the [[moveable type]] [[printing press]], and the discovery of the [[Americas]].

[[Marie Boas Hall]] coined the term '''Scientific Renaissance''' to designate the period leading up to the [[Scientific Revolution]]. More recently, Peter Dear has argued for a two-phase model of [[early modern]] science: a ''Scientific Renaissance'' of the 15th and 16th centuries, focused on the restoration of the natural knowledge of the ancients; and a ''Scientific Revolution'' of the 17th century, when scientists shifted from recovery to innovation.{{Citation needed|reason=This entire paragraph lacks any references|date=November 2025}}

[[Marie Boas Hall]] coined the term '''Scientific Renaissance''' to designate the period leading up to the [[Scientific Revolution]]. More recently, Peter Dear has argued for a two-phase model of [[early modern]] science: a ''Scientific Renaissance'' of the 15th and 16th centuries, focused on the restoration of the natural knowledge of the ancients; and a ''Scientific Revolution'' of the 17th century, when scientists shifted from recovery to innovation.{{Citation needed|reason=This entire paragraph lacks any references|date=November 2025}}