. recognized the possibility of trouble" with the Church (because of the obvious conflict between discovery science and Church doctrine (Hellman, 1998)
In a very real way the scientific revolution challenged the doctrines of Aristotle because those who were trained in "natural philosophy" began to understand there was value in alternative approaches to the world beyond those put forward by the Ancient Greeks. While arguing that the scientific revolution was not just about science (but rather about thought and practice), it is impossible not to equate the theories of Copernicus -- the "last of the great medieval astronomers" -- with the switch in thinking from "an Earth-centered universe to a Sun-centered planetary system" (Henry, p
That is because they were going up against existing ideas (of Aristotle and the Catholic Church, to name two) and yet history shines on them for their intelligence and persistence. It's interesting to note that at the dawn of the 17th century, there really were no "scientists" per se in that period; even Isaac Newton was considered a "natural philosopher" (Kuhn, 2005)
. the planets, on occasion, would travel backward across the sky over several nights of observation" (it came to be known as "retrograde motion") (Redd, p