Western Civilization II / Unit 5 WC2 0402 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Humanism's Child: Induction, Deduction, and Mathematics as a Divine Language
Captions available
The idea
The revolution grew from Renaissance humanism, which showed that ancients had disagreed with Aristotle, so fundamentals could be questioned. Inductive reasoning moves from facts to theory; deductive from theory to fit the facts, geocentrism the classic case. Mathematics promised certainty as a divine language.
In practice
Astronomy first, because the planets defied the ancients.
Where people slip
Deduction stayed part of real science; proofs are deductive.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Something wrong in this lesson? Flag it