Usefulness in the scientific community
The usefulness of the Scientific Method cannot be understated. At a time when hearsay was taken as absolute truth and no one questioned the facts behind opinions, a concrete and foolproof way of validation was just what the world needed.
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The Spread
The scientific method largely spread through influential philosophers and work which used the method being publicised. The philosophers did majority of the work. There were two very important ones who contributed: John Locke and René Descartes. Their opposing views, Empiricism and Rationalism, actually ended up benefiting the method as the combination of them created a perfect balance between induction and deduction.
The Church
The Church was the main opposing force to the spread and growth of the scientific method because they were attempting to keep their power, which they were already slowly losing during the Renaissance. The scientific method is a main cause of the Church's loss of power during the Enlightenment. Since it could disprove prejudice facts, it debunked concepts like a flat earth or Purgatory. To accompany this, a lot of the Church's power came from the belief of Heaven and Hell. Once people started to move towards science for truth rather than blindly following religion, the Church lost its control over the people.
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Successful applications (Theories and Laws)
The Big Bang Theory
General Relativity
Special Relativity
String Theory
Quantum Theory
Heliocentrism
Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation
Laws of Thermodynamics
General Relativity
Special Relativity
String Theory
Quantum Theory
Heliocentrism
Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation
Laws of Thermodynamics