From cosmic reorientation to scientific culture: Reinterpreting the scientific revolution through historical analysis and functional modelling

Abstract

Between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, European approaches to nature were reorganised through mathematical astronomy, instrument-based observation, experiment, and new expectations about evidence. This article revisits that transformation without treating it as an instantaneous victory of modern reason over a uniformly medieval past. Instead, it interprets the Scientific Revolution as a layered process in which inherited philosophies, religious commitments, artisanal skill, print culture, patronage, commerce, and scholarly exchange interacted with changing scientific practices. The study combines historical analysis and source systematisation with IDEF0 functional modelling. The first model explains how varied primary and secondary materials can be converted into a coherent yet qualified historical interpretation through source mapping, contextualisation, critical evaluation, and synthesis. The second model shows how that interpretation can be translated into contemporary education through curriculum integration, interdisciplinary teaching, source-based inquiry, and connections to present scientific and ethical questions. The analysis indicates that the period changed more than particular theories: it altered how credible knowledge was produced, communicated, tested, and authorised. IDEF0 makes the analytical and educational sequence visible, but it is used as a heuristic framework rather than as a causal explanation of historical change. The study is limited by its predominantly European focus and by the conceptual, rather than classroom-tested, character of the models. Future research should broaden the geographical frame, develop digital and museum-based applications, and evaluate the educational model with learners and teachers.