The Scientific Revolution and the "Risk It All" Ideology

One of the main reasons for exploration is to determine alternative trade routes. Europeans, for example, frequently traded with Asian and Chinese merchants but faced significant transport challenges, which made them seek alternative routes to such regions. One of the European explorers whose goal was to determine a sea route to Asia was Christopher Columbus. Another reason for exploration is to conquer and expand territory. For instance, after the Europeans discovered the existence of vast, uninhabited, and unclaimed lands in other nations, they sought to claim such lands, as well as expand their territories. Exploration also occurs due to the need for mineral wealth. For instance, the Spanish explorers were in great search of the City of Gold (El Dorado).

            What drives or motivates an individual to "risk it all" by participating in a voyage is usually fame. The primary goal of most explorers is to become famous in their homelands and the entire world's history for coming up with new ideas. Such a way of thinking affects the Scientific Revolution in the sense that it helps in changing the people’s view of the world through discoveries that foster technological improvements and economic growth.

            The participants of the Scientific Revolution had a “risk it all” ideology. For example, Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) spent much of his life under house arrest for his belief in the heliocentric model. Besides, he was referred to as a heretic for insisting and believing that the sun was the universe’s motionless center, as opposed to the Earth. Galileo is today famous for discovering four of planet Jupiter's moons, as well as the roughness of the moon's surface. He is also famous for several other scientific discoveries, including the phases of planet Venus and the fundamental principle of relativity.