Write a 1000-1200 word essay that explores the following within the framework of the period of the Renaissance:

Does the "scientific revolution" of the Renaissance represent genuine "intellectual" progress or instead does it simply mirror changes in social, political or cultural thinking of that time? Be sure to cite some evidence that scientific thinking is either independent or dependent on the cultural biases of the time. Finally, in what ways do the methodologies of Descarte, intersect with cultural thinking to bias the scientific method?