Chapter 2: A New (Philosophy of) Science

Question 1

Anthropomorphic (Aristotelian-Medieval worldview)

Answer 1

Human purposive behaviour was taken as the model for everything else.

Question 2

Geocentrism (Aristotelian-Medieval worldview)

Answer 2

The earth was located at the centre (geocentrism) according to Aristotle. The cosmos was composed of concentric, crystalline spheres to which the planets and stars were attached.

Question 3

Superlunary or celestial region (Aristotelian-Medieval worldview)

Answer 3

The domain from the moon outward. Everything is eternal and perfect, objects move in perfect circles at a continuous speed. Heavenly bodies are composed of a fifth, perfect element: a pure, invisible, glass-like substance (quinta essential)

Question 4

Sublunary or terrestrial realm (Aristotelian-Medieval worldview)

Answer 4

The domain between earth and moon. Imperfect, had corruptible and perishable objects which move in a straight line. Composed of the four elements: water, earth, fire and air.

Question 5

Epicycles (Aristotelian-Medieval worldview)

Answer 5

• Ptolemy (100-170 AD)
• Discovered that planets move in smaller circles (epicycles) in their larger orbit around the earth.

Question 6

Heliocentrism (Aristotelian-Medieval worldview)

Answer 6

• Nicolaus Corpenicus (1473-1543).
• Said that the earth and the other planets revolve around the sun (heliocentrism) and that the daily rising and setting of the sun results from the daily rotation if the earth.
• This publication sparked the Scientific Revolution.

Question 7

The Scientific Revolution (16th-17th century)

Answer 7

• Disruption of an old view due to: 1) Social factors. 2) Theoretical factors. 3) Practical needs.
• Three characteristics: 1) Commitment to the observational method (experiments, facts) instead of books and authority. 2) Universal Mechanics. 3) Universal mathematics.

Question 8

Universal mechanics (Scientific Revolution)

Answer 8

All objects (including our bodies) obey the same laws, these laws of motion / physical laws describe mechanical movements. So the entire world is a big mechanism.

Question 9

Universal mathematics (Scientific Revolution)

Answer 9

When you see the world as mechanism, you can abstract away the colours/smells that they have and focus on the qualities they have that can be measured. We can put numbers on these properties, with which we can start doing calculations.

Question 10

The clockwork universe

Answer 10

Everything in the universe moves according to the same laws. A lot of scientists were religious and thought that God has created this mechanism. So all the beauties we observe within these laws are the work of God. By investigating the world, they had a better understanding of Gods work and contributed to religion.

Question 11

Ellipses

Answer 11

• Johan Kepler
• Planets do not move in perfect circles, but in ellipses. They slow down when further away and speed up when closer by, depending on their distance to the sun.

Question 12

Francis Bacon (1561-1621)

Answer 12

• Empiricist.
• The mind is not a tabula rasa, but an “enchanted glass full of superstitions, apparitions and impostures.” called idols.

Question 13

Idols of the Tribe

Answer 13

• Francis Bacon
• Biases we have because we are part of the human species. Our senses are prone to make mistakes. We tend to focus exclusively on the evidence that supports our cherished convictions (e.g. seeing a face in an object or food).

Question 14

Idols of the Cave

Answer 14

• Francis Bacon.
• Biases we have because we belong to a particular social group or because of the kind of personality we have. Peculiarities of individuals are due to their upbringing and training (education, habit and accident).

Question 15

Idols of the Marketplace

Answer 15

• Francis Bacon
• Biases that have to do with the use of words. The belief that stems from common language, the world that we create by our language. Words can be disconnected from the world of reality.

Question 16

Idols of the Theatre

Answer 16

• Francis Bacon
• Biases that come by adopting certain ideologies that don’t present the world as it is, what they say about the (real) world is theatre. It includes the accepted dogmas and methods of old schools of thought.

Question 17

The New Method by Francis Bacon

Answer 17

• Says science would no longer rely on faith, religion and authority, but be guided by observation and experiment.
• Induction: gather as much empirical data as possible and then formulate theories. Rely on your knowledge (bees), don’t just theorise/transform (spiders) and don’t just gather (ant).