Exam 1 Flashcards
What is science?
(1) an organized, systematized body of knowledge
derived from observation and study that seeks to
determine the nature and principles of what is being
studied
(2)The system of inquiry that leads to the
accumulation of such knowledge
What is philosophy?
a rational, systematic inquiry of the truths and
principles of being, value, or knowledge
Who came up w/ the 3 classical divisions of philosophy?
Aristotle
What are the 3 classical divisions of philosophy?
1.) Ontology or Metaphysics
2.) Ethics
3.) Epistemology
What is ontology?
-inquiries into existence/being
-what is “real” / not “real”?
-“do we exist?”
-*this subdivision does not existence in “science”
What is Ethics?
- inquiries regarding value or conduct
- what is “right/wrong”?
- good/bad
- moral/immoral
-*this subdivision does not existence in “science”
What is Epistemology?
- inquiries into knowledge
- “how is knowledge acquired?”
- “what can we know, and what can we not know?”
- contains 3 subdivisions (physics, mathematics, theology)
What is physics?
the study of Nature; the source of knowledge is empirical inquiry (experience)
What is mathematics?
the study of numbers; the source of knowledge is rational
inquiry (reason)
What is theology
the study of the divine realm; the source of knowledge is
revelation (authority)
Bacon’s division of epistemology
“Sacred” knowledge
“Secular” knowledge
What is Bacon’s “sacred” knowledge?
- “Divine” philosophy
- Realm: supernatural, immaterial world
- Knowledge is not discernible
- Source of knowledge: revelation (authoritarian)
- Acceptance of knowledge: faith
What is Bacon’s “secular” knowledge?
- Natural philosophy (sciences) and Human philosophy(humanities)
- Realm: natural, material world
- Knowledge is discernible
- Sources of knowledge: reason & experience
- Acceptance of knowledge: Science; “objective” knowledge (through evidence) & Humanities; “subjective” knowledge (through experience)
How did “science” start?
- Early humans noted obvious patterns in nature, e.g., day/night cycle; seasons; rocks fall, never rise
- But there are enough unpredictable events (earthquakes,
storms, eclipses, etc.) that nature was typically viewed as
disorganized and unpredictable (Greek, chaos, disorder)
Thales of Miletus
- Mathematician, philosopher, and scientist (predicted an eclipse using past reported eclipses)
Thales’ philosophical tenets of the natural sciences…
1.) “Nature” – the physical universe is real and the
natural phenomena we observe are really occurring
2.) Nature is inherently ordered and follows uniform
and immutable natural laws
3.) These natural laws can be discerned and understood
through experience and reason.
4.) Natural phenomena have natural, not supernatural,
causes
The aims of science are to discern:
- Order out of apparent disorder
- Relationships among apparently unrelated
phenomena - Patterns where no patterns are obvious
- Predictability from the apparently unpredictability
- Simplicity out of apparent complexity
Natural phenomena vs.
our explanation of them
- There is a distinction between an observed natural
phenomenon and our description or explanation of
what it is or what is happening. - Our scientific descriptions or explanations of natural
phenomena are called theories. - Theory – a scientifically acceptable description or
explanation of a natural phenomenon
What are some theories of solar eclipses
- A solar eclipse is caused by
a huge celestial dragon
eating the sun. - A solar eclipse is caused by
the moon passing between
the sun and the earth,
blocking the view of the sun
from the Earth.
Why are not all explanations or theories “scientific”?
Because in order for a theory to be “scientific” it must conform to all basic tenets of “science” / “science theory”. Meaning it must invoke only ‘natural’ and never ‘supernatural’ causes.
What is a theory?
an “scientific” explanation of a natural
phenomenon
What are two “theories” of how the sun goes across the sky?
Theory 1: The sun god Helios pulls the sun across the sky every day with his chariot.
Theory 2: The sun is attached to a great crystalline sphere that rotates around the earth once per day.
Assume you have two (or more) different theories
(explanations) of a given phenomenon. How do you
know which one is the better explanation?
Any proposed scientific explanation (theory) must
be subject to an independent, objective test – the
results of which either tend to support the theory or
lead to its falsification and rejection.
Who came up with the scientific method?
Francis Bacon
What is the scientific method?
The standard method by which a theory, or a
component of a theory, is put through an independent,
objective test.
What are the two types of reasoning?
Deduction and Inductive
What is deduction?
- From a general premise, one can reach a specific conclusion.
- “All dogs are animals. Therefore this dog is an animal.”
- The conclusion does not contain more information than the premise, so if the premise is true then the conclusion cannot be false. Conversely, a false conclusion means that the premise is not true.
What is induction?
- From specific examples, one can infer a general conclusion.
- “Every crow ever seen was black. Therefore crows are black.”
- The conclusion contains more information than the premise, so there is the possibility that the conclusion is false.
What are the steps of the scientific method?
- Observations – gather information, collective experience, etc.
- Using induction, organize the mass of individual observations to infer a general pattern.From this general understanding, formulate a hypothesis. Hypothesis – an
“educated guess,” a tentative but usually specific statement that can be put to a logical or empirical test. - From the hypothesis, use deduction to make a prediction about the result of a particular test, i.e., an “if, then” statement using deduction.
- Test the hypothesis by independent observation or controlled experiment.
- Conclusion: Did the results of the test support or not support the hypothesis? Is the hypothesis, therefore, rejected or not rejected?
What does the scientific method demonstrate?
ONLY failures or falseness, which are easier to demonstrate than “success” or “truth.” A “successful” test might mean only that you have not yet come upon a falsification.
Thus, a theory or hypothesis may be demonstrated to be false, but cannot be definitively demonstrated to be true. A theory is merely “accepted” until a better one is demonstrated
The basis of “truth” in science is:
- The “evidence.”
- Because science is based on objective knowledge (the natural system is what it is), scientific explanations must
match the evidence of what can be determined in the natural system. - The burden in coming to a “scientific consensus” is to make the “definitive” observations or experiments so that
all differing theories yield to the one that best matches the evidence, which becomes the “accepted” theory.
“Truth” in science is NOT determined by:
- “Majority rules” – how many people believe something to be true does not make it true
- Some “compromise” between two opposing theories.
- Whether people like or dislike the results, theories, laws, etc.
- Nonscientific sources of knowledge, e.g., religious sources
- Once the scientific consensus settles on an “accepted” theory, alternate theories are not allotted “equal time”
in some interest of “fairness.”
Characteristics of a “Good” Theory
- Accuracy – in demonstrated agreement with all previous
observations, adequately explains the phenomena, and correctly predicts the outcome of future events. - Consistency – free of internal contradictions and does not
contradict currently accepted relevant theories - Scope – descriptive and explanatory breadth, with applications that go far beyond what it was designed to explain
- Simplicity – imposes order and organization, shows parsimony, makes as few assumptions as possible; see Ockham’s Razor. (“Essentials do not increase beyond necessity.”)
- Fruitfulness – goes beyond known phenomena to disclose new phenomena, gives rise to new, further discoveries and theories.
What is a hypothesis?
the “weakest” or more most tentative statement, little more than an educated guess, but capable of being put to an objective test, usually developed by deduction of a specific application of a component of a theory.
What is law in “science”?
the most “precise” or definitive statement, often but not always an expression of quantitative relationship among
components, held to be absolute and invariable. A theory may (or may not) contain within it one or more laws.
What is an example of a “disproved” scientific law?
Bode’s Law
Interrelated concepts that are not synonymous….
Philosophy, science, technology, engineering
What is technology?
the creation and use of material objects for
improved sustenance and comfort.
What is engineering?
the application of materials and energy for the
construction of useful structures, machines, etc.
Aspects of Greek political and cultural background
that contributed to their originating “science”
- Geographic location (Miletus) allowed exposure to many
cultures, ideas, and belief systems, providing a vast pool of
knowledge and experience to draw from. - A sense that the universe and their gods were more beneficent than the gods of the Near East civilizations.
- A politically fractured collection of small city-states made it
difficult for one man to establish absolute power. This
encouraged individual initiative and ideas. - Universally applicable laws in the political realm – more
powerful than any individual and not subject to random change
– had analogies in nature.
Why was there no ‘known’ mathematician/astronomer in ancient Egypt or Babylon?
Because individual author’s did not try to receive any credit for themselves. There was not a sense of individualism like the Greeks had
What are the two sources of knowledge?
Rationalism (Pythagoras and Plato) and Empiricism (Anaxagoras and Aristotle)
What is Rationalism?
the principle that the ultimate source of knowledge is reason.
– The beginnings of rationalism are discerned in the
investigative approach of the Pythagoreans.
– Pythagoras: “It is by number and proportion that the world
becomes known.”
What is empiricism?
the principle that the ultimate source of knowledge is experience.
– The beginnings of empiricism are discerned in the work of
Anaxagoras of Athens: “The visible is the key to what is
not visible.”
What are the theorems of Thales? (ancient mathematics)
- Any angle inscribed in a semicircle is a right angle.
- A circle is bisected by its diameter.
- The base angles of an isosceles triangle are equal.
- If two straight lines intersect, the opposite angles are equal.
- The sides of similar triangles are proportional.
- Two triangles are congruent if they have one side and two adjacent angles, respectively, equal.
Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans
“We come to know the world through number
and proportion.”
- Pythagorean theorem
a2 + b2 = c2 - Harmonics
- The five “perfect” solids
- Irrational numbers
– But . . . how can irrational numbers exist in a
rational universe?
Platos view of mathematics?
- “Arithmetic has a very great and elevating effect, compelling the soul to reason about abstract number, and rebelling against the introduction of visible or tangible objects to the argument.”
- “He is unworthy as a man who does not know that the
diagonal of a square is incommensurable with its side.”
Axioms of Euclid (“Common notions”)
- Things that are equal to the same thing are equal to each
other. - If equals are added to equals, the wholes are equal.
- If equals are subtracted from equals, the remainders are equal.
- Things that coincide with one another are equal to one
another. - The whole is greater than the part.
Postulates of Euclid
- Only one straight line passes through any two points.
- A finite straight line is contained within any infinite
straight line. - A circle may be described by any center and a radius.
- All right angles are congruent.
- (“The Parallel Postulate.”) Given a straight line and a point not on the line, there is only one straight line through the point that is parallel to the first line.
Greek “physics”
More wide-ranging than “physics” today, encompassed the study of virtually all natural phenomena, including the modern areas of:
–Astronomy (heavenly bodies)
–Physics (characteristics of earthly objects)
–Geology (description of the Earth)
–Chemistry (properties of substances)
–Biology (descriptions of animals and plants)
High points of Greek astronomy
Parmenides
– Earth is a sphere, Moon shines by reflected light from Sun
Empedocles and Anaxagoras
– Moon causes solar eclipses
Eudoxus and Callimachus
– First geocentric model of universe (see Ptolemy, later)
Aristarchus
– Heliocentric model of universe
Eratosthenes
– Calculated circumference of Earth with astonishing accuracy
What were the two descriptions of the universe Aristotle had?
“Sublunary World”
“Superlunary World”
What is a sublunary world according to Aristotle?
- Everything below the orbit of the Moon
- Earth, water, air, fire
- Imperfect, ever-changing, perishable
– “Imperfect” motion included noncircular, non-uniform
motion that tends to stop
What is a superlunary world according to Aristotle?
- The Moon and everything above it
- Aether (or ether)
- Perfect, unchanging, imperishable
– “Perfect” motion is circular, continuous motion at uniform
velocity
