fundamentals exam 1 Flashcards
preliterate civilisation
civilisation before writing was invented
animism
explanation of the workings of the world and hte universe by means of spirits with human-like characteristics
pictogram
info conveying sign that consists of a pictureresemblig the person animal or object it represents
phonogram
sign that represents a sound or a syllable of spoken language;forms the basis of wriiting systems
logograph
sign representing a spoken word, whch no longer has a physical resemblance to the words meaning
scholastic method
study method in which students unquestioningly memorise and recite texts that are thought to convey unchanging truths
place coding system
system in which meaning of a sign not ony depends on its form but also on its position in a string
fertile crescent
region in the middle east with a high level of civilisation around 3000 BCE; included the ancient mesopotamian and the ancient egyptian civilisations
dark ages
name given in the renaissance to the middle ages, to refer to the lack of independent and scientific thinking in that age
renaissance
cultural mvement from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century based on a rediscovery and imitation of the classical greek and roman civilizations
protestant reformation
movement against the roman catholic church, which was important for the development of science, because it emphasised the need for education, critical thinking, hard work and wordly success
zeitgeist
word used in the history of science to indicate that the time was right for a certain discovery; the discovery did not originate from a single genius, but from a much wider development leading to the discovery
matthew effect
the tendency to give more credit to well-known scientist than they deserve, increases the perceived impact of these scientist
scientific revolution
name given to a series of discoveries in the seventeenth century, involving galilei descartes and newton that enhanced the stats of science in society
geocentric universe
model of the universe in which the earth is at the centre; was dominant until the seventeenth century
heliocentric model
model of the universe in which the sun is at the centre
dualism
view of the mind-body relation accoding to which the mind is immaterial and completely indpeendent of the body; central within religions and also in descartes philoshopy
mechanistic view
world view according to which everything in the material universe can be undertood as a complicated machine; discards the notion that things have goals and intentions as assumed by the animistic view; identified with descartes
principa mathematica
book in which newton presented his laws of physics 1687; consdered to be the primary reason for the increased status of science
deductive reasoning
form of reasoning in which one starts from observations and tries to reach general conclusions on the basis of convergences in the observations
inductive reasoning
form of reasoning in which one starts from observations and tries to reach general conclusions on the basis of convergences in the observations; is needed in science to turn observed phenomena into scientific laws, but does not guarantee that the conclusions are true
experimental history
method introduced by bacon in which th enatural philosopher extracts the truth from nature by active manipulation and examining the consequences in the intervention
industrial revolution
name to refer to the socioeconomic and cultural changes in the 19th century caused by the invention of machines; involved, among other things, the replacement of the labour of peasants and craftsmen by mass production in factories and the resulting massive relocation form the countryside to the towns
age of Enlightenment
name given to the western philosophy and cultural life of the 18th century, in which autonomous thinking and observation became advocated as the primary sources of knowledge, rather than reliance on authority