Problem 2 Flashcards
Scientific revolution
Refers to the series of discoveries, that enhanced the status of science in the 17th century
–> involved Copernicus, Galilei, Descartes, Newton
Which were the 5 main revelations of the scientific revolution ?
- The earth is NOT the CENTRE of the universe
- Many things can be explained as MACHINES
- Many movements of the earth + universe can be described using simple MATHEMATICAL EQUATIONS
- Not all knowledge had been known in ancient times
- -> awareness that there was still a lot to be discovered - Scientific thinking should be based on EXPERIMENTATION
What lead to a renewed interest in the motions of the earth ?
The need for an improved calendar, which resulted in a replacement of the Julian calendar by the Gregorian calendar
–> the julian calendar underestimated the length of the year by 11 min
Geocentric universe
Aristotle, Ptolemy
A model of the universe in which the earth is at the centre
- -> used to calculate Gregorian calendar
- -> dominant until the 17th century
- -> matched well with views of catholic church
What is the key problem of the Aristotelian/Geocentric Universe ?
The movement of the stars is not fixed as suggested.
Epicycles
Refer to small cycles made by the wandering stars in addition to their main orbit around the earth
–> solution to key problem
Heliocentric model (Copernicus)
A model of the universe in which the sun is at the centre
- one turn if the earth around the sun takes a year
- earth spins around its axis in one day, causing the alternation of day, night + movement of fixed stars
–> Newtonian worldview is a refined version of this
Why did Copernicus wait to publish his model ?
- He was afraid of the response he’d get from the Catholic church which was his employer
- His evidence for his model wasn’t strong enough
–> he published it in 1543 shortly before his death
When did the Heliocentric model get a lot of impetus ?
When Galilei made his observations with his telescope and realized that the Heliocentric model was much more likely
Which observations did Galilei make with his telescope ?
- More stars in universe than visible to naked eyes
- Surface of the moon isn’t smooth
- Jupiter has 4 orbiting moons
- The distances of Mars and Venus to the earth change over time
How did the Catholic church respond to Galilei’s attempts to commercialize the Heliocentric model ?
- Galilei received warnings to stop defending this model + copernicus book was prohibited
- After in 1632 Galilei published a book where a character defends the model, he was summoned to rome to be put under house arrest for the rest of his life
Why did Galilei receive a particularly strong rebuttal from the Vatican ?
- It didn’t want to be seen as weak
- Galilei ridiculed the church in his book
- Not everyone in the church disagreed with Galilei’s views
Did the fact that Galilei was thrown in Jail lead to the fact that the Heliocentric model was simply forgotten ?
No,
it had the opposite effect,
- -> rapidly dominated astronomy
- -> this is why it is generally seen as the TURNING POINT in the advancement of SCIENCE
Galileo Galilei
Was an italian scholar of the 17th century who was famous for his contributions to
a) astronomy
b) physics
c) technology
Which factors contributed to the scientific revolution ?
- Demographic changes
- Absence of a repressive religion
- New inventions
- More availability of texts from the Greek + Arab civilizations
- Existence of Universities
How did DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES contribute to scientific revolution ?
- Europes population nearly halved, leading to new growth
- A new group called “Merchants” formed a link between the handworkers + the intellectual elite
–> closed the former gap and allowed those two groups to work together
How did the ABSENCE OF A REPRESSIVE RELIGION contribute to scientific revolution ?
The churches power/authority diminished due to
- 2 Popes being in office simultaneously
- Matin Luther starting the Protestant reformation
- -> wich limited the impact of the actions against Galilei
Which NEW INVENTIONS contributed to scientific revolution ? How ?
- Bookprinting + Paper
- -> more availability of info - Mechanical clock
- -> could be used for experiments - Compass, Telescope, Microscope
- -> ability to see things that hadn’t been visible to naked eye
How did UNIVERSITIES contribute to scientific revolution ?
- Provided a place for natural philosophers
- Conveyed the message that the pursuit of knowledge is important + necessary
–> BUT: criticized for being to conservative (scholastic method, old philosophical texts)
How did the SCRIPTS from GREEK + ARAB CIVILIZATIONS contribute to scientific revolution ?
- Translation of Archimedes books prepared the ground for the MATHEMATIZATION of the world
- Revelation that the world consists of atoms moving in space
According to Cohen, which factor leads to major breakthroughs ?
The interaction of two civilizations
–> this creates a fluidity + dynamism in which new ideas can grow
ex.: greek + roman civilizations
Which factors helped the growth of science ?
- Absence of disaster
e. g.: wars etc. - Protestant reformation
- -> protestants encouraged to study science in addition to Bible - Establishment of learned societies
- -> place for natural ph. to meet regularly + share ideas
Natural Philosopher
Term used for learned men interested in sciences, + later “men of science”
–> first called “scientists” in 1833
Science
Was associated with knowledge that depended on reasoning
–> can be represented as either instrumentality or natural philosophy, not both simultaneously
Aristotles + Platos view on scientific knowledge
Scientific knowledge cannot be built on observation alone because perception is
a) deceptive
b) volatile
Descartes view on scientific knowledge
The divine soul had innate knowledge which could be made explicit by thinking
–> minimized the significance of sensory experiences (Perceptual mistrust)
Francis Bacon
Was a natural philosopher
–> the adoption of his research methods was the reason why science became so successful from the 17th century
Which were Bacons main notions ?
- The interaction between Perception + reasoning is required to provide progress
- OBSERVATION + INDUCTIVE reasoning are much more important in science than acknowledged by aristotle
According to Bacon Observations have to be … ?
- Constantly accompanied by reasoning + understanding
- Systematic
- Supplemented by experimental histories
- ->
Experimenta Lucífera
Clarifying experiments to determine the true causes of phenomena
–> light bringing experiment (natural philosophy)
How do observations + clarifying experiments result in deeper understandings according to Bacon ?
Natural philosophers go from PARTICULARS (observation) to AXIOMS (conclusion) which in turn will lead to new Particulars
Axioms
Refers to a statement that is so evident or well-established, that it is accepted without controversy or question
Crucial instance
Occurs when an observation or clarifying experiment may even decide between 2 alternative explanations
Deductive reasoning
Rationalism
Refers to a logical process in which a conclusion is based on the concordance of multiple premises that are generally assumed to be true
- -> top-down logic
- -> from general to specific
Inductive reasoning
Empiricism
Starts from observation + tries to reach general conclusions on the basis of convergences in the observations
- -> bottom-up logic
- -> from specific to a general
ex.: used to make predictions
In which way did Bacon criticize Aristotle ?
- Aristotle failed to integrate his observations + theoretical knowledge
- Observations should be used to formulate + evaluate axioms
Natural History
The process of careful observation + formulation of lower and middle axioms through inductive reasoning
Experimental History
Natural philosopher extracts the truth from nature by active manipulation + examining the consequences of the intervention
–> NO PASSIVE OBSERVATION
Critical Experiment
Hooke
Experiment that was able to determine decisively whether a particular hypothesis or theory was better than its alternatives
What were 5 positive outcomes of the industrial revolution ?
- Mechanical Devices increased the production of goods
- Longer life expectancy
- Better health
- More literate
- More knowledge about the world
Which impact did science have on peoples standing in society ?
A scientific career became a means of upward mobility
–> individual capacities were more important than the class one came from
What were the 3 factors that hindered historians awareness of the impact of science on society ?
- Historians did not feel much affinity with science
- Accumulation of scientific knowledge seemed like a slow process, with no exciting twists + turns
- Not clear whether the developments were steps forward or steps without a direction
Why did science historians increase in importance ?
- Sarton - Founder of the “History of Science Society”
- Increased attractiveness of the topic due to the notion “Scientific revolution”
–> the term tended to bias peoples perception
Core beliefs
Cannot be changed without a dramatic change
ex.: In Aristotles worldview the belief that the earth is the centre cannot be changed, because then his whole theory would crumble
Periphery beliefs
Can easily be changed
ex.: In Aristotles worldview the belief that there are 5 Planets can easily be changed as it doesn’t affect his core beliefs/Theory
In which way can the Aristotelian + Newtonian worldview be seen as a Jigsaw puzzle ?
All pieces of the puzzle/Core beliefs fit perfectly to form an interlocking, consisted system
–> BUT: Both beliefs differ as they have different core + periphery beliefs
In which way can our own worldview be seen as a jigsaw puzzle ?
We hold onto our beliefs because it fits into a well established interlocking, consisted system (Jigsaw puzzle)
–> even though we only have direct evidence for a small number of our beliefs
Instrumentality
The practical efficiency as evidence for the truth
- -> theories are believed when they “work”
- -> applying the knowledge provided by its natural philosophy
Science
Refers to the mix of natural philosophy + instrumentality
–> can be represented being either, not both at the same time
Natural philosophy: Description of the natural world
Instrumentality: Account of how to do something
Teleology
Aristotle
Behaviors in the natural world were made intelligible by understanding them as processes directed towards a goal
- -> explanation of natural phenomena
- -> basis for all of Aristoteles universe
ex.: a dog runs toward meat because he wants to eat
What were Galileo, Descartes + Newtons views/explanations of natural phenomena ?
Mechanical explanation:
Everything in the world can be explained according to the mechanisms of a clock
–> found Teleology to make no sense and ridiculed it
Descartes
Mechanistic view
–> said that there was a distinction between reality and appearance
What are the 4 Characteristics of modern science ?
- Accepts no authority
- Experimental
- Mechanistic views
4 Mathematization of phenomenons
