THE SCIENTIFIC VIEW OF THE WORLD Flashcards
Which of the following best describes the use of the inductive method, as described by Francis Bacon?
A. Consult established scientific opinion and formulate a philosophical system based on it.
B. Begin with a mathematical principle and draw inferences from it.
C. Begin by making observations and then draw conclusions from them.
D. Begin with self-evident truths and draw inferences from them.
E. Advance learning by comparisons, analogies, and insights.
C. Begin by making observations and then draw conclusions from them.
“This is what I see and what troubles me. I look on all sides and I see only darkness everywhere. Nature presents to me nothing which is not a matter of doubt and concern. It is incomprehensible that God should exist and that God should not exist.”
The quotation above expresses the view of
A. Pascal B. Newton C. Bacon D. Galileo E. Hobbes
A. Pascal
The work of Isaac Newton is best viewed as the culmination of the work of which of the following scientists?
A. Vesalius and Paracelsus B. Kepler and Galileo C. Bacon and Boyle D. Descartes and Leibniz E. Cardano and Pascal
B. Kepler and Galileo
“We must, however, acknowledge, as it seems to me, that man with all his noble qualities, with sympathy which feels for the most debased, with benevolence which extends not only to other men but to the humblest living creature, with his godlike intellect which has penetrated into the movements and constitution of the solar system—with all these exalted powers—Man still bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin.”
The passage above reflects the thinking of which of the following?
A. Albert Einstein B. Sigmund Freud C. Karl Marx D. Charles Darwin E. Henri de Saint-Simon
D. Charles Darwin
The most important figures in the change to the scientific way of thinking were ..?
Descartes and Bacon.
What was Descartes’ method of scientific thinking?
He presented the notion of deductive reasoning, that is, to
start with a premise and to then discard evidence that doesn’t support the premise
What did Sir Francis Bacon believe?
He suggested that instead of using deductive reasoning, people should use inductive reasoning - in other words, they
should gather evidence and then reach a conclusion based on the evidence. This line of thought also became known as the Scientific Method.
What started the scientific revolution?
began with discoveries in astronomy, most importantly dealing
with the concept of a solar system.
These discoveries generated controversy, and some were
forced by church authorities to recant their theories.
This scientist, using mathematics and visual observations with only the naked eye, developed the Heliocentric3 Theory of the Universe, stating that the Earth revolves around the sun.
Copernicus
This scientist created a mass of scientific data on astronomy during his lifetime; although he made no major contributions to science, he laid the groundwork for Kepler’s discoveries.
Tycho Brahe (1546-1601)
This scientist was a student of Brahe. He used Brahe’s body of data to write his Three Laws of Planetary Motion, most significantly noting that planets’ orbits are elliptical instead of circular.
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
This scientist was generally given credit for invention of the telescope; although the device itself is
not of his design, he was the first to use it for astronomy. With this tool, he proved the Copernican Theory of the Universe.
He spread news of his work through letters to friends and colleagues. Although the Church forced him to recant his ideas and spend the rest of his life under house arrest, his
works had already been published and could not be disregarded.
Galileo Galilei
Often considered the greatest scientific mind in history. His Principia Mathematica (1687) includes his Law of Gravity, an incredibly ground-breaking study.
His work destroyed the old notion of an Earth-centered universe.
He also had a great influence outside of science. For example, he was to become the hero of Thomas Jefferson.
Sir Isaac Newton
He studied human cadavers, a practice forbidden by church doctrine. His writing The Structure of the Human Body in 1543 renewed and modernized the study of the human
body
Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564)
wrote On the Movement of the Heart and Blood in 1628, on the circulatory system. He was a doctor and an anatomist.
William Harvey
