The moon landing of 1969 was a simultaneous example of human ingenuity and human skepticism. There are still those who believe that the moon landing was a concoction of Hollywood special effects and NASA complicity to fool the public into believing that man walked on the moon. This paper will attempt to examine these events from a Cartesian, Humean, and Kantian point of view and try to reconcile these differing opinions. Descartes proposed that “true knowledge is produced by thinking which is reflective, logical, and analytical, independent of our sense experiences in the world” (Chaffee, 2013, p. 257). Hume is regarded as a true skeptic, using a two-pronged approach to the world. Humean thinking uses reason and tries to negate the …show more content…
Hume believed that, in order to be valid, ideas and impressions must stand on their own. Kantian thinkers propose that the mind is an active participant, not passive, and that we actively “select, organize, order, structure, and interpret sensations, shaping them into an intelligible world about which we can develop insight and knowledge” (Chaffee, 2013, p. 321). On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 landed on the moon, marking the first time humans stepped foot on another celestial body. The lunar landing was the culmination of a political and scientific competition between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), coined “The Space Race”. This competition between the world’s superpowers began in the 1950’s when, in 1957, the USSR launched the world’s first man-made satellite, dubbed “Sputnik”, into Earth’s orbit (Wasser, 2005). Sputnik’s launch spurred President John F. Kennedy and his Vice-President and successor Lyndon B. Johnson to fear for the safety and security of the American people. President Kennedy issues his famous challenge that the U. S. would send people to the moon and return them safely to the Earth. This began an influx of funds to spur the scientists at NASA to increase their …show more content…
In this way, followers of Hume could doubt the success of Apollo 11 without disregarding their beliefs. There is a common thought that pictures have a single meaning, especially when in the context of the media postings of a historical event; however, this thought is flawed as it leads one to think that believing is seeing, especially since most people view events in the world through pre-existing experiences and prejudices (Perlmutter, 2008). In short, people believe what they want to believe and two diametrically opposed points of view can occur through the viewing of one particular photo. This difference in understanding would come from the view of the scientific data, photographs of the astronauts planting the American flag on the moon’s surface, as well as the video and voice capturing’s that were taken of the moonwalk. However, those who believe in the conspiracy of a faked landing, point out that the flag appears to be blowing, and since there is no wind on the moon, that would be impossible. This train of thought would lead one to believe that the landing never truly occurred as the media and the government presented it. Kant’s epistemology fuses the logical mind and the senses
Recently, many people believed to have witnessed via a viral video, U.F.O. (unidentified flying object) sighting directly above the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, Israel, yet solid research quickly disproved this occurrence as another contemporary hoax. Sightings such as this one dates back to June 24th, 1947, when Kenneth Arnold reportedly saw a “flying saucer” (Dash). There are many people around the world, who believe wholeheartedly in unidentified flying objects. Moreover, when Mr. Arnold made his claim of seeing a U.F.O., there were many futile arguments between believers and non-believers. Nowadays however, thanks to modern technology, people can record the alleged sighting by means such as video and still picture. In so doing, this allows public opportunity to view and judge via the internet or print media the validity of a U.F.O.
...ary knew about the crash and that they were going to transport the wreckage to another military base. Many eyewitness accounts with similar details eliminate the possibility of merely a single person making up the entire event. The government’s contradictory reports demonstrate that their knowledge of the incident is dynamic and dependent on how they want the people to react. This matter is important because it raises the possibility that if the government is hiding information from the public about a spacecraft accident, there may be other incidents where the government is concealing the truth from the public. Despite the government’s best attempts to cover up the Roswell incident, eyewitness accounts from the common person validate the idea that an unidentified flying object crashed in Roswell, New Mexico and eternally changed the lives of several people.
Once the United States landed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon, it was clear that the U.S. hoaxed the moon landing due to observations being viewed during the live footage of the moon landing. When watching the United States land on the moon, viewers claim to have watched the flag waving on live television. As known, there is no atmosphere in space or on the moon, so why should the flag be waving? NASA clai...
The Soviet’s were responsible for putting man on the moon, rovers on Mars, and launching the Hubble Space Telescope. Indeed, it was the United States’ foes that drove the U.S. to accomplish perhaps the greatest feats of the twentieth century. Following the defeat of Germany and Japan in World War II, tensions between former allies, the United States and the Soviet Union, began to grow. In the following decades, the two superpowers would duke it out in competitions and tremendous shows of nationalism. They formed unmatchable rivalries in politics, economics, sciences, and sports. These rivalries would become clear when two countries competed in the space race, a competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union concerning achievements in the field of space exploration. The Soviet’s took the early lead as they put the first satellite, Sputnik 1, into space. The launch of Sputnik 1 established a sense of fear into the American Public, resulting in the creation of NASA in the late 1950’s which opened the door for space exploration today and for future generations.
The Space Race is remarkably similar to that of the arms race because of the parallel between the creation of the atomic bomb and the goal of reaching the moon. The United States’ bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki effectively established its place as the technologically superior nation; however, major milestones in space achieved early by the Soviets damaged America’s reputation. In 1957, Soviet scientists shocked the world by successfully launching the Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, beyond the Kármán Line (the boundary of space). This amazing breakthrough “rattled American self-confidence. It cast doubts on America’s vaunted scientific superiority and raised some sobering military questions.” This blow to national pride along with the fear that the Soviets could potentially launch ICBMs from space led to “Rocket fever”. The sudden wave of nationalism and the desire to build a space program worthier to that of the Soviet Union led to the...
In the following paper I will argue upon whether the Humes’ or Descartes’ philosophical position on the existence of the external world is stronger than the other. I will first present each philosopher’s position, and then I will argue that Hume has a stronger position on the existence of the external world for the reason in this paper.
There are various reasons people have come up with to try and prove that the moon landing didn’t happen but they all have logical responses. NASA completed what President Kennedy promised six years after he was assassinated. The fact that all six moon landings happened under Nixon’s administration is how the cookie crumbled. People who believe the moon landing is a hoax is accusing NASA of pulling off something so much more complex than actually making it to the moon. We beat the USSR to the moon, there’s no actual proof to be able to deny
Early on in the race, the USSR was very successful. In 1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik, which triggered the start of the space race (John F. Kennedy). The United States began to scramble, trying to catch up with the Soviets. However, soon after, the Soviet Union completed another huge success. They sent the first man to orbit Earth (John F. Kennedy). In 1961 the USSR’s Yuri Gagarin became the first human to ever orbit the Earth (John F. Kennedy). The United States was still unsuccessful and beginning to look weak. After that, America got serious. On May 25, 1961, President Kennedy asked Congress for around eight billion dollars to build up the space program over the next five years (John F. Kennedy). The president declared, “This nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth” (John F. Kennedy).
“On July 16, 1969 the world watched in anticipation as three men were hurtled skyward in a rocket bound for the moon.” (news.nationalgeographic.com). This was the Apollo 11 spacecraft, the first successful manned mission to the moon. This mission was the product of the space race (race to see who would go into outer space first, against the Soviet Union). This goal was set by President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961 and he promised that we would be the first to step on the moon by the end of the decade. The Apollo 11 mission is often cited as the greatest achievement in human history. (news.nationalgeographic.com)
The Roswell incident is one of the most publicized and well-known accounts of a possible UFO crash in the world. Perhaps the greatest evidence that a UFO did indeed crash near Roswell, is the wide scale military cover up that took place after the crash. This along with numerous eyewitness accounts of the crash site, prove that what ever happened in the summer of 1947, was certainly not a normal occurrence.
~"The 1969 Moon Landing: First Humans to Walk on Another World." Science and Its Times. Ed. Neil Schlager and Josh Lauer. Vol. 7. Detroit: Gale, 2001. U.S. History in Context. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
“The Space Race”. Newseum: From the Earth to the Moon. Stories of the Century. 9 March 2010.
The Moon Landing Hoax Conspiracy. (n.d.). Moon Landing Hoax Conspiracy. Retrieved April 27, 2014, from http://www.moonconnection.com/moon_landing_hoax.phtml
Hume's writing posed an interesting starting off point for Kant's theories. As said before, Kant attributes Hume's writing with waking him from his "dogmatic slumber." He recognizes both Hume's intelligence and the validity of his statements. However, he does n...
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” It was July 20 1969, the day that reshaped our nation and gave us unparalleled dreams for the future. The impact of the day goes far beyond our pride and nationalism; that day would change space exploration and technology forever. Just like a shooting star, that day would give us a glimpse of hope. A chance to see an event so breathtaking and defying, it would be man’s greatest accomplishment in the 20th century. As millions of people watched from their TV sets, a rush of euphoria came over the nation as Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the surface of the moon. It was the first time in the history of mankind that we would step on the surface of another celestial body. John F. Kennedy dared us to dream, he inspired the nation to reach for the moon, to set ourselves apart from the rest of the world. The Space Race was symbolic of many things. Our future as the technically dominate nation was secured in place; just as secure as Old Glory would be, when she was driven down into the soil of the moon. We not only reached the moon, we conquered it as a nation; united.