I learned that it is possible to discuss social issues looking into History of Science and vice-versa, and it matters to me because it means that scientists may not be giving enough attention to the History of Science – I was in my 5th semester of College in Brazil and this is the first time I am really looking into History of Science. More like a continuation of my two last papers than only one paper, I made a review with what I learned previously and this last section. If someone would ask me why, I would say that is because I learned that sometimes we can solve the problems of tomorrow looking right back to the past.
During this semester we (the class) have been discussing a lot of current issues pertinent to Science and society just looking into historical aspects of science through papers, book chapters, and web pages, and I think that it played a major role in the list of reasons
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Now that I had one semester of History of Science, I feel that something should change and that all objective classes are worthless without a little influence of humanity. It matters to me because scientists and professors should give more importance to History of Science when forming new scientists; first, because it would avoid falling in the same pitfalls of the past, and second, because more than science, when discussing History, we can reflect about our society, the origin of our problems, and take a good perspective of what is coming next. It is sad to know that women and some “minorities” still do not have the same chances of completing a graduation or reaching a doctorate, but it would be still sadder knowing that no one is talking about it. I am not saying that talking about it will solve anything, but it is, for sure, the first step towards changing. Words have power, it is true, but it was those with action who wrote
science has been studied for a very long time, and one of the most famous
From what has been discussed in class and from what society has taught me, there are more men in science. According to my results, I heavily associate men with science and women with liberal arts. I find this conclusion to be true because I’ve had my own experiences with these results. As a young student, my math and science classes were much more competitive and, as a female, I had to be better than not only the
A nobel prize winning, architect of the atomic bomb, and well-known theoretical physicist, Professor Richard P. Feynman, at the 1955 autumn meeting of the National Academy of science, addresses the importance of science and its impact on society. Feynman contends, although some people may think that scientists don't take social problems into their consideration, every now and then they think about them. However he concedes that, because social problems are more difficult than the scientific ones, scientist don’t spend too much time resolving them (1). Furthermore he states that scientist must be held responsible for the decisions they make today to protect the future generation; also they have to do their best, to learn as much as possible,
...vercome, there is more of a chance to capture such great discoveries. People need to realize that if they never take the time to stop and look around, appreciate the small things in life, they might miss out on important details and or moments that the world has to offer. Scientist didn’t obtain their greatest discoveries by looking at the world with a closed mind. During the months of September through Novemeber, the leaves start to fall off the trees. It is obvious its fall, but what else is occurring? Gravity. Albert Einstein discovered gravity by watching and ordinary object fall. At that moment he became a scientific unscrupulous observer.
Dr. Michael Shermer is a Professor, Founder of skeptic magazine, and a distinguished and brilliant American science writer to say the least. In His book The Moral Arc: How Science Makes Us Better People he sets out to embark on the daunting task of convincing and informing the reader on sciences’ ability to drives the expansion of humanity and the growth of the moral sphere. Although such a broad and general topic could be hard to explain, Shermer does so in a way that is concise, easy to understand, and refreshing for the reader. This novel is riddled with scientific facts, data, and pictures to back up shermers claims about the history of science, humanity and how the two interact with one another.
In “The Nature and Necessity of Scientific Research” it says, “they are the source of the methods, problem-field, and standards of solution accepted by any mature scientific community at any given time.” These new discoveries can lead then to advancements and as a result can lead them to build a better society. Human beings will be able to reconstruct a better institutional framework which will bring them a prosperous and happy
Science has played a significant role in the development of society. Other world views, such as Hum...
Prior to the 1990’s, the problem of scientific objectivity was a question many philosophers tried to grapple with. Initially, the Logical Positivist’s view of scientific objectivity was most popular. They held to the belief that science was overall objective because of the distinction between the “context of discovery” and “context of justification,” which still allowed for science to contain some subjective elements (Longino 172). Basically, Positivist’s allowed for subjective qualities, such as mental makeup of scientists and values scientist brought in to their scientific work, by stating that the initial formulation or “discovery” of hypothesis/theories included subjective qualities. However, these subjective characteristics were negated by the fact that when investigating theories scientists focused on comparing their hypothesis to observable consequences in an empirical and objective manor (“context of justification). Thus, this allowed the Positivist’s to “acknowledge the play of subjective factors in initial development of hypotheses and theories while guaranteeing that their acceptance [is] determined not by subjective preferences but by observed reality” (Longino 172). However, although this theory was popular for some period of time, a philosopher by the name of Helen Longino approached the problem of scientific objectivity in a different way. She believed that science was a social practice that involved the inevitable input of various subjective factors such as scientist’s values, beliefs, etc… when performing their work. However, she goes on to say that what made science objective was the process in which scientist performed their work. She essentially thought that if the process in which scientist gained knowledge wa...
As a child, the history of the world always fascinated me. Whether it was as far back to the first civilizations, or even the more modern events of the last century, I loved it. It was not until I was trying to decide what major I would follow that I realized just how much I wanted to be a part of the historical process.
Over the course of the semester, I feel that I have grown as a writer in many ways. When I came into the class, there were skills I had that I already excelled at. During my time in class, I have come to improve on those skills even more. Before I took this class I didn’t even realise what I was good at. This is the first class where I felt I received feedback on my writing that helped me to actually review my work in see what areas I lacked in and where I succeeded. Some of the skills I had shocked me as I didn’t think I had those capabilities in me.
This essay will discuss differences in motives which have driven ancient and modern science, arguing that 17th century alterations of power structures led to the ultimate division between modern and ancient science and the eruption of modern science as it is today. Comparisons will be drawn regarding knowledge accessibility, prevailing philosophies and ideologies, and the relationship between science and the church.
“The well-being of every person on this planet is inextricably tied to the quality of our common life,” at first, I was very confused as to what the following sentence was saying but having spent some time thinking about it, I completely agree. This statement is saying that the personal choices we make every day impact those around us and I think this is very true. The thought of my personal choices affecting those around me is scary because I wouldn’t want to be the one to harm others. If someone had asked me this before taking Core 5, I would have most likely said no the statement above is not true. However, after hearing many lectures and doing all of the readings I can say that our choices, no matter how big or how small, can affect others in more ways than I had thought possible.
Humbled at last by his enemies, the father of modern science wasn’t wholly subdued. His discoveries impacted the world as we see it. Without his sacrifice and motive to fight for what he believed in, we wouldn’t be as advanced as we are today in modern science. Although society advanced by increased knowledge, having more scientific answers, and increased new developments because of the freedom to deviate from established theories, there were some negative effects. Society had lost their innocence and belief in their traditional faith. Galileo’s battle against the Church was worthwhile for generations to come. Without his inventions, theories, or introduction to the concept of theory experimenting, the world of modern science wouldn’t exist as we know it today.
If we have learned anything at all about the uses of science in the second half of this century, it is that it has had an unmistakable influence on contemporary trends and outcomes. Science has helped to make the world smaller, spatially, and larger, numerically. It has multiplied our choices and scaled up our risks. Based on science we have put humans into space and opened a new arena for warfare. Science has illuminated human beginnings and shaken age-old postulates about human worth and destiny. Science has unlocked material abundance and laid new burdens on irreplaceable resources. It has expanded human potential and dramatized human limits. It has advanced clarity and magnified uncertainty. It has penetrated the deepest reaches of knowledge and held a world hostage on the edge of crisis.
As it becomes evident from historical observations, research was creation of the curiosity which is caused by the human nature. A lot of the discoveries that occurred in the ancient years were achieved by luck. After that they acquired experience and skills to explore more and more for new achievements. The acute interest on discovering new methods and ideas gave answers to questions which faced the society of each period. All this doubts could not be answered on their own. Some people had to make researches on specific subjects, they had to observe them and after a lot of work on it they had to present the result. They got experience on resolving problems of humanity and so science appeared. Nowadays, science is involved in every aspect of our life, even in subjects that we can not imagine. We can meet remarkable examples of scientific achievements in technology and also in society but they will be analyzed in the next chapters.