About 25 centuries ago, the first Greek Philosopher Thales of Miletus (624-560 B.C.) replaced mythology with a set of theories that constituted a more systematic and realistic view of nature. Empirical propositions based to some extent on observations about the world were characteristic of Thales' "Ionic Natural Philosophy", and provided the first clues to how a physical system might be modeled. This genesis of scientific conjecture was for Thales the search for knowledge; the development of the scientific method; the adoption of practical methods, and their development into general utilitarian principles. Thales had a conjectural approach to defining the reality of natural phenomena. As such, he conceived the principle of explaining the multitude of phenomena by a small number of hypotheses for all manifestations of matter.
There was no distinction between the natural sciences and philosophy at Thales' Milesian school of thought. The man who sought the material principle of things would also hold tentative insights into the natural world. Thales introduced generalizations about a set of facts or principles (such as the connection between celestial movements with certain geometric laws), that formed the basis for future experiments to confirm their viability. Proclus proclaimed that "Thales first went to Egypt and thence introduced geometry into Greece. He discovered many propositions himself, and instructed his successors in the principles underlying many others, his method of attacking problems had greater generality in some cases and was more in the nature of simple inspection and observation in other cases."
This "deductive science", or the process of deriving suppositions and mathematical statements from observation b...
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...ales of Miletus, one of the seven wise men, was the first to undertake this study of physical philosophy. He said that the principle and the end of all things is water, and all things are movable and in a fluid state, the character of the compound being determined by the nature of the principle from which it springs". Nietzsche, in his publication "Philosophy in the Tragic Age of the Greeks", commented on this universality, where "Greek philosophy seems to begin with an absurd notion, with the proposition that water is the primal origin of all things. Is it really necessary for us to take serious notice of this proposition? It is for three reasons: first, because it tells us something about the primal origin of all things; second, because it does so in language devoid of fable, and finally, because contained in it is the primary thought that, 'all things are one.'"
The Archaic Greek philosophers created the concept of natural philosophy, which means practicing philosophy and science before the understanding of modern sc. In Classical Greece, philosophy focused on man’s position in society, instead of the natural world. Also Classical Grecians were devoted to epistemology (philosophy of knowledge and cognition), right conduct, and ethics. Although in the Archaic age, their philosophers questioned the power and presence of the gods. As well as a world, where natural processes operated and man’s mind was able to understand. While the Classical Greek age continued, Thales created the philosophy of materialism, and Pythagoras cultivated idealism.
... middle of paper ... ... We can trace the origins of modern scientific trends back to Greek primal establishment. From the simplistic Socratic approach of ‘Who am I?’
Plato was born in Athens, Greece around 427 B.C. He was always interested in politics, until he witnessed his mentor and teacher, Socrates, death. After learning of the callousness of politics, Plato changed his mind and eventually opened up The Academy, which is considered if not the first, one of the first Universities. Students at the Academy studied many different fields of science, including biological and astronomical. The students also studied many other fields, such as math. Plato developed many views that were mathematical in nature. He expressed these views through his writings. According to Dr. Calkins of Andrew University, "Timaeus is probably the most renowned of Plato's thirty-five dialogues. [In it] Plato expresses that he believes that the heavenly bodies are arranged in perfect geometric form. He said that because the heavens are perfect, the various heavenly bodies move in exact circles." (Calkins 1). Of course that is a much summarized view of what Plato discusses in Timaeus, but still a solid view on Plato's beliefs about cosmology. Cosmology can be loosely defined as everything being explained and in its place or beautiful. The cosmos is beautiful because everything is perfect. Plato understood that when he defined the most perfect geometric design as the circle. In a circle one line is always equidistance from one point. In Plato's universe there are two realms, eternity and time. The factor that creates "time" out of the chaos of "eternity" is the Demiurge. Plato's Demiurge can be defined as an architect creator theological entity. The importance of the Demiurge in this paper is to compare and contrast him with Boethius's God in The Consolation of Philosophy.
Reasoning is used all the time, humans use evidence of someone, something or personal experiences through time to reach a logical conclusion and accept it. In science, there are two methods of reasoning in which scientist arrive with a conclusion about a specific topic and it is by induction and deduction. In the modern scientific method induction seems to be a key element, based from specific observations and experiments. On the other hand, deductive reasoning is used in the scientific method to test hypotheses and theories in which the conclusion must be logically valid. Each of these methods of reasoning make an important contribution to our understanding of the world. This essay explains the processes of induction and deduction and their role in the modern scientific method, as well as ‘Problems of induction along with Popper’s ‘solution’ to induction through falsification will be discussed due to his rejection of inductive reasoning in the scientific method.
Aristotle believes that before the concept of time there were three kinds of substances, two of them being physical and one being the unmovable. The three substances can be described as one being the “sensible eternal”, the second being the “sensible perishable” and the third substance being the immovable. To further this theory the sensible perishable can be seen as matter, the sensible eternal as potential, and the immovable can be seen as that which is Metaphysical and belongs to another science. According to Aristotle, the immovable is God. It is the immovable that sets the sensible perishable into motion and therefore turns the potential into the actual.
The fourth Meditations of Descartes show that God cannot be a deceiver at all, as God is infinitely good. To judge something it is required to have understanding and will and we should know that the understanding is infinite or in other words it is the faculty, which brings us very close to God. Errors occur when will assents though it does not understand or perceive distinctly. So from this fact we can understand that error is ours and it is not committed by God. He also cannot be blamed for giving us an infinite will, as the will is nothing but a simple infinite entity. How can we perceive something distinctly and clearly? According to Descartes it was possible for God to create him with an insurmountable inclination to assent only to those things, which were distinctly and clearly perceived by him, but God is infinite and His ways are inscrutable. Descartes writes in his Meditation IV that when he tries to find out about God, he feels that in reality a positive idea of God is already present in his mind and it is a supremely perfect being. But at the same time he encounters with a negative idea which gives him a since of nothingness. This image is infinitely removed from perfection of all kinds. Then Descartes disclosed his feelings and said that due to his own experience he knew that he has some ability to judge and this ability came from God. There is no doubt that all the qualities have come from God and this quality was also from God. He was certain that God would never deceive him and thus no such ability was given to him, which may ever put him in the wrong direction. So after all these experiences he evidently concluded that there existed a God and his existence depended entirely on Him. In fact every moment of his lif...
Euclid also came up with a number of axioms and proofs, which he called “postulates.” Some of these postulates relate to all sciences, while other postulates relate only to geometry. An example of a Euclidean postulate that relates to all sciences is “The whole is greater than the part.” An example of a Euclidean postulate relating only to geometry is “You can draw a straight line between any two points.” Although these postulates seem extremely simple and obvious to us, Euclid was the first person to state them, as well as prove them to be true without question. These simple postulates really help with more complicated math and sciences, such as advanced geometry. For example, when doing advanced geometry involving a lot of lines and shapes, it is extremely helpful to know for sure that any single line can never contain more than one parallel line.
in the ideal order, not necessarily in the things themselves, but rather above them, in a world by itself” (Chaput, C. p.2). For the concept,therefore, Plato substitutes the Idea. He completes the work of Socrates by teaching that the objectively real Ideas are the foundation and justification of scientific knowledge. At the same time he has in mind a problem which claimed much attention from pre-Socratic thinkers, the problem of change. The Platonic theory of Ideas is an attempt to solve this crucial question by a metaphysical compromise. The Eleatics, Plato said, are right in maintaining that reality does not change; for the ideas are immutable. Still, there is, as contended, change in the world of our experience, or, as Plato terms it, the world of phenomena. Plato, then, supposes a world of Ideas apart from the world of our experience, and immeasurably superior to it. He imagines that all human souls dwelt at one time in that higher world. When, therefore, we behold in the shadow-world around us a phenomenon or appearance of anything, the mind is moved to a remembrance of the Idea (of that same phenomenal thing) which it formerly contemplated. In its deligh...
The creation of rational thought began in the Greek city of Ionia. The citizens there were open to new ideas and influenced by traders from around the world. Laws were invented by these Ionians and written down to express the will of their society. The greatest and most recognized Ionian thinker was a man named Thales of Miletues. Considered one of the seven ""wises men" of the day, Thales contemplated water and its connection with the universe. Blackburn remarks that Thales ideas: "mark[ed] an important change in western scientific thought" (68). Thales also used I statements when he philosophized marking for the first time in history a human used reason and the rational mind. Other philosophers surfaced in Ionia during this period creating the study of the "cosmos," or universe. They also founded the study of past human affairs or history.
The Scientific Revolution was sparked through Nicolaus Copernicusí unique use of mathematics. His methods developed from Greek astr...
He has a student who shared most of his beliefs, his name was Anaximander. While Anaximander shared Thales belief of material monism, he belied the material to be something different. He thought water to be too finite, and that even though there was a possibility that water could form everything, there had to be another substance instead. The substance Anaximander believed to be the one that made everything up was Apeiron which is the Greek word for boundless. He believed if everything was going to be made up of something the material had to be boundless and indefinite yet malleable. This material had to lend itself to be shaped or put in a boundary but not permanently, at one point it had to break to break down to become something else. Anaximander never really chose a specific material and left it as a "something" however, he was the first man to describe an early theory of evolution and gravity. Anaximander's early theory of evolution, was that he believed that humans came from a fish. He believed that the early humans had to have had a thorny skin as a way to hold water in. Furthermore, he believed that humans came from fish. As a way of explaining how humans survived the first ears of lives he suggested that they grew in the bellies of fish until puberty and then came out able to sustain themselves. Still, life began in the water. Anaximander, also showed early notions of gravity and though he thought that the earth was shaped like a column, he understood that something was evenly pulling the earth in place. Anaximander became a teacher as well and down his to his student Anaximenes.
Physics began when man first started to study his surroundings. Early applications of physics include the invention of the wheel and of primitive weapons. The people who built Stone Henge had knowledge of physical mechanics in order to move the rocks and place them on top of each other. It was not until during the period of Greek culture that the first systematic treatment of physics started with the use of mechanics. Thales is often said to have been the first scientist, and the first Greek philosopher. He was an astronomer, merchant and mathematician, and after visiting Egypt he is said to have originated the science of deductive geometry. He also discovered theorems of elementary geometry and is said to have correctly predicted an eclipse of the sun. Many of his studies were in astronomy but he also observed static electricity. Phythogoras was a Greek philosopher. He discovered simple numerical ratios relating the musical tones of major consonances, to the length of the strings used in sounding them. The Pythagorean theorem was named after him, although this fundamental statements of deductive geometry was most likely first an idea from Egyptian methods of measurements. With the help of his followers he discovered that the earth was a sphere, but he did not believe it revolved around the sun.
immortality, death, and the difference between the psyche (soul) and the soma (body) are just a few of the
If we need to see the development or “the story”of Western philosophy, First, we need to look into the three stages of philosophy: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern. Then, we need to look into the two transitions: Ancient to Medieval and Medieval to Modern philosophy. Parker describes these transitions into greater detail. Also, Kenny, and Strauss, In this paper, I will not only be discussing the development of Western philosophy, but the historical standpoint of the how philosophy became what it is now.
Euclid, also known as Euclid of Alexandria, lived from 323-283 BC. He was a famous Greek mathematician, often referred to as the ‘Father of Geometry”. The dates of his existence were so long ago that the date and place of Euclid’s birth and the date and circumstances of his death are unknown, and only is roughly estimated in proximity to figures mentioned in references around the world. Alexandria was a broad teacher that taught lessons across the world. He taught at Alexandria in Egypt. Euclid’s most well-known work is his treatise on geometry: The Elements. His Elements is one of the most influential works in the history of mathematics, serving as the source textbook for teaching mathematics on different grade levels. His geometry work was used especially from the time of publication until the late 19th and early 20th century Euclid reasoned the principles of what is now called Euclidean geometry, which came from a small set of axioms on the Elements. Euclid was also famous for writing books using the topic on perspective, conic sections, spherical geometry, number theory, and rigor.