PHILO Of SCIEnce 1

Philo of Science (ORAL I)

I. INTRODUCTION: An Evolving Science

(PERIODS)

- conceptualists = depended on strong a priori, based on geometric model & eternal truth; science is something certain, universal, systematic, grasped only through logic/syllogism

- revolutionary = conceptualist sort of knowledge but an emphasis on empirical confirmation slowly emerges (transitional); philo influence on ideals (conceptuals) but less in practice (empirical)

- Modern (17^th) = emphasis on empiricism

(HYPOTHESIS)

- 1. Aristotle: something we can stand on (hypo thesis); foundational, apriori, unqualifiedly true statements/definitely true

- Greek: mere fiction (useful but not true)

o Plato, Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler, Gal

o But Copernicus, Kepler Galileo’s models are not just mere fiction, but rather true.

- 2. Newton: unverifiable assumption

o Descarte’s vortex; cannot be proven.

o Newton wants testable hypothesis, so he doesn’t want the then present def. Of hypo.

- 3. Modern: tentative law, or educated guess which should be verified: knowledge as probability

II. THE GREEK IDEAL: Conceptualism

A.Greek search for knowledge

- astronomy/calendar/music: there is math arrangement behind them which our senses cannot perceive

- religious belief: belief in the unchanging and universal; knowledge should be UCS contrary to sense knowledge which is PTC

B. Plato and Aristotle

- Plato: saw sense perception as mere opinion (doxa); it cannot be the source of true knowledge; world of forms = the world of the really real; we can only gain true knowledge through ideas

- Aristotle: conceptualist (all knowledge begins with the senses); we can grasp essences through intuition (beyond science); through senses we can derive knowledge; intuition to demonstration/syllogism (science)

- Mod Sci: relies on emprcsm wc dpnd on wat cn b verifyd or observed

- Idealists: ideas in the consciousnesss are real

- Conceptualists: sensible things are real but inferior to ideas

C. Aris’ True Episteme

- 1: intuition = by power of mind, we can grasp essences of things (not science but higher form of knowledge)

- 2: demonstration = by use of inductive reasoning; logic, syllos, we connect these ideas to other concepts; organization (this is science)

D. Failure of Aris

- 1: no new knowledge = conclusions are already known, not arrived at from premises

- 2: premises are not empirically certain = trivial demonstrations = MjP- experiential claim, not universal (subjective/personal) MnP – stipulative definition

- 3: we do not have direct access to essences through intution

III. THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION: Gradual Breakdown of Science

A. Factors of Breakdown

- Ptolemy: adhered to A’s geocentric model of the universe; observation shows that circle is not perfect; Ptol saves the apperance by adding epicycles; through time, more epicycles were discovered/infinite; math became very, complicated.

- Theo Voluntarism: Franciscans = concptlsm limits what God can do/ he can make square circles; we cannot impose limitations on God

- Nominalism: we cannot really intuite essences; there is no such thing as a universal term; they are simply summaries of what we sense in the particular; they were still conceptualists à no new knowledge ws suggested only a questioning

- Copernicus: suggested heliocentrism; lessens the epicycles; still a conceptualist coz no observation, just inference from mind/a practical solution to infinite epicycles, not mere fiction but true

- Kepler: (Tycho Brahe wants Copernicus dispproved; dies believing in traditional; Kepler re-observes, parallax is a minute angle if observed in months coz far away sila.) His three laws explains motions of planets using math (math = language of astronomy) a.)ellipse b.) equal time, equal area c.) harmonic law; still a conceptualist, coz he believes he can arrive at a certain truth by experimental cruces à add and add hypothesis, a test will prove the true one; he searches for a conceptualist knowledge, quiete modrn H

- Galileo: empiricist = he really observed the moon and the planets; not quintessence; conceptualist = other experiments are done through thought; he firmly believes his knowledge is certain

- Newton: my laws are universal, thus conceptualist

B. Difficulties

- SLOW = overdependence on authority (long time to discern truth, scared of excom, etc…); no other choices except conceptualism (no new house)

IV. THE NEW VISIONS OF MOD SCI

A. Impt Contributions

- Galileo: primary = measurable, expressed in math (size, number; 2^ndary= color, taste, scent; choosing relevant qualities for use in math

- Kepler: impt = save a theory by adding and adding info; danger = theory is always justified; testing hypo’s til one is true; there are auxiliary hypos if one is disproved.

- Bacon: ant (gather) – spider (intuit) – bee (process) analogies; methodologyo of science

- Descartes: fruitfulness for a good theory; theory applied to something else outside the system; a good system must not just explain what we are questioning but also others; predictive value; applying system to others.

B. Hyugen 3 steps similar to Sci meth

- Hyugen: consequences of assumed principles must be in perfect accord with observed phenomena à more especially when these verifications are numerous (more tests) à but above all, when one employs the hypo to predict new phenomena and finds expectations realized

- Science: assumed to depend on careful repeated observation à upon experimental manipulation guided by theoretical insight: hypothesisà upon formulation of well defined statements of empirical regularities: LAWS whose limits of applicability are specified (e.g. Kepler’s Laws) à upon the construction of theories from which the laws can be derived and new results foreeen (eg. Newton’s laws)

- Unlike geometry which is proved by syllogism (certainty), science has no intuition on objects, principles are tested by the inferences which are derivable from them ß probability

C. Crucial terms

- data: empricial evidence

- empricial law: based completely on empirical evidence; a description of a regularity in nature or law based on emp evid.

- hypothesis: tentative law/theory yet to be verified; educated guess

- theory: widest/broadest term of all, encompassing others excpt hypo; a well confirmed systematic network of laws and experimental evidence.

- theoretical law: law based on deductive dependence on a well established theory and on direct experimental evidence.

- model: well confirmed theoretical description of one domain of science, which is used to construct a hypothetical theory to explain another, presumably similar domain of science.

V. Conclusion

- universality to generality

- certainty to high probability

- systematic (syllogism) to explanation (explaining connections/methodology)

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