PSY 4130 Lecture 7: Philosophy and Science
5 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Lecture 7: Philosophy and Science
Ptolmeny was a greco-egyptian who lived in the second century BCE. His major
contribution was the Almagest, a summer of astronomy at the time. In the Ptolemaic system
heavenly bodies were spherical and the sun, moon, and planets traveled around the earth in
circular orbits.
Aristarchus of Samos posited that the earth rotates on its own axis and the other planets as
well as the earth revolve around the sun.
The Poolemaic version dominated astronomical thinking until well int the Renaissance,
likely because:
• it supported astronomical predictions that were reasonable
• it fit with our sensory experience
• it conformed to Christianity
Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543)
• the sun was the centre of the universe
• this book did not originally offend the church but was eventually regarded as historical
because humans were thought to be the centre of the universe
Galileo: mechanistic world view.
• everything is a machine that follows mathematical laws
• objective reality exists whether or not it is percieved b anyone
• conscious experience consists mostly of secondary qualities which cannot be described in
terms of mathematics and therefor consciousness can not be studied scientifically
Kepler: demonstrated that planetary orbits are elliptical rather than circular
• velocities of planets create differences in orbit and is determined by how relative they are
to the sun
• insisted that mathematical deductions must be verified by empirical observation
Decartes
• mathematical knowledge is the basis of ultimate knowledge
• position was bolstered and accepted because of his work in analytic geometry
Descartes was a rationalist, in which one works from premises to reach a conclusion that, in
principle, is inescapable. In this sense, the procedure is similar to the syllogism of
Aristotle. If you accept the premises, the conclusion is given. In rationalism, the structure
of reality is inherently logical. The intellect can grasp truths directly, so rationalism is not
compatible with empiricism, which posits that knowledge comes from experiences received
through the senses.Working from mathematics, Descartes (Discourse on Method, 1637)
posited four rules:
... never to accept anything as true unless I recognized it to be evidentially as such; that is,
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
