Professional Documents
Culture Documents
From World Book © 2002 World Book, Inc., 233 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 2000, Chicago, IL
60601. All rights reserved. World Book diagram by Precision Graphics
Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274 )
• William of Ockham
• (1285-1349 )English philosopher who
defended the logic, physics, and
metaphysics of Aristotle in Summa
Logicae (The Whole of Logic ) (1328) vol.
1 { at Amazon.com } and vol. 2 { at
Amazon.com } and the Dialogus . An
extreme nominalist , Ockham held that
general terms are signs that indefinitely
signify discrete (though similar)
particulars. Ockham is best known for
his statement of the law of parsimony as
the ontological principle often called
Ockham's Razor : " Frustra fit per plura
quod potest fieri per pauciora " ["It is
pointless to do with more what can be
done with less"]. Thus, according to
Ockham, we ought never to postulate
the reality of any entity unless it is
logically necessary to do so.
Copernicus b. 1473 Poland
• Polish astronomer who developed the theory that the
earth is a moving planet. In Copernicus's time, most
astronomers accepted the theory the Greek
astronomer Ptolemy had formulated nearly 1,400
years earlier.
• Some astronomers before Ptolemy had suggested that
the earth did in fact move. Copernicus decided that the
simplest and most systematic explanation of heavenly
motion required that every planet, including the earth,
revolve around the sun. The earth also had to spin
around its axis once every day. The earth's motion
affects what people see in the heavens, so real motions
must be separated from apparent ones.
• Copernicus skillfully applied this idea in his
masterpiece, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly
Spheres (1543). In this book, he demonstrated how the
earth's motion could be used to explain the movements
of other heavenly bodies. Copernicus could not prove
his theory, but his explanation of heavenly motion was
mathematically strong and was less complicated than
Ptolemy's theory. By the early 1600's, such
astronomers as Galileo in Italy and Johannes Kepler in
Germany began to develop the physics that would
prove Copernicus' theory correct.
A 1543 volume by
Copernicus
From World Book © 2002 World Book, Inc., 233 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 2000, Chicago, IL 60601. All rights
reserved. World Book illustration by Rob Wood
Tycho Brahe b. 1546
• Danish astronomer. Brahe developed a systematic approach for observing the planets and stars. He
stressed the importance of making such observations on a regular basis. The telescope had not yet been
invented, and so Brahe used his eyesight and such instruments as astrolabes and quadrants to estimate the
positions of celestial objects. His observations were far more precise than those of any earlier astronomer.
• Brahe's observations of planetary motion revealed that the tables then in use to predict the positions of the
planets were inaccurate. His sighting of a supernova (type of exploding star) in 1572 helped disprove the
ancient idea that no change could occur in the heavens beyond the orbit of the moon.
• Like many astronomers of his time, Brahe refused to accept the Copernican theory of the solar system.
According to this theory, the earth and the other planets move around the sun. Brahe reasoned that if the
earth revolved around the sun, he should have been able to measure changes in the positions of the stars
resulting from the earth's movement. He did not realize that such changes were too small for his
instruments to detect. However, Brahe's observational data later enabled Johannes Kepler, a German
astronomer and mathematician, to confirm the Copernican theory.
• Brahe was born in Knudstrup (then a Danish city but now in Sweden), near Malmo. As a member of the
nobility, he attended universities in Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. Brahe built an elaborate
observatory on the island of Hven (now called Ven), where he made many of his observations.
Tycho Brahe b. 1546
• Danish astronomer. Brahe developed a
systematic approach for observing the planets
and stars. He stressed the importance of
making such observations on a regular basis.
The telescope had not yet been invented, and
so Brahe used his eyesight and such
instruments as astrolabes and quadrants to
estimate the positions of celestial objects. His
observations were far more precise than those
of any earlier astronomer.
• Newton later used Kepler's three laws to arrive at the principle of universal gravitation
• Kepler's laws are:
(1) Every planet follows an oval-shaped path, or orbit, around the sun, called an ellipse. The sun is
located at one focus of the elliptical orbit.
(2) An imaginary line from the center of the sun to the center of a planet sweeps out the same area in
a given time. This means that planets move faster when they are closer to the sun.
(3) The time taken by a planet to make one complete trip around the sun is its period. The squares of
the periods of two planets are proportional to the cubes of their mean distances from the sun.
• Kepler formed an association with Tycho Brahe, which shaped the rest of his life.
His most significant discoveries were trying to find an orbit to fit all Brahe's observations of the
planet Mars. Earlier astronomers thought a planet's orbit was a circle or a combination of circles.
However, Kepler could not find a circular arrangement to agree with Brahe's observations. He
realized that the orbit could not be circular and resorted to an ellipse in his calculations. The ellipse
worked, and Kepler destroyed a belief that was more than 2,000 years old.
• Kepler was the first astronomer to openly uphold the theories of the Polish astronomer Nicolaus
Copernicus.
Johannes Kepler b. 1571
FIRST LAW
• The orbits of the planets are
ellipses, with the Sun at one
focus of the ellipse.
Johannes Kepler b. 1571
SECOND LAW
• The line joining the planet to the
Sun sweeps out equal areas in
equal times as the planet travels
around the el
Johannes Kepler b. 1571
THIRD LAW
• The ratio of the squares of the
revolutionary periods for two
planets is equal to the ratio of the
cubes of their semi-major axes:
Paracelsus (Phillippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus
von Hohenheim) ( 1493-1541 )
• An Irish scientist considered the founder of modern chemistry. He helped establish the
experimental method in chemistry and physics.
• Boyle is best known for his experiments on gases that led to the formulation of Boyle's
law (see GAS (Gas laws)). This law says the volume of a gas at constant temperature
varies inversely to the pressure applied to the gas. Boyle also helped improve the air
pump, and with it he investigated the nature of vacuums.
• Boyle introduced many new methods for determining the identity and chemical
composition of substances. He disproved the theory that air, earth, fire, and water were
the basic elements of all matter. Boyle argued that all basic physical properties were due
to the motion of atoms, which he called "corpuscles."
• Boyle lived in England for most of his life. He was a founding member of the Royal
Society of London, one of the world's foremost scientific organizations. Boyle described
his experiments in many books. He was born at Lismore Castle, Ireland.
Robert Boyle (1627-1691)
Galileo Galilei 1564 - 1657
From World Book © 2002 World Book, Inc., 233 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite
2000, Chicago, IL 60601. All rights reserved. Uffizi Gallery, Florence,
Italy (Art Resource)
Astronomy and Kinematics
• Gilbert's most important discoveries in the field of magnetism were the laws of
attraction and repulsion, magnetic dip, and the properties of loadstones. Gilbert
based his findings on observation and practical experiments. This practice differed
greatly from that of most of the scientists of his time, who developed only abstract
theories, unsupported by experiments.
• Gilbert was born in Colchester, in Essex, England, and was educated at St. John's
College, Cambridge. He was physician to Queen Elizabeth I and attended her
during her last illness. Gilbert died on Nov. 30, 1603.
William Harvey (1578-1657)
Carolus Linnaeus
Systema Naturae 1758
THE LINNEAN HIERARCHY FOR
HUMANS
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Primates
Family Hominidae
Genus Homo
Species Homo sapiens
Early Ideas about Evolution
Speices changes through time in
Catastrophism
response to environment Heritable characteristics
Comte de Buffon
(Georges Louis Leclerc)
Baron Cuvier
1707-1788 Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
1769-1832
Environment, but 1744-1829
other mechanisms too
Erasmus Darwin
1731-1802
Understanding the Depth of Time
Thomas Malthus
1766-1834
Charles Darwin & Alfred Wallace
• Maxwell based his work on electricity and magnetism on the discoveries of the English
physicist Michael Faraday. In 1864, Maxwell combined his ideas with those of Faraday and
certain other scientists and formed a mathematical theory that describes the relationship
between electric and magnetic fields. Both these fields exert forces on electrically charged
objects. Maxwell showed that waves in combined electric and magnetic fields, called
electromagnetic waves, travel at the speed of light. In fact, Maxwell argued that light itself
consists of electromagnetic waves. In the late 1880's, the German physicist Heinrich R.
Hertz conducted experiments that confirmed Maxwell's theory.
• Maxwell's equations indicate that light moves at a particular speed, represented by the letter
c. The value of c is now known to be 186,282 miles (299,792 kilometers) per second.
Maxwell assumed that c was the speed of light relative to the ether. According to this
assumption, light would travel faster or slower than c in an inertial frame moving relative to
the ether.
Michelson and Morley
During the 1800's, physicists tried unsuccessfully to measure the speed of the
earth relative to the ether. According to classical physics, the ether was
motionless. In the early 1880's, Hendrik A. Lorentz, a Dutch physicist, explained
the failure of these experiments by assuming that the ether was partially
dragged along as the earth moved through it. Two American physicists, Albert A.
Michelson and Edward W. Morley, developed an instrument that made far more
precise measurements than earlier devices. Their experiments helped destroy
the ether theory. In 1887, Michelson and Morley demonstrated that the earth's
movement around the sun had no effect on the speed of light. Their finding could
be understood only by assuming that the ether near the surface of the earth
moved at the same speed as the earth. However, this assumption contradicted
the results of many other experiments.
From World Book © 2002 World Book, Inc., 233 N.
Michigan Avenue, Suite 2000, Chicago, IL 60601.
All rights reserved. (C) Hulton/Archive
Principles of Relativity
Einstein introduced a new principle, the
special principle of relativity. This principle
has two parts: (1) There is no ether, and the
speed of light is the same for all observers,
whatever their relative motion. (2) The laws
of nature are the same in all inertial frames,
where the laws are understood to include
those described by Maxwell.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955),
• Was one of the greatest scientists of all time. He is best known for his theory of
relativity, which he first advanced when he was only 26. He also made many other
contributions to science.
• Thus, Einstein was one of the fathers of the nuclear age. Einstein's famous equation, E
equals m times c-squared (energy equals mass times the velocity of light squared),
became a foundation stone in the development of nuclear energy. Einstein developed his
theory through deep philosophical thought and through complex mathematical
reasoning. The great scientist was once reported to have said that only a dozen people in
the world could understand his theory. However, Einstein always denied this report.
Discoveries of 20th Century
• 1900 Quantum nature of energy • 1913 Leavitt discovers
• 1903 First motorized airplane • 1913Bohr describes atomic
flew structure
• 1915 General theory of relativity
• Special theory of relativity
published • 1922 Banting and Best isolate
insulin
• 1907Radiometric dating finds • 1924 Hubble identifies new galaxy
earth 2.2 billion years old
• 1926 Television developed
• Ehrlich finds cure for syphilis • 1927 Big bang theory introduced
• 1912 Leavitt discovers • 1927 Heisenberg state uncertainty
Cepheid's period and principle
luminosity
• 1912 Wegener proposes
continental drift
Discoveries of 20th Century
• 1928 Fleming discovers penicillin • 1947 Libby introduces C14 dating
• 1929 Hubble finds universe • 1947 Transistor invented
expanding • 1953 Salk polio vaccine
• 1931 Lawrence invents cyclotron • 1953 Miller makes amino acids in
laboratory
• 1935 Nylon invented
• 1953 Mid-Atlantic rift discovered
• 1942 Fermi creates 1st controlled
• 1953 Watson and Crick describe
nuclear reaction DNA
• 1945 ENIAC built • 1954 First kidney transplant
• 1945 Atomic bomb detonated • 1959 Leaky finds early hominid
Discoveries of 20th Century
• 1960 Hess propose sea-floor spreading • 1977 found near deep ocean vents
• 1965 Penzias and Wilson observe • 1980 Alvarez finds evidence for
cosmic background microwave dinosaur killing asteroid
radiation • 1992 World wide Web
• 1967 Pulsars discovered
• 1992 The risk of carbon dioxide
• 1969 Apollo lands on moon
buildup and global warming is
• 1971 First commercial microprocessor recognised.
introduced
• 1974 Johanson finds 3.2 million year • 1992 The first 'xenotransplant'
old Lucy from one type of animal to
• 1975 Personal computer launched another involving genetically
• 1976 Cosmic string theory introduced
engineered tissue (liver) is
carried out successfully.
st
Discoveries of 21 Century
• 1997 Dolly the sheep is born. She
has been produced by Ian Wilmut
and his team at the Roslin Institute
near Edinburgh
• 2000 World Wide Web estimated to
cover 1 billion pages.
cobra
Inductive Mathematical Reasoning
Find a General Rule for the Number series: 0, 2, 8, 18, 32, 50, 72…..
Stable Atomic Nuclei have the following number of nucleons (proton and neutrons):
2, 8, 20, 28, 50, 82, 126, … What is the next member in the series?
Logical Fallacies
http://www.intrepidsoftware.com/fallacy/toc.php
• Novelty, Appeal to
• Abusive ad hominem
• No True Scotsman
• Accent
• Numbers, Appeal to
• Ambiguity (index)
• Money, Appeal to
• Amphiboly
• Oversimplification and Exaggeration
• Age, Appeal to
• Pity, Appeal to (Argumentum ad Misercordiam)
• Authority, Appeals to (4 types)
• Poisoning the Well
• Authority, Legitimate Appeal to
• Poverty, Appeal to
• Ad Hominem (5 types)
• Presumption
• Begging the Question
• Quantifier Fallacy
• Circumstantial ad hominem
• Quoting out of Context
• Complex Question
• Reification / Hypostatization
• Composition
• Fallacies of Relevance (index)
• Correlation vs. Causation
• Scope Fallacy
• Division
• Suppressed Evidence
• Emotion and Desire, Appeals to (5 types)
• Tradition, Appeal to
• Equivocation
• Tu Quoque (two wrongs don't make a right
• Unqualified Authority, Appeal to
• Genetic Fallacy
• False Dilemma
• Illicit Observation
• Flatter, Appeal to
• Force / Fear, Appeal to (Argumentum ad Baculum)
Logical Fallacies
• Straw Man
• Definition:
• The author attacks an argument which is different from, and
• usually weaker than, the opposition's best argument.
• Examples:
• (i) People who opposed the Charlottown Accord probably just
• wanted Quebec to separate. But we want Quebec to stay in
• Canada.
• (ii) We should have conscription. People don't want to enter
• the military because they find it an inconvenience. But they
• should realize that there are more important things than
• convenience.
• Proof:
• Show that the opposition's argument has been
• misrepresented by showing that the opposition has a stronger
• argument. Describe the stronger argument.
Logical Fallacies
• Definition:
• The truth of the conclusion is assumed by the premises.
• Often, the conclusion is simply restated in the premises in a
• slightly different form. In more difficult cases, the premise is
• a consequence of the conclusion.
• Examples:
• (i) Since I'm not lying, it follows that I'm telling the truth.
• (ii) We know that God exists, since the Bible says God exists.
• What the Bible says must be true, since God wrote it and
• God never lies. (Here, we must agree that God exists in order
• to believe that God wrote the Bible.)
• Proof:
• Show that in order to believe that the premises are true we
• must already agree that the conclusion is true.
Logical Fallacies
• Coincidental Correlation
• (post hoc ergo propter hoc )
• Definition:
• The name in Latin means "after this therefore because of this".
• This describes the fallacy. An author commits the fallacy when
• it is assumed that because one thing follows another that the
• one thing was caused by the other.
• Examples:
• (i) Immigration to Alberta from Ontario increased. Soon
• after, the welfare rolls increased. Therefore, the increased
• immigration caused the increased welfare rolls.
• (ii) I took EZ-No-Cold, and two days later, my cold
• disappeared.
• Proof:
• Show that the correlation is coincidental by showing that: (i)
• the effect would have occurred even if the cause did not
• occur, or (ii) that the effect was caused by something other
• than the suggested cause.
Scientific Development From 1543 to 1789
`1543: Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) publishes De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium, which argues that the Sun is
the center of the Solar System.
*1543: Andrea Vesalius (1514-1564) publishes Concerning the Structure of the Human Body, the first modern
anatomical text.
*1600: William Gilbert (1540-1603) publishes Concerning the Magnet.
*1605: Francis Bacon (1561-1626) publishes Advancement of Learning.
*1609: Astronomia Nova is published by Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), in which he presented his first two Laws of
Planetary Motion.
*1610: Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) publishes Sidereal Messenger, describing his observations using the telescope.
*1619: Kepler publishes his Third Law in Harmonia Mundi.
*1628: William Harvey (1578-1657) publishes On the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals, in which he proves
that the heart circulates blood throughout the body.
*1632: Galileo publishes Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, in which he compares the Copernican and Ptolemaic
solar systems.
*1637: Rene Descartes publishes his Discourse on Method, in which he lays the foundation for modern philosophy.
*1644-9: Pierre Gassendi (1592-1655), in a series of works, revives the traditions of Epicureanism and Skepticism.
*1660: Robert Boyle (1627-1691) publishes New Experiments Physico-Mechanical Touching the Spring of the Air, in
which he states his laws of gases.
*1662: The Royal Society of London is founded.
*1666: The French Academy of Science is founded.
*1677: Anton von Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723), using a microscope, discovers male spermatoza.
*1678: Christian Huygens (1629-1695) proposes the wave theory of light.
*1687: Isaac Newton (1642-1727) publishes his Principia Mathematica.
*1704: Isaac Newton publishes his Optics.
*1735: Carolus Linnaeus publishes his Systema Naturae, which establishes the science of taxonomy.
*1789: Antoine Lavoisier publishes his treatise on chemistry, laying the foundation for the modern theory of chemical
elements.
Scientific Development From 1543 to 1789
Chromosome
Gene (DNA)
Protein Gene (mRNA),
single strand
104
Copyright © 2002
Method of Doubt
He used 3 different foundations of belief in this method: