Transcript Slide 1

History of Science
History of Philosophy
Faghrie Mitchell
What is History?
What is Science?
What is Philosophy?
What is History?
What is Science?
What is Philosophy?
History? Science? Philosophy? Curiosity?
 Almost in the beginning was curiosity.
Asimov’s New Guide to Science (Asimov 1987)
Early Man: Curiosity  Science
www.fi.edu
CURIOSITY
H
I
S
EXPLORATION
T
O
DISCOVERY
R
Y
SCIENCE
Ancient Egypt: Curiosity  Science
Osprey
Ancient Egypt: Evolution of the Pyramids
www.touregypt.net
www.touregypt.net
Djoser
2630-2611 BC
Djoser
2630-2611 BC
Step Pyramid
Saqqara, Egypt
Snefru
2575-2551 BC
Cheops/Khufu
2551-2528 BC
Ancient Egypt: Evolution of the Pyramids
Djoser
2630-2611 BC
www.touregypt.net
www.touregypt.net
Snefru
2575-2551 BC
Intermediate Pyramid
Maidum, Egypt
Snefru
2575-2551 BC
Cheops/Khufu
2551-2528 BC
Ancient Egypt: Evolution of the Pyramids
www.touregypt.net
Cheops/Khufu
2551-2528 BC
Djoser
2630-2611 BC
Smooth Pyramids
Giza, Egypt
Snefru
2575-2551 BC
Cheops/Khufu
2551-2528 BC
Why show the Evolution of the Pyramids?
 Did the ancient Egyptians have science 
 To build a pyramid you need to have knowledge and skills about
stone and rock
 E.g. how much stone, how many men to cut and move the stone,
etc (quantity surveying)
 E.g. how do I find good quality stone, how do I move the stone
(geology and engineering (mathematics))
 Evolution of pyramids is an example of the evolution of ancient
Egyptian science
Djoser
Step
2630-2611 BC
Snefru
Intermediate
2575-2551 BC
Cheops/Khufu
Smooth
2551-2528 BC
Ref: Shaw (2003)
Why show the Evolution of the Pyramids?
 Did the ancient Egyptians have evolving science 
 Ancient Egyptians had to improve their building techniques going
from Step to Intermediate to Smooth pyramid (increasing difficulty
and challenge of building a smooth pyramid)
 The Intermediate pyramid at Maidum could be seen as a prototype
pyramid
 The Maidum pyramid is speculated to have been either abandoned,
or to have collapsed because of the slope of the pyramid
 The lessons learnt from this pyramid and previous pyramids were:
(1) to build on rock instead of sand and (2) to tilt the stone blocks
inward to stabilise the pyramid
(see next slide)
Djoser
Step
2630-2611 BC
Snefru
Intermediate
2575-2551 BC
Cheops/Khufu
Smooth
2551-2528 BC
Images: www.touregypt.net
Why show the Evolution of the Pyramids?
www.unmuseum.org
Snefru
Intermediate
2575-2551 BC
Cheops/Khufu
Smooth
2551-2528 BC
Why show the Evolution of the Pyramids?
 Did the ancient Egyptians have science 
 Did the ancient Egyptians have evolving science 
 Did the ancient Egyptians have philosophy of science ???
 So you do not need to have PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE to have
SCIENCE? YES and NO
Ref:
Why show the Evolution of the Pyramids?
 So you do not need to have PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE to have
SCIENCE? YES and NO
MYTHOLOGY
RELIGION
DOGMA
MYTHOLOGY
RELIGION
DOGMA
can
can
SCIENCE
PHILOSOPHY
can
SCIENCE
PHILOSOPHY
can
SCIENCE
Ref:
Why show the Evolution of the Pyramids?
 Conversely, you also have three similar paths, leading to
NONSCIENCE, instead of SCIENCE
MYTHOLOGY
RELIGION
DOGMA
MYTHOLOGY
RELIGION
DOGMA
can
can
NONSCIENCE
PHILOSOPHY
can
NONSCIENCE
PHILOSOPHY
can
NONSCIENCE
Ref:
Ancient Egyptian Medicine
 The Evolution of pyramids serve to show that the ancient
Egyptians had SCIENCE. I will now show a clearer example, to
show ancient Egyptian SCIENCE and NONSCIENCE
SCIENCE
MYTHOLOGY
RELIGION
DOGMA
NONSCIENCE
Example: Ancient Egyptian Medicine
Ref:
Ancient Egyptian Medicine
www.nyu.edu
 Example: Ancient Egyptian
Medicine
 Some of the oldest scientific
artefacts
 Edwin Smith papyrus (c 1600BC),
22 pages which deals mainly with
the treatment of wounds
Wikipedia
 Ebers papyrus (c1550BC), 110
pages which contains 700 magical
formulas and remedies
Ref: Wikipedia, www.nyu.edu, Crystalinks
Ancient Egyptian Medicine
 Out of the Edwin Smith and the Ebers Papyruses, one can draw
examples of SCIENCE and NONSCIENCE (of which I will list only a
few)
SCIENCE
 Use of ox liver, to treat night blindness
(www.es.flinders.edu.au)
 Use of honey as antibiotic on open wounds
(www.nature.com)
NONSCIENCE
 Half an onion and the froth of beer as a
remedy against death
 Use of lettuce or castor oil for alopecia
Ref:Wikipedia
Impression of Ancient Egyptians
 So, they got some right, some wrong. Pretty impressive though to
have a structure (Giza pyramid) still standing after more than 4,000
years (c2500BC-2000AD)
 Coming back to the earlier point:
There is no evidence available to say that the ancient Egyptians had a
philosophy of science.
 So how could they establish themselves one of the great ancient
civilisations?
 A civilisation, like the ancient Egytians, endures and maintains itself
because it:
(1) solves practical problems (feeding and defending its people) and
(2) puts in place a form of government able to preserve it.
 So, science and governance, not philosophy, are needed to have a
developed culture or civilisation.
Ref:Robinson
Impression of Ancient Egyptians
 A more important point relates to:
“So, they got some right, some wrong.”
 How do we maximise right and minimize wrong?
 Or rather, How do we maximise SCIENCE and minimise
NONSCIENCE?
Ref:epnet
Summary of section on ancient Egyptians
 The two points made in the preceding slides, effectively summarise
this section
 I have covered the first path so far (striked out). I will combine the
second and third paths, and discuss them as if they are one
MYTHOLOGY
RELIGION
DOGMA
MYTHOLOGY
RELIGION
DOGMA
can
can
SCIENCE
PHILOSOPHY
can
SCIENCE
PHILOSOPHY
can
SCIENCE
Ref:
What is Philosophy?
 How do we maximise right and minimize wrong?
 Or rather, How do we maximise SCIENCE and minimise
NONSCIENCE?
 Just by asking these questions we are asking philosophical
questions. We are also answering what philosophy is.
 “So what is philosophy anyway? Philosophy is not there to solve
practical problems, problems of society or individual. Rather
philosophy tests our most fundamental beliefs, values and
convictions that we have, and to test them for the purpose of
getting them right. This testing is in the form of asking critical
questions, of debating, which is the central aspect of the
philosophy. Philosophy is the love of wisdom. The love of getting
to the right answer using debate.”
(Daniel Robinson, Georgetown University).
RefRobinson:
What is Philosophy of Science?
 Understanding philosophy can be simplified by asking two simple
questions, namely:
1. What is good, what is bad?
2. What is right, what is wrong?
 The first question relates to human behaviour, specifically, for
example, ideas on virtue, morals and ethics.
BROAD STATEMENT: Scientists are less interested in this.
 The second question relates specifically to ideas on logic and
reason, and perception and reality.
BROAD STATEMENT: Scientists are more interested in this.
 So even though we can say that “…Philosophy is not there to solve
practical problems, …”, it does not mean that we cannot use
philosophical thought to help us solve scientific or practical
problems.
RefRobinson:
The Age of Mythology
Wikipedia: Thalus of Miletus
 Prior to the establishment of the
first Greek school of thought by
Thales of Miletus (c. 624-546BC),
the Greeks looked only towards
Olympia (heaven) and the gods
for explanations relating to their
world
 Thales theorem: An inscribed
angle in an semicircle is a right
angle
Wolfram
 Also predicted an eclipse would
happen in 585BC which actually
occurred
The Age of Mythology
Wikipedia
 The role of the gods in the thinking of
the ancient Greeks is illustrated in the
epic by Homer (c. 7th century BC), called
the Iliad
 The Iliad is a story which is believed to
combine myth (fiction) and ancient
Greek history, and is supposed to have
happened in the 12th century (The films
Helen of Troy and Troy is based on this
story)
 The Iliad starts off with the Greek gods Zeus and Poseidon who
both desire the sea-nymph, Thetis
 They become afraid of pursuing Thetis when it is prophesized
that any future son of Thetis wil be greater than his father; so
they back off
The Age of Mythology
 At the wedding, you have gods,
goddesses, demi-gods and mortals in
attendance
Amazon.com
 They allow Thetis to marry the mortal
king, Peleus
 A dispute arise as to who is the most
beautiful goddess. The gods decide
that the young Trojan prince, Paris,
must decide
 He opts for the goddess, Aphrodite,
because she promises him the most
beautiful woman in the world, which is
Helen
RefRobinson:
The Age of Mythology
Amazon.com
 Some time later, Paris meets Helen,
but unfortunately finds her to be
married to Melenaus, a Spartan
prince
 Helen had many suitors before
marriage, each of which who made
a pledge to her father to protect
Helen and her future husband
 So with Helen’s abduction, they set
off to Troy
RefRobinson:
The Rise of Philosophy
 It also illustrate that the gods interfere
with mortals’ lives, but they remain
mainly interested in their own needs
Wikipedia: 12 Gods of Olympus
 The Iliad clearly illustrates the fickle,
emotional, and unpredictable nature of
the gods
 The ancient Greeks felt; there was a
distance between Olympia (Heaven)
and Athenia (Earth)
 However, this does not necessarily mean that they started to
discard their religion, Olympianism
It means that they had to deal with this dualism, each in their own
way for example Plato stated: The Earth is imperfect and
changeable, the heavens were perfect and immutable
The Rise of Philosophy
Wikipedia: Plato
 The Greek philosophers, Plato (427347BC) and Aristotle (384-322BC),
were the first Greek philosophers to
adequately deal with questions
about their world, their beliefs and
their reality – to confront dualism
Wikipedia: Aristotle
The Rise of Philosophy
Wikipedia: Raphael’s School of Athens; www.hull.ac.uk
The Rise of Philosophy
 Aristotle (on the right): he is interested in
particulars, specifics
Wikipedia: Raphael
Wikipedia: Raphael; www.hull.ac.uk
 Plato (on the left) pointing upwards: he is
interested in the forms, universals,
generals
RefRobinson:
The Rise of Philosophy: PLATO
Wikipedia
 Knowledge is that which is
true and that which is believed
 1. Something can be true, but
is not believed e.g. some truth
about our universe which has
not been discovered yet
2. Something can be believed,
but is not true e.g. urban
legends, myths, conspiracy
theories
Plato has a top-down perspective on knowledge, he favours deductive
reasoning
Ref:fWikipedia
The Rise of Philosophy: ARISTOTLE
 Aristotle more interested in specifics, so
he writes the Physics, and then the
Metaphysics and later on Historia
Animalium
www.natuurinformatie.nl
 Aristotle (384-322BC) differed from Plato in
that he had favoured a bottom-up
approach, and preferred empiricism over
deduction
 The Historia Animalium was written rather
hastily, but contains lenghthy descriptions
of countless species of fish, shellfish, and
other, animals and their anatomies.
RefRobinson:
The Rise of Philosophy
 The Physics is collection of lessons on theoretical,
methodological, philosophical concerns, rather than physical
theories or contents of particular investigations.
 It sets the bases for scientists to study the world subject to
change, and change, or movement, or motion (kinesis) is one of the
chief topics of the work.
 The Metaphysics is so named because it came after the Physics. It
is divided into three parts (1) ontology, (2) theology and
(3) universal science.
 Ontology is the study of existence; it has been traditionally defined
as 'the science of being'. Theology refers to the study of God (or
the gods). Universal science is supposed to be the study of socalled first principles, which underlie all other inquiries.
RefRobinson:
Plato and Aristotle: Two Perspectives
Plato
Aristotle
“Top down” approach
Bottom up approach
One starts with an idea
Drawing conclusions from
observation
Theory laden observation
Empirical tradition
Rational tradition
DEDUCTIVE REASONING
INDUCTIVE REASONING
RefRobinson:
Conclusion on Ancient Greek Philosophy
 With Plato and Aristotle, the foundations for deductive and
inductive reasoning was put in place, methods of thinking which
could maximise science and minimise nonscience
 However, this was just a start on an otherwise long road
MYTHOLOGY
RELIGION
DOGMA
can
PHILOSOPHY
can
MYTHOLOGY
RELIGION
DOGMA
can
PHILOSOPHY
can
SCIENCE
NONSCIENCE
Ref:
The Rise of the Roman Empire
wps.ablongman.com
 The Roman Empire started to
emerge in 282BC, after the
Etruscans were defeated at
the Battle of Populonia, and
the defeat of the Greek colony
at Tarentum
 Rome established colonies in
strategic areas, which led to
the demise of the Macedonian
and Seleucid Empires (c 2nd
century BC)
 Rome was the superpower,
they controlled the
Mediterranean Sea
Ref:
The Rise of the Roman Empire
Greek culture survived,
because Rome took it as its
own

However, in general, the
Romans did not have the
same penchant for the
dialectic tradition (debate)
and philosophy lost its
appeal

Rome was more interested in
conquest
wps.ablongman.com

Ref:
The Rise of the Roman Empire
wps.ablongman.com
c. 49-45BC
Expansion under
Julius Caesar
14-117 CE
Height of Roman
Power
284-305 CE
The Empire under
pressure
Pull back from
Britain, Dacia and
Mesopotamia
The Decline of the Roman Empire
wps.ablongman.com
c. 400-526 CE
Barbarian
migrations and
invasions
527-565 CE
Byzantium Empire
under Justinian
c. 632-750 CE
Rise of Islam
Preservation of Scholarship
 Islam starts to occupy parts
of the Byzantine Empire
 Start to see emergence of
Islamic and Jewish scholars
and philosophers who
translates Greek texts into
Latin
 E.g. Al-Farabi comments on
Plato’s Republic
wps.ablongman.com
 War between the two blocs,
but also dialogue (debate)
wps.ablongman.com
 9th and 10th centuries
Preservation of Scholarship
 9th and 10th centuries
www.multimediaquran.com
 Islam encourages scholarship
e.g. the first revelation received
by the unlettered Prophet
(SAW), instructed him to read,
the Prophet (SAW) also said
that knowledge must be sought
even if in China
Wikipedia
 Al-Farabi comments that
justice and rational thought will
not come when kings are
philosophers and philosophers
are kings, but rather it will
come when the philosopher is
a prophet and a prophet is a
philosopher
Read: In the name of thy Lord
Who createth
The Fall of the Byzantine Empire
Osprey
 1453
Siege mentality
 Steady outflow of
Byzantine-Greek
scholars heading west
 Increases scholarship
in the West
 Scholarship stopped in
476 AD because
1. disintegration of
political structures
 2. attack and invasions
3. loss control of the Mediterranean and trade routes
4. emergence of the Church
The Scientific Revolution
Wikipedia
 12th and 13th centuries
 The Renaissance
 1543
Scientific Revolution
 Publication of Archimedes
(287-212 BC)
Wikipedia: Vesalius
 Vesalius (1514-1564)
Published work on
dissections replaces Galen
(129-200AD)
Wikipedia: Copernicus
 Copernicus (1473-1543)
A heliocentric system
The Scientific Revolution
Descartes
Bacon
 1543
Emergence of Philosophy
 Father of Philosophy Rene
Descartes (1596-1626)
I think, therefore I am
 Johannes Kepler (15711630)
Galileo
 Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
Kepler
 Emergence of Sir Francis
Bacon (1561-1626)
The Scientific Revolution
Plato
Aristotle
“Top down” approach
Bottom up approach
One starts with an idea
Drawing conclusions from
observation
Theory laden observation
Empirical tradition
Rational tradition
DEDUCTIVE REASONING
Rene Descartes
INDUCTIVE REASONING
Sir Francis Bacon
Sir Francis Bacon: Induction
Wikipedia
Observation(s)
2
3
Bacon
 What is induction?
Inductive reasoning starts with an observation.
Repeated observation leads one to conclude that:
All observed swans are white (specific statement)
Therefore all swans are white (general statement)
Problems with Induction
 What would happen if we went to Australia
and see a black swan?
CONCLUSION: We were wrong, our
reasoning is not sound
Wikipedia: The Black Swan
(Cygnus atratus)
 What would happen if we stayed in Europe
and only saw, white swans during our
lifetime?
CONCLUSION: All swans are white
Wikipedia: Mute Swan
(Cygnus olor)
 There are weaknesses to the inductive
method of reasoning, for example looking
at our argument:
All observed swans are white (specific
statement) Therefore all swans are white
(general statement)
Problems with Induction
 Below another example: Turkey has seen may days come and
go, why should 25 December be any different?
Induction proves fatal
01 January-24 December
25 December
www.kidzone.ws
www.kidzone.ws
Problems with Induction: David Hume
 David Hume (1711-1776), Scottish
philosopher, pointed out this weakness of
induction
 Hume was however, in agreement with Bacon
that knowledge must be gained empirically,
through observation, experience and
experimentation
 Despite Hume’s objection, and the problems
with induction, we see three centuries of
massive gathering of scientific knowledge
using induction
Wikipedia
 The example of the swans and the turkey are
both hasty generalisations, which assumes
all swans are white, and as a healthy turkey I
can expect to see the next day
Empiricism vs Dogma (Induction vs Deduction)
 Sir Francis Bacon emphasised that knowledge could only be
gained by experiencing the world i.e. make observations, collect
data, conduct experiments (empiricism)
 The inductive method of inquiry was in opposition to the
dogmatic teachings of the Church, which made biased,
subjective assumptions
 The Church is dogmatic because it assumes that religious
knowledge is true and can be used to derive scientific
knowledge or truths; the Church uses deductive reasoning
 An example of this clash can be seen with the response of the
Church to Galileo, after he supported Copernicus’ idea on a
heliocentric system (the Earth is the centre and the other
heavenly bodies revolve around it)
Empiricism vs Rationalism (Induction vs Deduction)
 Bacon and Hume was also in opposition to the Continental
Rationalists, for example Rene Descartes (1596-1626)
 Descartes was a mathematician and he followed the same
method used by the ancient Greek mathematicians, namely, start
with a set of ideas (theorems, axioms) and derive a new theorem
from that body of existing knowledge
 The continental rationalist, like Descartes, Leibniz and Spinoza,
drew a distinction between knowledge of eternal truth, for
example, mathematics, and knowledge which had to be gained
through experience (experimentation), for example, biology
Empiricism vs Rationalism (Induction vs Deduction)
 New mathematical knowledge can be gained by using existing
knowledge, using logic and reason to produce new mathematical
knowledge, because mathematical truth is absolute, eternal, and
certain
Wikipedia
Hypothetico-deductive Method
 However, that is not to say that
biologists do not use the deductive
method of reasoning
 Deduction and induction often
work together in the natural and
physical science
Wikipedia: Popper
 The natural and the physical
sciences lends itself better to
empiricism, and less so to
rationalism (using logic and reason
alone)
Hypothetico-deductive Method
 Induction ensures that there is
an adequate number of
unbiased observations
(accumulated knowledge)
 Deduction can use the
accumulated knowledge to ask
question based on reason and
logic
 An example of this is the
Global Warming and Global
Dimming issue
Hypothetico-deductive Method
 An example of this is the Global Warming and Global Dimming
issue
INDUCTION
DEDUCTION
experience
reason
falsification
experiment
logic
observe
RATIONALIST
EMPIRICIST
Induction
increases
the body of
knowledge
BODY OF
KNOWLEDGE
FACT
Deduction
draws from
the body of
knowledge
THEORY
Hypothetico-deductive Method
INDUCTION
accumulation
of weather data
supporting
Global Warming
EMPIRICIST
Induction
increases
the body of
knowledge
falsification
BODY
OF KNOWLEDGE
FACT
DEDUCTION
reason about
weather data
and its effects
RATIONALIST
Deduction
draws from
the body of
knowledge
THEORY
Hypothetico-deductive Method
INDUCTION
accumulation
of weather data
supporting
Global Dimming
EMPIRICIST
Induction
increases
the body of
knowledge
falsification
BODY
OF KNOWLEDGE
FACT
DEDUCTION
reason about
weather data
and its effects
RATIONALIST
Deduction
draws from
the body of
knowledge
THEORY
Hypothetico-deductive method
 The hypothetico method
uses falsification instead
of verification to test
theories
 Sir Karl Popper developed
the hypothetico-deductive
method to counter the
biased verification of
theories
 This method also tested
existing theories and
ideas, using deduction
Thomas Kuhn
 Core science is proven scientific
knowledge, which scientists do not
question, they do not try to falsify it
 Normal science is the science that
scientist do everyday to find
answers, namely, the accumulation
of data and to solve questions or
puzzles
Wikipedia
 Thomas Kuhn (1922-1996) stated
that there are two types of
knowledge or science, namely, core
science and normal science
Thomas Kuhn
 Normal science sometimes comes up with anomolies, which does
not threaten the core science, for example global dimming was
explained to be a symptom of climate change
 However, as anomolies accumulate over time, scientists have to
revisit what they previously held to be true.
They can no longer ignore the anomolies, and must instead
replace or modify existing core science
Normal Science
Crisis
Revolution
Prescience