History of Science PDF

History of Science It all starts with the Greeks The Ancient Greeks are seen, in the west, as our intellectual forefathers. From Greece was born philosophy, drama, western artistic aesthetics, geometry, etc., etc., etc. Theology (The study of the nature of God and religious belief) w...

History of Science It all starts with the Greeks The Ancient Greeks are seen, in the west, as our intellectual forefathers. From Greece was born philosophy, drama, western artistic aesthetics, geometry, etc., etc., etc. Theology (The study of the nature of God and religious belief) was never an important aspect of Greek thought and Orthodoxy (authorized or generally accepted theory) was practically anathema. Ancient Greek society did not have a permanent priestly class that imposed dogma (principles laid by authority). Greek Gods & Goddesses were NOT omnipotent (having unlimited power) nor omniscient (knowing everything).  Aristotle (384-322 BCE) Tutor to Alex the Great Scala Natura (Ladder of nature) Life was organized in a linear hierarchy, as organisms increasing in perfection from lower to higher forms His philosophy later adopted by the Christian West Founded the Lyceum (an associaton providing public lectures), peripatetic school conducted philosophical and scientific inquiries.  Aristotle created a hierarchy of all living things, from simple to more complex. Although he did not mean to imply evolution, it nevertheless ranked all of creation from great to small. This later became the “Great Chain of Being” – a hierarchically ordered system with God & angels at the top, progressing downward from more to lesser developed (moral/perfect) beings. Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemaeus (fl. AD 127- 145, Alexandria) Ancient astronomer, geographer, and mathematician He considered the Earth the center of the universe (the "Ptolemaic system"). Virtually nothing is known about his life.  Created a Geocentric model of the universe. This worked pretty well for a long time – especially for planets. But, eventually, errors would be detected (once math & technology developed more). Greek Civilization It is difficult to underestimate the contributions of Greek philosophy, science, art, literature, etc. Although they were “pagans” (as later Christians would think), much Greek thought was incorporated into the Christian European tradition. Nevertheless, the sense of curiosity that drove Greek intellectual developments would not be adopted in the west until the Renaissance. European Medieval thinking After the fall of the Roman Empire (~478 AD), Europe would be politically fragmented and a period of intellectual conservatism would be the norm. Meanwhile, Arab civilization would be the center of intellectual development – esp. in mathematics, optics, medicine. In Europe, intellectual activity would be under the purview of the church – monasteries would be the loci of study, contemplation, documentation. The “New World” The “discovery” of the Americas was one of the most important events in European history (although historians mostly focus on the impact of Europe on the Americas). There were several troubling aspects to the discovery.  First, the Bible had absolutely nothing to say about the Americas – not its location, people, history, etc. Europeans came into contact with people entirely ignorant of God, Christ, etc. The plants and animals of the Americas were unknown – although there were some that were the same.  This led to 1) recognition that the Bible was not the ultimate authority on nature 2) debate over the nature of Indigenous people (were they animals or humans?) 3) classification of the animals & plants. 4) the fact that no one knew anything about the Americas sparked curiosity – the need to know. Of course, there were many other ramifications to European domination of the Americas – Economic benefits Competition and struggles over control of the colonies and their wealth between European nations (Spain vs. Britain, etc.) Politics: Liberalism (our current form of government) would have its first experiment in the Americas (USA). Our concern here, however, is in science. The discovery of the new world began a process of separation of church and science. Many would try to reconcile science & religion, but ultimately, science would largely reject theology as a way of knowing the natural world. Rene Descartes (1596-1650) Descartes is often called the 'father' of modern philosophy. Descartes argued that a mathematically-based scientific knowledge of the material world is possible. Cogito, ergo sum (i-think-therefore-i-am) He rejected religious authority in the quest for scientific and philosophical knowledge (but he was a devout Catholic) He argued for a rational justification for a universal, mathematical/ quantitative understanding of nature. We still rely largely on the Cartesian view of the universe – a mechanistic view of nature. Although Descartes and other philosophers established spaces for coexistence between science and religion, it would still be quite some time before Europe would be able to embrace evolution. Up until Darwin, the predominant understanding of the world came from the Bible and Church doctrine. In this respect, truth had been revealed (via the Bible and Christ)... There was no need to question God’s creation.... This set of beliefs meant that people were highly resistant to evidence to the contrary and even went so far to create elaborate explanations to “fit” contradictions into religious belief. Charles Darwin, shortly after returning from his around-the-world voyage on the Beagle Darwin’s ideas of evolution greatly influence the studies in ethology. The aspects of Darwin’s theory of evolution and the role that change plays in evolution that are especially valuable to ethology includes: Variation Heredity and Differences in reproductive Charles Darwin’s Study Room A variable species Ladybugs (Harmonia axyridis) can exhibit a wide array of variation in heritable features. Natural selection Darwin’s idea of natural selection is especially well suited for coupling with genetic aspects of heritability. If one heritable feature is favored for a given environment, it will tend to proliferate whereas other forms will be less favored.