NATS Final Exam Review Notes PDF

Summary

These review notes cover important principles in the field of astronomy and philosophy of science. The notes summarize key concepts from the course, including theories of the universe and past arguments about extraterrestrial life.

Full Transcript

Review Notes Please note that these notes are by no means comprehensive and are only meant to review the most important points discussed in the course so far. Important Principles Principle of Plenitude No genuine potentiality of being can remain unful lled and the ext...

Review Notes Please note that these notes are by no means comprehensive and are only meant to review the most important points discussed in the course so far. Important Principles Principle of Plenitude No genuine potentiality of being can remain unful lled and the extent and abundance of creation is as vast as the possibilities of existence and commensurate with the productive capacity of a perfect and inexhaustible source (atoms or God) Murphy’s law which states that if anything can go wrong it will go wrong (based on principle of plentitude) Occam’s razor which states that when two competing theories make exactly the same prediction, the simpler one is better. Copernican Principle which states that the universe appears the same from every point and in every direction. Principle of relativity which states that the laws of physics are the same everywhere in the universe. fi Ancient Greeks Atomists argued in favour of many inhabited worlds: Matter is made of indivisible units called atoms In nite number of atoms Random Motion of atoms In nite number of universes Argument Relies on Principle of Plentitude Other views: (1) Universe has evolved to its current state. (2) There is no God fi fi Aristotle Aristotle argued against the existence of other worlds: Earth’s centre coincides with the centre of the universe, towards which everything fell. There can be no two centres….. Important Points of A True Story Considered by many to be the rst work of science ction The protagonists gets caught in a whirlwind and end up on the Moon, only to nd that the King of Lunarians is an Earthling who was abducted in his sleep and brought to the Moon. Lucian of Samosata populates the Moon, Sun and many other stars and planets. The book discusses the potential plans for colonization of planet Venus. The Colony was to be made of the poorest people of the kingdom of the moon who were going to start a new life on planet Venus which was empty and uninhabited. fi fi fi Early Christians Early Christian Scholars rejected the idea of plurality of the worlds based on the teachings of Aristotle. This however begged an answer to the following question: Is the rejection of the plurality of the worlds in contradiction with Omnipotence of God? —-> Condemnations of 1277 After Condemnations of 1277 So God could have made many worlds. But what about the doctrine of atonement? Doctrine of atonement: Forgiving of the Question: Do extraterrestrials live in Sin? original sin through the death and Can Christ by dying on Earth redeem the resurrection of inhabitants of another world or does he travel Jesus Christ. from one world to another and die to redeem the inhabitants? Possible Answer: Maybe extraterrestrials have never committed the original sin so are not in need of redemption. Chain of Beings Chain of Beings: Every existing thing in the universe has its place in a divinely planned hierarchical order. The placement depends on the relative proportion of spirit and matter that existed in the being. No matter how small a being, there is a place for everyone. ET was usually placed between Humans and Angels. Geocentric Universe Characteristics Earth at the centre; all celestial bodies in orbit around Earth. Retrograde motion of the planets: planets generally move from west to East every night Epicycle—> with respect to the background stars BUT sometimes they stop and moved westward. This is called the Retrograde Motion.

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