Intellectual Revolutions PDF

MODULE 2 Intellectual Revolutions that Defined Society Let Us Read Copernican Revolution The Renaissance brought a fresh spirit of inquiry to the arts and sciences....

MODULE 2 Intellectual Revolutions that Defined Society Let Us Read Copernican Revolution The Renaissance brought a fresh spirit of inquiry to the arts and sciences. Explorers and travelers brought home the vestiges of classical knowledge that had been preserved in the Muslim world and the East, and in the 15th century Aristarchus’ heliocentric hypothesis again came to be debated in certain educated circles. The boldest step was taken by the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, who hesitated for so long in publication that he did not see a printed copy of his own work until he lay on his deathbed in 1543. Copernicus recognized more profoundly than anyone else the advantages of a Sun-centered planetary system. By adopting the view that Earth circled the Sun, he could qualitatively explain the to-and-fro wanderings of the planets much more simply than Ptolemy. For example, at certain times in the motions of Earth and Mars about the Sun, Earth would catch up with Mars’s projected motion, and then that planet would appear to go backward through the zodiac. Unfortunately in his Sun-centered system, Copernicus continued to adhere to the established tradition of using uniform circular motion, and if he adopted only one large circle for the orbit of each planet, his calculated planetary positions would in fact be quantitatively poorer in comparison with the observed positions of the planets than tables based on the Ptolemaic system. This defect could be partially corrected by providing additional smaller circles, but then much of the beauty and simplicity of Copernicus’ original system would be lost. Moreover, though the Sun was now removed from the list of planets and Earth added, the Moon still needed to move around Earth. Darwinian Revolution In 1859, there was a groundbreaking revolution in both the scientific and religious realms: the origin of species, authored by Charles Darwin, was published. The book changed how people approach biology forever, and has fundamental impacts on modern science, religion, and other aspects of the society. A century and a half later, the influence of Darwin remains. In Australia there is City of Darwin, named after the evolution giant. There are Darwin branded merchandises, restaurants, even colleges. However, as Prof. Browne from Harvard University have lectured, Darwin’s opinions were not fully acknowledged till at least a hundred years later. At the time when Origin of Species was published, the theories did not immediately gain popularity. As Prof. Browne put it, it was not a “revolution” but rather a slow change, stretched out over the course of a century. Darwin’s opinions, as they start to gain popularity, were very much challenged. Most of the questions come from people who come from a religious background and the concept of evolution particularly disputed the existence of a creator. Darwin’s response what safe yet smart: instead of labeling himself as an atheist, he resorts to being an agnostic, refusing to enter the debate of whether God exists. Despite his great achievements, Darwin is still a person with unique personalities, and by revisiting his life we could unveil how his thoughts came to be and how his theory of evolution is sparked. Living in a very private, remote estate, Darwin had a wealthy heritage which provided him with ample time and financial support to pursue his interests. Because of his remote location, most of the communications with his scientific colleagues are achieved through mails, and this large amount of correspondence left us with a rather streamlined thought process of how his theory took its shape. First, through those mails, we could see that he was a very organized person, and made decisions through listing pros and cons. One example was when deciding whether or not to get married, he listed the pros and cons of marriage, and in the end concluding that dying alone would be worse that having too much company.  Another aspect of Darwin’s theories is that the correspondence revealed was the emergence of similar theories at the time. Multiple people have written to Darwin regarding similar evolution theories and without Darwin, the evolution theory would probably still be discovered, but under a different name. Now, since Darwin is the name attached to this theory, his name, like the Bible, is quoted by people with different agendas. Eugenicists insist that Darwin’s theory implies that we need to actively “better” our gene while other groups cite Darwin for other discriminatory policies. Science history views Darwin as a “saint”, burying him at Westminster Abbey while the British Natural History Museum puts his sculpture up and down depending how Darwin is perceived by the general public. Darwin’s simple theory is interpreted and misinterpreted in many different dimensions, but it is this social discourse that keeps the theory alive and drives science forward. Freudian Revolution A relating to the ideas or methods of Sigmund Freud, especially his ideas about the way in which people's hidden thoughts and feelings influence their behavior especially with respect to the causes and treatment of neurotic and psychopathic states, the interpretation of dreams, etc.  relating to or influenced by Sigmund Freud and his methods of psychoanalysis, especially with reference to the importance of sexuality in human behavior. Sigmund Freud Also considered to be the father of Psychiatry. Freud was born to Galician Jewish parents in the Moravian town of Freiberg, in the Austrian Empire. He qualified as a doctor of medicine in 1881 at the University of Vienna. he was appointed a docent in neuropathology and became an affiliated professor in 1902. Freud lived and worked in Vienna, having set up his clinical practice there in 1886. Freud was a one-of-a-kind thinker. There can be little question that he was influenced by earlier thinking regarding the human mind, especially the idea of there being activity within the mind at a conscious and unconscious level yet his approach to these topics was largely conceptual. His theoretical thoughts were as original as they were unique. It is a testament to Freud’s mind to know that whether you agree, disagree, or are ambivalent about his theory, it remains as a theoretical cornerstone in his field of expertise. Human Personality: The adult personality emerges as a composite of early childhood experiences, based on how these experiences are consciously and unconsciously processed within human developmental stages, and how these experiences shape the personality. Not every person completes the necessary tasks of every developmental stage. When they don’t, the results can be a mental condition requiring psychoanalysis to achieve proper functioning. Believing that most human suffering is determined during childhood development, Freud placed emphasis on the five stages of psychosexual development. As a child passes through these stages unresolved conflicts between physical drives and social expectation may arise. These stages are: 1. Oral (0 – 1.5 years of age): Fixation on all things oral. If not satisfactorily met there is the likelihood of developing negative oral habits or behaviors. 2. Anal (1.5 to 3 years of age): As indicated this stage is primarily related to developing healthy toilet training habits. 3. Phallic (3 – 5 year of age): The development of healthy substitutes for the sexual attraction boys and girls has toward a parent of the opposite gender. 4. Latency (5 – 12 years of age): The development of healthy dormant sexual feelings for the opposite sex. 5. Genital (12 – adulthood): All tasks from the previous four stages are integrated into the mind allowing for the onset of healthy sexual feelings and behaviors. It is during these stages of development that the experiences are filtered through the three levels of the human mind. It is from these structures and the inherent conflicts that arise in the mind that personality is shaped. According to Freud while there is an interdependence among these three levels, each level also serves a purpose in personality development. Within this theory the ability of a person to resolve internal conflicts at specific stages of their development determines future coping and functioning ability as a fully-mature adult. 1. Super ego - Each stage is processed through Freud’s concept of the human mind as a three-tier system consisting of the superego, the ego, and the id. The super ego functions at a conscious level. It serves as a type of screening center for what is going on. It is at this level that society and parental guidance is weighed against personal pleasure and gain as directed by one’s id. Obviously, this puts in motion situations ripe for conflict. 2. Ego - Much like a judge in a trial, once experiences are processed through the superego and the id they fall into the ego to mediate a satisfactory outcome. Originally, Freud used the word ego to mean a sense of self, but later revised it to mean a set of psychic functions such as judgment, tolerance, reality testing, control, planning, defense, synthesis of information, intellectual functioning, and memory. 3. Id - The egocentric center of the human universe, Freud believed that within this one level, the id is constantly fighting to have our way in everything we undertake. Let Us Answer Choose the revolution the suites the statement: COPERNICAN REVOLUTION, DARWINIAN REVOLUTION, FREUDIAN REVOLUTION 1. Renaissance brought a fresh spirit of inquiry to the arts and sciences. 2. In 1859, there was a groundbreaking revolution in both the scientific and religious realms: the origin of species. 3. Recognized more profoundly than anyone else the advantages of a Sun-centered planetary system. 4. As Prof. Browne from Harvard University have lectured, his opinions were not fully acknowledged till at least a hundred years later. 5. He is considered to be the father of Psychiatry. 6. Hesitated for so long in publication that he did not see a printed copy of his own work until he lay on his deathbed in 1543. 7. He qualified as a doctor of medicine in 1881 at the University of Vienna. 8. Most of the questions come from people who come from a religious background and the concept of evolution particularly disputed the existence of a creator. 9. The adult personality emerges as a composite of early childhood experiences, based on how these experiences are consciously and unconsciously processed within human developmental stages, and how these experiences shape the personality. 10. continued to adhere to the established tradition of using uniform circular motion, and if he adopted only one large circle for the orbit of each planet, his calculated planetary positions would in fact be quantitatively poorer in comparison with the observed positions of the planets than tables based on the Ptolemaic system. 11. Fixation on all things oral. If not satisfactorily met there is the likelihood of developing negative oral habits or behaviors. 12. As indicated this stage is primarily related to developing healthy toilet training habits. 13. Despite his great achievements, he is still a person with unique personalities, and by revisiting his life we could unveil how his thoughts came to be and how his theory of evolution is sparked. 14. The egocentric center of the human universe, he believed that within this one level, the id is constantly fighting to have our way in everything we undertake. 15. Now, since his name attached to the theory, his name, like the Bible, is quoted by people with different agendas.