Post by yenchihlee on Mar 7, 2016 5:06:43 GMT
1. Why is understanding physics and the general rules of the universe so important in doing philosophy?
How do we know what we see is real? We have to measure it and to make sure that its characteristics remain the same when measuring it again in the future. Those measurement experiences shape our perception of the substance that we see. In the process, we use knowledge developed in the fields of physics, mathematics, and chemistry to eventually summarize a clear definition of the substance we have measured so as to know what we see is real. Understanding physics and the general rules of the universe is to pursue the goal of constructing the real world with science.
In the quantum theory, light is in a form of waves when travelling and it is also in a form of particle when storing energy. Therefore, measuring light may result in different results unless a stochastic approach is taken. Einstein was a realist and felt very uncomfortable with the uncertainty embedded in statistics. Bohr was a pragmatist and insisted that “it is wrong to think that the task of physics is to find out how Nature is. Physics concerns what we say about Nature.”(Land and Diem-Lane, 2014, p20) In other words, if the results of measuring light show a statistic nature, we have to accept it as a fact.
Looking at philosophy itself, we are trying to comprehend our intellectual world from a theoretical approach based on what we see and learn. Plato’s allegory of the cave suggests that only prisoners coming out the cave could see the real shapes and outlines versus to those guessed through light and shadow when seeing the casted images from inside the cave. (Land and Diem-Lane, 2014, p22) In other words, we have to be a physicist to make a clear measurement of the universe before we can have a clear intelligent interpretation of the way that people do, think, and behave.
2. What is eliminative materialism? Provide three examples of it.
The eliminative materialism is a process of elimination when trying to explain some phenomena. It starts by trying to comprehend the phenomena through mathematics, then physics, chemistry, biology, psychology, sociology, etc. Eventually, if none of those academic disciplines can assist in explaining the phenomena, then we may just have to say, "Well, God did it." (neuralsurfer, 2011)
The first example is when I have headache, I would take Tylenol first. When Tylenol fails to ease my headache, then I would go to see a doctor. The doctor would measure my temperature, check my throat, and listen to my breathing condition. He is very likely to assume that I catch a cold and have a fever, and he will give me antibiotics to kill germs. However, if the symptom continues, he will then send me to a big hospital to take all kinds of medical checks before realizing that the disease is much more serious than catching a cold.
The second example is when I buy a lottery. First I will use my birthday, my pet’s birthday, and my address to form a lucky combination. After a few times, I realize that this lucky combination gets me nowhere to win a lottery. Then I will check past records to search for any statistical relationship between numbers appeared this time with those occurred last time. I will even use a statistical program to create a scientific combination. After a few times, I realize that this scientific combination also produces no winning possibility because the statistics keeps changing. Therefore, I switch to random numbers and let the computer throw out a winning combination for me. Again, I am puzzled when there are lottery winners in every few days but I am never one of them. Now I understand: the winner is decided by God.
The third example is the work shown by Lane (2014) when he was trying to see what inside a golf ball. First, he saw a lot of rubber bands inside, then he took those rubber bands apart to find out that each rubber band was made of many small lines. He then pulled these lines apart to get many little pieces and he used microscope to see many smaller thread like material. At this point, he started learning physics and understood that there are atoms inside every material. Atoms are made of protons, neutrons, and electrons. He then understood the quantum mechanics, the uncertainty in making measurements of light, the four fundamental forces in the universe, the grand unified theory, the theory of everything, and the string theory. He has learned many things by starting from peeling a golf ball.
Lane, S.-M. (2014) Is the universe really made out of tiny rubber bands? Mt. San Antonio College. 42pages.
How do we know what we see is real? We have to measure it and to make sure that its characteristics remain the same when measuring it again in the future. Those measurement experiences shape our perception of the substance that we see. In the process, we use knowledge developed in the fields of physics, mathematics, and chemistry to eventually summarize a clear definition of the substance we have measured so as to know what we see is real. Understanding physics and the general rules of the universe is to pursue the goal of constructing the real world with science.
In the quantum theory, light is in a form of waves when travelling and it is also in a form of particle when storing energy. Therefore, measuring light may result in different results unless a stochastic approach is taken. Einstein was a realist and felt very uncomfortable with the uncertainty embedded in statistics. Bohr was a pragmatist and insisted that “it is wrong to think that the task of physics is to find out how Nature is. Physics concerns what we say about Nature.”(Land and Diem-Lane, 2014, p20) In other words, if the results of measuring light show a statistic nature, we have to accept it as a fact.
Looking at philosophy itself, we are trying to comprehend our intellectual world from a theoretical approach based on what we see and learn. Plato’s allegory of the cave suggests that only prisoners coming out the cave could see the real shapes and outlines versus to those guessed through light and shadow when seeing the casted images from inside the cave. (Land and Diem-Lane, 2014, p22) In other words, we have to be a physicist to make a clear measurement of the universe before we can have a clear intelligent interpretation of the way that people do, think, and behave.
Reference
Land, D. C. & A. Diem-Lane (2014) Quantum Weirdness: Einstein vs. Bohr. Mt. San Antonio College. 64pages. 2. What is eliminative materialism? Provide three examples of it.
The eliminative materialism is a process of elimination when trying to explain some phenomena. It starts by trying to comprehend the phenomena through mathematics, then physics, chemistry, biology, psychology, sociology, etc. Eventually, if none of those academic disciplines can assist in explaining the phenomena, then we may just have to say, "Well, God did it." (neuralsurfer, 2011)
The first example is when I have headache, I would take Tylenol first. When Tylenol fails to ease my headache, then I would go to see a doctor. The doctor would measure my temperature, check my throat, and listen to my breathing condition. He is very likely to assume that I catch a cold and have a fever, and he will give me antibiotics to kill germs. However, if the symptom continues, he will then send me to a big hospital to take all kinds of medical checks before realizing that the disease is much more serious than catching a cold.
The second example is when I buy a lottery. First I will use my birthday, my pet’s birthday, and my address to form a lucky combination. After a few times, I realize that this lucky combination gets me nowhere to win a lottery. Then I will check past records to search for any statistical relationship between numbers appeared this time with those occurred last time. I will even use a statistical program to create a scientific combination. After a few times, I realize that this scientific combination also produces no winning possibility because the statistics keeps changing. Therefore, I switch to random numbers and let the computer throw out a winning combination for me. Again, I am puzzled when there are lottery winners in every few days but I am never one of them. Now I understand: the winner is decided by God.
The third example is the work shown by Lane (2014) when he was trying to see what inside a golf ball. First, he saw a lot of rubber bands inside, then he took those rubber bands apart to find out that each rubber band was made of many small lines. He then pulled these lines apart to get many little pieces and he used microscope to see many smaller thread like material. At this point, he started learning physics and understood that there are atoms inside every material. Atoms are made of protons, neutrons, and electrons. He then understood the quantum mechanics, the uncertainty in making measurements of light, the four fundamental forces in the universe, the grand unified theory, the theory of everything, and the string theory. He has learned many things by starting from peeling a golf ball.
References
neuraslurfer, (2011, Nov. 8) Eliminative Materialism: God Did It? PART ONE OF A THREE PART SERIES. Retrieved on March 3, 2016, from www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZmue10YKvc Lane, S.-M. (2014) Is the universe really made out of tiny rubber bands? Mt. San Antonio College. 42pages.