Post by Sean McLaughlin on Mar 14, 2016 4:18:49 GMT
1. Why is understanding physics and the general rules of the universe so important in doing philosophy?
Philosophy is vital to the understanding of physics because one must be able to think critically and question the inner workings of the universe as we know it. Philosophy is defined by Webster's dictionary as being "the study of ideas about knowledge, truth, the nature and meaning of life". On the other hand, physics is described as being the study of the physical properties and phenomena of matter and energy and the interactions between the two. Physics is important to philosophers in that one cannot make philosophical assumptions without having accurate data to base their conclusions or decisions on. In fact, it is through the work of physics that philosophy is able to continue to grow. In Is the Universe Really Made of Tiny Rubber Bands?, it is revealed that early Greek philosopher Democritus once made the suggestion that everything in the world around us was comprised of tiny little "balls", or atoms which he believed could not be further reduced to smaller matter. It wasn't until April 1932 that physicists John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton split the atom for the first time, disproving Democritus' previous theory that atoms could not be split. This serves as a prime example of how through physics we are able to learn more about the world around us and form more accurate philosophical theories based upon these scientific discoveries. Without physics, philosophy could simply not be possible.
2. What is eliminative materialism?
Eliminative materialism as described in the YouTube videos is the process of dismissing old and outdated concepts and beliefs for more precise and accurate scientific explanations. Three real-world examples described in the videos included the old belief that Thor, the Norse God of thunder was responsible for the occurrence of thunderstorms, science now has shown that lightning, and the subsequent thunder, is the result of a build-up of electrical current created from the motion of water particles in the atmosphere. The belief that evil spirits were responsible for causing deadly diseases is now disproven by the discovery of the existence of infectious microorganisms. The idea of geocentricity, that all the matter in our solar system rotates around the planet Earth has been disproven by modern astronomy. In all instances, as more research and discoveries are made, more accurate scientific explanations for such occurrences can be made in eliminative materialism.
Philosophy is vital to the understanding of physics because one must be able to think critically and question the inner workings of the universe as we know it. Philosophy is defined by Webster's dictionary as being "the study of ideas about knowledge, truth, the nature and meaning of life". On the other hand, physics is described as being the study of the physical properties and phenomena of matter and energy and the interactions between the two. Physics is important to philosophers in that one cannot make philosophical assumptions without having accurate data to base their conclusions or decisions on. In fact, it is through the work of physics that philosophy is able to continue to grow. In Is the Universe Really Made of Tiny Rubber Bands?, it is revealed that early Greek philosopher Democritus once made the suggestion that everything in the world around us was comprised of tiny little "balls", or atoms which he believed could not be further reduced to smaller matter. It wasn't until April 1932 that physicists John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton split the atom for the first time, disproving Democritus' previous theory that atoms could not be split. This serves as a prime example of how through physics we are able to learn more about the world around us and form more accurate philosophical theories based upon these scientific discoveries. Without physics, philosophy could simply not be possible.
2. What is eliminative materialism?
Eliminative materialism as described in the YouTube videos is the process of dismissing old and outdated concepts and beliefs for more precise and accurate scientific explanations. Three real-world examples described in the videos included the old belief that Thor, the Norse God of thunder was responsible for the occurrence of thunderstorms, science now has shown that lightning, and the subsequent thunder, is the result of a build-up of electrical current created from the motion of water particles in the atmosphere. The belief that evil spirits were responsible for causing deadly diseases is now disproven by the discovery of the existence of infectious microorganisms. The idea of geocentricity, that all the matter in our solar system rotates around the planet Earth has been disproven by modern astronomy. In all instances, as more research and discoveries are made, more accurate scientific explanations for such occurrences can be made in eliminative materialism.