Seminar Paper
It can be said that Science is the search for the truth. The
universe is ultimately unknowable, however in Western Philosophy people
believed that they could understand the universe. In modern theories the
concept of time is limitless, unlike Buddhist views who thought that time was
simply limited.
Emanuel Kant was a philosopher who believed that we can not know the truth. Not only this but he also thought that you always have to have an honest opinion of something. This can relate to Kant’s concepts of A Priori and Posteriori.
Emanuel Kant was a philosopher who believed that we can not know the truth. Not only this but he also thought that you always have to have an honest opinion of something. This can relate to Kant’s concepts of A Priori and Posteriori.
A Priori is before experience, where you can understand
something before you experience it. Such as if you were told about a triangle,
you could systematically work out that it had 3 sides. A Priori ideas are based
upon reason alone. On the other hand, Posteriori must be grounded upon
experience and such ideas are constantly limited.
Before Kant, it was believed that the earth was a mix of objects which can relate to the mirror theory of mind and reality. The empiricists such as Bacon and Newton thought that the cosmos is the sum total of many things. These can be a variation of different sizes and are difficult to see, but they are ‘there’ as objects whether we can physically see them or not. This theory can be related to Copernicus who was a Polish ecclesiastic. Copernicus lived in the 16th Century, yet his theories and beliefs lasted much longer. He believed early that the sun is at the entre of the universe. This was named the heliocentric model. He stated that the earth has a two fold motion; a diurnal rotation and an annual revolution about the sun. This theory was only put through as a hypothesis. A Similar Philosopher, Kepler, who was born 100 years after Copernicus is an example of what can be achieved by patience. He was the first important astronomer after Copernicus to adopt the heliocentric theory. Kepler’s first idea was that planets move in ellipses. A general belief of all astronomers where that all celestial motions are circular. To explain planetary motions, epicycles were used. This is the curve traced by a point on a circle which rolls on another circle. The circle was a perfect figure and the celestial orbs were perfect bodies, both Plato and Aristotle closely related to gods. Ultimately this invented the idea that a perfect body must move in a perfect figure, since the heavenly bodies move freely, their motion must be natural.
Both Newton and Einstein came from the Copernican revolution. It asks questions such as; Does the earth really orbit the sun? Where is the centre of the universe? If Newtons laws of motions describe motion from one point to another, can there be any motion if there are infinite distances?
In Newtonion science, it can be said that there are actually no limits and you can basically find out anything scientifically. This worked for the steam age which relates to the way Newtonian physics benefitted the making of steam trains. Francis Bacon, rejected the copernican theory, believing that philosophy should be kept separate from theology. Bacon believed that the only evidence of a God was humanities reason.
The Verification principle is an understanding of what is the truth. The truth of any proposition is the way you verify it. If a proposition cannot be verified it is neither true nor false. Ultimately, non verifiable principles have to be separated by verifiable principles.
Kant’s view of the cosmos is much like a computer game where the object, landscape, time and space are created in consciousness and then fades away again. For people who play computer games in their spare time, often find themselves immersed in the world the game creates, then once they stop playing the game, the world disappears. This is a simple way of understanding Kant’s view of the cosmos. However, Kant was not a pure idealist, both him, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche stated that existence is not a predicate of any possible object, nothing actually ‘causes’ existence.
Aristotle, much like Kant, was extremely interested in the truth and what can be classed as ‘actual truth’. Aristotle’s logic arises the argument of Deduction VS Induction. This is written within ‘The Organon” and describes to us how deduction preserves truth and expects authority above everything else. An example of deduction is that all swans are white. This is a swan therefore it is white. However this example is a flawed deductive argument as not all swans are white. Aristotle said 'all men are mortal' e.g. Socrates is a man therefore he is mortal. This is an example of deduction as you start with a general proposition/statement then you get the truth from it.
Epistemology is the branch of Philosophy cornered with the nature of knowledge. The word comes from the Greek term meaning knowledge and understanding.
John Stuart Mill who lived through the 1800's was a British Philosopher, political economist and civil servant. Mill describes the 'system of logic' as a textbook of the doctrine that derives all knowledge from experience. He went beyond his predeccors in claiming that not only science but also mathematics can be derived from experience. Mill's theory of the inductive truth relates to generalisations being based on individual experiences. Assertions of these truths, must always be hypothetical. Consequently, the principle is never accurately true, for one measured mile's length is not always equal to another. Ultimately you would always detect some difference.
Considered as a Philosopher, John Henry Newman belonged to the same empiricist tradition as Stuart Mill. Newman believed that the only direct acquaintance we have with things outside ourselves, comes through our senses. We have to be near things to touch them, we can neither see nor hear not touch things past or future. Newman asserted that reason does not perceive anything. The exercise of reason is to assert one thing on the grounds of some other thing. Newman identifies two separate operations that are exercised when we reason.
1. Inference
2. Assent
Both operations are quite distant from each other. We often assent to a proposition when we have forgotten the reason. It has been said that assent may be given without adequate evidence or argument and this often leads to error. Locke maintained that this is always wrong. He stated "Whoever goes beyond this measure of assent, it is plain received not truth in the love of it, loves not truth for truths-sake, but for some other by-end."(From the essay concerning Human Understanding) Locke maintained that there can be no demonstrable truth in concrete matters therefore assent to a proposition must be conditional. Newman however disagreed. He believes there are no such things as degrees of assent, though there is room for opinion without the assent that is necessary for knowledge.
Each of us are certain that we will one day die but we can not give evidence on this.
Simple assent - is done unconsciously.
Complex assent - must provide some type of proof
C.S Peirce was an American Philosopher. He was educated as a Chemist and employed as a Scientist for 30 years. In today's age he is largely appreciated for his contributions to logic, philosophy, science and for his founding in pragmatism. Peirce devised an epistemology appropriate to an age of scientific inquiry. He presented this in a series of articles in the Popular Science Monthly entitled 'Illustrations of the Logic of Science'. One of the most famous written articles was 'The Fixation of Belief' where Peirce observes that inquiry always originates in doubt and ends in belief. Peirce believes that in order to settle our beliefs, four different methods are commonly used.
The first - method of tenacity
The second - the method of authority
The third - the a priori method
And finally the scientific method
Ultimately, Peirce thinks that we may take a proposition and repeat it to ourselves, dwelling constantly on the good and bad points of the proposition. In all he believes that we must adopt the fourth method, the scientific method as it portrays the existence of a reality independent of our minds.
Frege was a German Mathematician and Philosopher and is considered to be one of the founders of modern logic. He was ultimately not interested in epistemology for his own sake, but strived to set out the relationship between epistemology and other related disciplines. In the tradition started by Descartes, he thought that epistemology had been given a large role in Philosophy when it should of been assigned to logic. A proposition may be thought of without actually being true, yet it may be true without being thought of. We are not owners of our own thoughts, these thoughts are grasped and anyone can do this.
Six years before Frege published his articles on the nature of thought, Bertrand Russell had written his brief problems of philosophy, a book that was to give many generations of philosophy students their own introduction into epistemology. Russell was actually a godson of John Stuart Mill and aimed to be faithful to the British empiricist tradition. Russell believes that things must be doubted. A table will look and feel different at different angles and to different people in different circumstances. The real table is not what we immediately experience therefore there is always a sense of doubt. Sense-data are the only things of which we can be really certain. Descartes brought his own doubt to an end with 'I think, therefore I am'. However Russell states that sense-data brings no assurance of an abiding self and what is really certain is not 'I am seeing a brown colour' but a 'brown colour is being seen. Ultimately sense-data are private a personal. Russell goes on to state that there is no proof that the whole of life is not just a dream.
Wittgenstein, an Austrian-British Philosopher created a private language argument, which showed that there are no ways of identifying items of consciousness without a reference to the public world. He believed that doubt needs grounds and a genuine doubt must make a difference in someones behaviour. For example, someone is not really doubting whether they have a pair of hands if they use their hands as we all do.
Before Kant, it was believed that the earth was a mix of objects which can relate to the mirror theory of mind and reality. The empiricists such as Bacon and Newton thought that the cosmos is the sum total of many things. These can be a variation of different sizes and are difficult to see, but they are ‘there’ as objects whether we can physically see them or not. This theory can be related to Copernicus who was a Polish ecclesiastic. Copernicus lived in the 16th Century, yet his theories and beliefs lasted much longer. He believed early that the sun is at the entre of the universe. This was named the heliocentric model. He stated that the earth has a two fold motion; a diurnal rotation and an annual revolution about the sun. This theory was only put through as a hypothesis. A Similar Philosopher, Kepler, who was born 100 years after Copernicus is an example of what can be achieved by patience. He was the first important astronomer after Copernicus to adopt the heliocentric theory. Kepler’s first idea was that planets move in ellipses. A general belief of all astronomers where that all celestial motions are circular. To explain planetary motions, epicycles were used. This is the curve traced by a point on a circle which rolls on another circle. The circle was a perfect figure and the celestial orbs were perfect bodies, both Plato and Aristotle closely related to gods. Ultimately this invented the idea that a perfect body must move in a perfect figure, since the heavenly bodies move freely, their motion must be natural.
Both Newton and Einstein came from the Copernican revolution. It asks questions such as; Does the earth really orbit the sun? Where is the centre of the universe? If Newtons laws of motions describe motion from one point to another, can there be any motion if there are infinite distances?
In Newtonion science, it can be said that there are actually no limits and you can basically find out anything scientifically. This worked for the steam age which relates to the way Newtonian physics benefitted the making of steam trains. Francis Bacon, rejected the copernican theory, believing that philosophy should be kept separate from theology. Bacon believed that the only evidence of a God was humanities reason.
The Verification principle is an understanding of what is the truth. The truth of any proposition is the way you verify it. If a proposition cannot be verified it is neither true nor false. Ultimately, non verifiable principles have to be separated by verifiable principles.
Kant’s view of the cosmos is much like a computer game where the object, landscape, time and space are created in consciousness and then fades away again. For people who play computer games in their spare time, often find themselves immersed in the world the game creates, then once they stop playing the game, the world disappears. This is a simple way of understanding Kant’s view of the cosmos. However, Kant was not a pure idealist, both him, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche stated that existence is not a predicate of any possible object, nothing actually ‘causes’ existence.
Aristotle, much like Kant, was extremely interested in the truth and what can be classed as ‘actual truth’. Aristotle’s logic arises the argument of Deduction VS Induction. This is written within ‘The Organon” and describes to us how deduction preserves truth and expects authority above everything else. An example of deduction is that all swans are white. This is a swan therefore it is white. However this example is a flawed deductive argument as not all swans are white. Aristotle said 'all men are mortal' e.g. Socrates is a man therefore he is mortal. This is an example of deduction as you start with a general proposition/statement then you get the truth from it.
Epistemology is the branch of Philosophy cornered with the nature of knowledge. The word comes from the Greek term meaning knowledge and understanding.
John Stuart Mill who lived through the 1800's was a British Philosopher, political economist and civil servant. Mill describes the 'system of logic' as a textbook of the doctrine that derives all knowledge from experience. He went beyond his predeccors in claiming that not only science but also mathematics can be derived from experience. Mill's theory of the inductive truth relates to generalisations being based on individual experiences. Assertions of these truths, must always be hypothetical. Consequently, the principle is never accurately true, for one measured mile's length is not always equal to another. Ultimately you would always detect some difference.
Considered as a Philosopher, John Henry Newman belonged to the same empiricist tradition as Stuart Mill. Newman believed that the only direct acquaintance we have with things outside ourselves, comes through our senses. We have to be near things to touch them, we can neither see nor hear not touch things past or future. Newman asserted that reason does not perceive anything. The exercise of reason is to assert one thing on the grounds of some other thing. Newman identifies two separate operations that are exercised when we reason.
1. Inference
2. Assent
Both operations are quite distant from each other. We often assent to a proposition when we have forgotten the reason. It has been said that assent may be given without adequate evidence or argument and this often leads to error. Locke maintained that this is always wrong. He stated "Whoever goes beyond this measure of assent, it is plain received not truth in the love of it, loves not truth for truths-sake, but for some other by-end."(From the essay concerning Human Understanding) Locke maintained that there can be no demonstrable truth in concrete matters therefore assent to a proposition must be conditional. Newman however disagreed. He believes there are no such things as degrees of assent, though there is room for opinion without the assent that is necessary for knowledge.
Each of us are certain that we will one day die but we can not give evidence on this.
Simple assent - is done unconsciously.
Complex assent - must provide some type of proof
C.S Peirce was an American Philosopher. He was educated as a Chemist and employed as a Scientist for 30 years. In today's age he is largely appreciated for his contributions to logic, philosophy, science and for his founding in pragmatism. Peirce devised an epistemology appropriate to an age of scientific inquiry. He presented this in a series of articles in the Popular Science Monthly entitled 'Illustrations of the Logic of Science'. One of the most famous written articles was 'The Fixation of Belief' where Peirce observes that inquiry always originates in doubt and ends in belief. Peirce believes that in order to settle our beliefs, four different methods are commonly used.
The first - method of tenacity
The second - the method of authority
The third - the a priori method
And finally the scientific method
Ultimately, Peirce thinks that we may take a proposition and repeat it to ourselves, dwelling constantly on the good and bad points of the proposition. In all he believes that we must adopt the fourth method, the scientific method as it portrays the existence of a reality independent of our minds.
Frege was a German Mathematician and Philosopher and is considered to be one of the founders of modern logic. He was ultimately not interested in epistemology for his own sake, but strived to set out the relationship between epistemology and other related disciplines. In the tradition started by Descartes, he thought that epistemology had been given a large role in Philosophy when it should of been assigned to logic. A proposition may be thought of without actually being true, yet it may be true without being thought of. We are not owners of our own thoughts, these thoughts are grasped and anyone can do this.
Six years before Frege published his articles on the nature of thought, Bertrand Russell had written his brief problems of philosophy, a book that was to give many generations of philosophy students their own introduction into epistemology. Russell was actually a godson of John Stuart Mill and aimed to be faithful to the British empiricist tradition. Russell believes that things must be doubted. A table will look and feel different at different angles and to different people in different circumstances. The real table is not what we immediately experience therefore there is always a sense of doubt. Sense-data are the only things of which we can be really certain. Descartes brought his own doubt to an end with 'I think, therefore I am'. However Russell states that sense-data brings no assurance of an abiding self and what is really certain is not 'I am seeing a brown colour' but a 'brown colour is being seen. Ultimately sense-data are private a personal. Russell goes on to state that there is no proof that the whole of life is not just a dream.
Wittgenstein, an Austrian-British Philosopher created a private language argument, which showed that there are no ways of identifying items of consciousness without a reference to the public world. He believed that doubt needs grounds and a genuine doubt must make a difference in someones behaviour. For example, someone is not really doubting whether they have a pair of hands if they use their hands as we all do.
