Chapter 1-1

Front 1

01. What is the point of the philosophy of science?

Back 1

Finding explanation of everything based upon verifiable evidence, reason and skepticis

Front 2

02. When we think about science, why do we think about the fields of biology, physics, and chemistry?

Back 2

It may be because these fields (bio, phys, chem), throughout human history, have posed the most mysterious and compelling questions

Front 3

03. Why do some people of the world worship bears, and wolves, and the rain?

Back 3

Because Worship (spiritual belief) is the beginning of objective understandings of the natural world.

Front 4

04. Scientific thinking helped in the emergence of what technical enterprise in ancient China and India?

Back 4

Fields of medicine

Front 5

05. Where was Mesopotamia? What rewarding technical enterprise emerged with the growth of scientific thought there?

Back 5

The ancient land between the famed Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in what now is modern Iraq.

Agriculture, Farming. Civilization

Front 6

06. What three intellectual milestones did the ancient Greeks achieve?

Back 6

1) A curiosity of the natural world, and mustered a willingness to investigate it — without the aid of the supernatural
2) The validity of the human senses to perceive reality, and the human mind to interpret those perceptions
3) The value of publicly verifiable evidence gathered by methodical observation

Front 7

07. What is "natural philosophy"?

Back 7

Objective way of knowing advanced humankind toward a larger scientific philosophy.

(An attempt to find explanations about the natural world without the use of the supernatural)

Front 8

08. Although full of insight, why were the beliefs of most early natural philosophers usually incomplete, and sometimes dead wrong?

Back 8

Because knowledge gathered by observation was lucked.

Because they believed they could explain all if only they could fashion intricate arguments.

Front 9

09. What was Heraclitus's fatal philosophical mistake?

Back 9

Intellect alone was insufficient to the task. He didn't have knowledge gathered by observation.

Experience was not necessary.

Front 10

10. What was the valuable insight made by Empedocles as he watched children playing with a clepsydra.

Back 10

Philosophical view that emphasizes experience and the value of evidence obtained by observation.

The air has substance.

Front 11

11. What were the key advances made by Empedocles?

Back 11

Empiricism.

Evidence is necessary to support explanations that have abundant, publicly verifiable evidence.

Front 12

12. Define "system."

Back 12

A set of physical components that interact with each other, resulting in a recognizable action.

Front 13

13. Define "model."

Back 13

A description of the configuration, material composition, and behavior of a system.

Front 14

14. What is the difference between fact and inference?

Back 14

Fact is observable, testable, no-require interpretation, publicly verifiable, so obvious, and indisputable.

Inference is an explanation of phenomena that cannot be directly observed based on logical interpretation of related phenomena that CAN be directly observed.

Front 15

15. Hippocrates gathered detailed observations of his patients. Why?

Back 15

Because when he was reported to be a careful observer and was exposed to a great deal of evidence, he soon realized there was too much evidence to remember.

Front 16

16. What were the key advances made by Hippocrates?

Back 16

The beginning of the medical chart

Observations should be recorded in a systematic way.

Front 17

17. What were the key advances made by Aristotle?

Back 17

The standard for methodical scientific inquiry of nature
1) A refined method of scientific inquiry based upon empirical evidence and deduction
2) Authoring over 30 significant academic works on biology, anatomy, philosophy, politics, and literature.

Front 18

18. How did Eratosthenes determine the size of the Earth?

Back 18

He measured the distance between Syene and Alexandria, which is about 500 miles, and the angle of curvature separating Alexandria and Syene, which is 7 degrees. He then multiplied 500 with 360/7.

Front 19

19. Regarding the practice of science, what is the main lesson to be learned from the work of Eratosthenes?

Back 19

The scientific enterprise is very much more than the so-called scientific method. (?)

Front 20

20. The Middle Ages was a time when scientific exploration stopped in Europe. Why?

Back 20

Because society was encouraged to trust their faith more than science during medieval times. Secular intellectualism, such as scientific thinking, was forbidden, as were many of the teachings of the great Greek philosophers.

Front 21

21. Why does personal intellectual development sometimes come with social risks?

Back 21

Because many progressive-thinking individuals were sacrificed for corrupting the city's youth and ignore the official gods.