Philosophers & Scientists Flashcards
1
Q
Karl Popper
A
disagreed that scientific activity starts with empirical observation; saw the scientific method as involving three stages: problems, theories (proposed solutions), and criticism
- principle of falsifiability
- for a theory to be scientific, it must make risk predictions (predictions that run a real risk of being incorrect)
2
Q
Thomas Kuhn
A
changed the conception of science by showing science to be a highly subjective enterprise
- paradigm
3
Q
Thales
A
- first philosopher
- naturalistic view
- critical tradition
- physis (water)
4
Q
Heraclitus
A
- everything is in constant change
- “no man steps into the same rive twice”
- everything seems to be opposites; similar to Taoism
5
Q
Pythagoras
A
- rationalist (truth is absolute and exists without us knowing about it)
- dualistic universe
- harmony and health
- transmigration of souls (the supposed passing of the soul at death into another body)
6
Q
The Sophists
A
- teachers
- is truth relative?
- “of all things, the measure is man”
7
Q
Socrates
A
- argued against the Sophists; the truth does exist, it is just hard to find
- know thyself, a life which is unexamined is not worth living
- knowledge is virtue
- the Socratic Method (a form of argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions)
8
Q
Plato
A
- theory of forms
- the allegory of the cave
- reminiscence theory of knowledge
- Plato’s Chariot: 3 aspects of the soul (mind): spirited (emotions), appetitive (needs/desires), rational
9
Q
Aristotle
A
- rationalist and an empiricist
- Causation: material cause (what something is made of), formal cause (shape or form it takes), efficient cause (forces that transfer matter into form), final cause (function or purpose)
- teleology
- hierarchy of souls (vegetative, sensitive, rational)
- hedonism - seeking pleasures, avoiding pain
- sensation & memory
- laws of association
- motivation (purpose and happiness and the Golden Mean)
- emotions
10
Q
St. Augustine
A
- priest
- pulled from Judaism and Pluto
- stoicism
- original sin
- free will
11
Q
Galileo
A
- math, physics, astronomy
- Anti-Aristotelian; also proved the Church wrong
- falling bodies
- telescope
- primary & secondary qualities
12
Q
Francis Bacon
A
- radical empiricism (positivism); rationalism is biased
- deductive and inductive reasoning
- biases/idols
13
Q
Isaac Newton
A
- mechanism
- Clockwork Universe
- differential and integral calculus
- Law of Gravity
- scientific methods
14
Q
Rene Descartes
A
- introspection (the examination or observation of one’s own mental and emotional processes)
- doubt (everything we know comes from our senses, but our senses can fool us)
- Cartesian Dualism (mind-body)
