Post by Oscar Lu on Jan 16, 2015 23:20:41 GMT
1. Why is understanding physics and the general rules of the universe so important in doing philosophy?
It is because the philosophy of physics is a part of science today. Physicists apply the scientific method to describe the universals and constants governing physical phenomena, and the philosophy of physics reflects on the results of this empirical research. There is a one example in the video titled “Quantum Uncertainty: Einstein Doesn't Gamble”, Einstein wanted to come up with the equation of “theory of everything”, but he failed. Now, almost a half-century later, Einstein’s goal of unification combines all the laws of the universe in one all-encompassing theory. String theory means we may be living in a universe where reality meets science fiction. It also means everything in the universe from the tiniest particle to the most distant star is made from strings, an unimaginably small ingredient. For example, in the video titled “Brian Greene's Elegant Universe”, Newton proclaimed that the force pulling apples to the ground and the force keeping the moon in orbit around the earth were actually one and the same. Newton unified the heavens and the earth and he called it gravity. This is an important example of physics. Physicists developed a new theory called quantum mechanics. It describes the microscopic realm with great success.
Second, physics, as with the rest of science, relies on philosophy of science to give an adequate description of the scientific method. For example, according to the book titled “Quantum Weirdness”, As Russell wrote; ‘We all start from naive realism, i.e., the doctrine that things are what they seem. We think that grass is green, that stones are hard, and that snow is cold. But physics assures us that the greenness of grass, the hardness of stones, and the coldness of snow are not the greenness, hardness, and coldness that we know in our own experience, but something very different. The observer, when he seems to himself to be observing a stone, is really, if physics observing the effects of the stone upon himself.’ Therefore, the development of physics has answered many questions of philosophers.
2. What is eliminative materialism? Provide three examples of it.
Eliminative materialism is also called eliminativism. It means what we think and talk about the mind is completely flawed and the common sense of people is false. They should start to talk about brain processes instead. Eliminativism also means there is nothing about mental properties and even no mental terms like “desire” or “belief”.
One example of eliminative materialism is “God Did It?” from the video. This claim or question cannot be comprehensively explained by mathematics in one return in physics, chemistry, biology, psychology and sociology as well. This shows that it is nothing related with different types of science.
Second example of eliminative materialism is “The Death of Thor” from the video. It is from intertheoretic reductionism. In the philosophy of science, it happens when a reducing theory makes predictions that can match the predictions of reduced theory. The idea is that the medicine and physics replace the old and outdated concepts. In the video, it mention the replacement of Thor for electrical magnetic currents. The spirits of religions may cause disease, bacteria and viruses.
The last example is “intelligent reductionism”. In this video, it states that the ideas like desire, motivation, love, anger and free will cannot be explained scientifically because they come from people’s religious consciousness. There is no scientific evidence to prove these, and it brings up that the legend myth cannot mix with science concepts. As a result, no one can say the myth is rational or irrational.
It is because the philosophy of physics is a part of science today. Physicists apply the scientific method to describe the universals and constants governing physical phenomena, and the philosophy of physics reflects on the results of this empirical research. There is a one example in the video titled “Quantum Uncertainty: Einstein Doesn't Gamble”, Einstein wanted to come up with the equation of “theory of everything”, but he failed. Now, almost a half-century later, Einstein’s goal of unification combines all the laws of the universe in one all-encompassing theory. String theory means we may be living in a universe where reality meets science fiction. It also means everything in the universe from the tiniest particle to the most distant star is made from strings, an unimaginably small ingredient. For example, in the video titled “Brian Greene's Elegant Universe”, Newton proclaimed that the force pulling apples to the ground and the force keeping the moon in orbit around the earth were actually one and the same. Newton unified the heavens and the earth and he called it gravity. This is an important example of physics. Physicists developed a new theory called quantum mechanics. It describes the microscopic realm with great success.
Second, physics, as with the rest of science, relies on philosophy of science to give an adequate description of the scientific method. For example, according to the book titled “Quantum Weirdness”, As Russell wrote; ‘We all start from naive realism, i.e., the doctrine that things are what they seem. We think that grass is green, that stones are hard, and that snow is cold. But physics assures us that the greenness of grass, the hardness of stones, and the coldness of snow are not the greenness, hardness, and coldness that we know in our own experience, but something very different. The observer, when he seems to himself to be observing a stone, is really, if physics observing the effects of the stone upon himself.’ Therefore, the development of physics has answered many questions of philosophers.
2. What is eliminative materialism? Provide three examples of it.
Eliminative materialism is also called eliminativism. It means what we think and talk about the mind is completely flawed and the common sense of people is false. They should start to talk about brain processes instead. Eliminativism also means there is nothing about mental properties and even no mental terms like “desire” or “belief”.
One example of eliminative materialism is “God Did It?” from the video. This claim or question cannot be comprehensively explained by mathematics in one return in physics, chemistry, biology, psychology and sociology as well. This shows that it is nothing related with different types of science.
Second example of eliminative materialism is “The Death of Thor” from the video. It is from intertheoretic reductionism. In the philosophy of science, it happens when a reducing theory makes predictions that can match the predictions of reduced theory. The idea is that the medicine and physics replace the old and outdated concepts. In the video, it mention the replacement of Thor for electrical magnetic currents. The spirits of religions may cause disease, bacteria and viruses.
The last example is “intelligent reductionism”. In this video, it states that the ideas like desire, motivation, love, anger and free will cannot be explained scientifically because they come from people’s religious consciousness. There is no scientific evidence to prove these, and it brings up that the legend myth cannot mix with science concepts. As a result, no one can say the myth is rational or irrational.
