Post by chun on Jan 22, 2015 2:42:21 GMT
1. Why is understanding physics and the general rules of the universe so important in doing philosophy?
In the book “Quantum Weirdness”, the author started by introducing the discrepancy of the Quantum theory - whether the energy came as a discrete packet or as a wave. Einstein, the famous realist scientist, was doubtful to the accuracy of the theory. He thought that the theory “puts man’s present understanding prior to the world itself” (17). The article has also coined the term “phenomena” and “noumena”. Phenomena refers to the “appearances which constitute our experience”. Conversely, noumena are the things themselves, which constitute reality”. Einstein argued that we did not understand the whole universe. Those theory are only based on what we observed. But we never know the thing we observed is the true, whole picture of the world. Therefore, there is a close relationship between physics and the philosophy.
2. What is eliminative materialism? Provide three examples of it.
According to the movies by Prof. Lane, we know that before science is prevalent, people always believe that thunder is an act by God. Disease, however, is cursed by the spirits. Ghost? Yes. It exists in the world. Nowadays, we “believe” in science. Science answers those questions. Thunder is due to magnetism; viruses and bacterias are the cause of disease; something goes wrong in our central nervous system explains why we would occasionally, if not always, see ghosts. It intrudes into the concept of eliminative materialism - a theory which denying the existence of some types of mental states. For instance, eliminativists may say that there is no ego, no feeling (hot, sad, love...). They may even deny the existence of self. It is because we deny the existence of everything we feel. Everything we perceive is only due to our brain processes. Sensations do not actually exist (“Eliminative Materialism”, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).
Extra Credit
Interview with Brian Greene
Amir Aczel, the mathematician, was having an interview with the physicist Brian Greene. In the interview, Brian claimed that the world is made up of universe - a lot of universe. He insisted that we are actually creating space. Amir, however, does not agree with Brian’s ideas. How can a universe expand indefinitely? There is no way to prove it. Brian, on the other hand, simply throw out a sentence “math is right for reality, physics is exactly pushing math to the limit”.
Although the conversation is highly academic (It was hard for me to catch up with them. They threw up a lot of terms, like string theory, evolution theory), it is interesting for me to watch the debate. They are defending themselves something that they believe. Amir would say we cannot prove this by math. But Brian suggest the string theory to support his view. At the end, we still have no idea whether the thing they believe is really the thing existed, or it is just the thing we perceive.
Link: sites.google.com/site/ctyeung0505/week-2
In the book “Quantum Weirdness”, the author started by introducing the discrepancy of the Quantum theory - whether the energy came as a discrete packet or as a wave. Einstein, the famous realist scientist, was doubtful to the accuracy of the theory. He thought that the theory “puts man’s present understanding prior to the world itself” (17). The article has also coined the term “phenomena” and “noumena”. Phenomena refers to the “appearances which constitute our experience”. Conversely, noumena are the things themselves, which constitute reality”. Einstein argued that we did not understand the whole universe. Those theory are only based on what we observed. But we never know the thing we observed is the true, whole picture of the world. Therefore, there is a close relationship between physics and the philosophy.
2. What is eliminative materialism? Provide three examples of it.
According to the movies by Prof. Lane, we know that before science is prevalent, people always believe that thunder is an act by God. Disease, however, is cursed by the spirits. Ghost? Yes. It exists in the world. Nowadays, we “believe” in science. Science answers those questions. Thunder is due to magnetism; viruses and bacterias are the cause of disease; something goes wrong in our central nervous system explains why we would occasionally, if not always, see ghosts. It intrudes into the concept of eliminative materialism - a theory which denying the existence of some types of mental states. For instance, eliminativists may say that there is no ego, no feeling (hot, sad, love...). They may even deny the existence of self. It is because we deny the existence of everything we feel. Everything we perceive is only due to our brain processes. Sensations do not actually exist (“Eliminative Materialism”, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).
Extra Credit
Interview with Brian Greene
Amir Aczel, the mathematician, was having an interview with the physicist Brian Greene. In the interview, Brian claimed that the world is made up of universe - a lot of universe. He insisted that we are actually creating space. Amir, however, does not agree with Brian’s ideas. How can a universe expand indefinitely? There is no way to prove it. Brian, on the other hand, simply throw out a sentence “math is right for reality, physics is exactly pushing math to the limit”.
Although the conversation is highly academic (It was hard for me to catch up with them. They threw up a lot of terms, like string theory, evolution theory), it is interesting for me to watch the debate. They are defending themselves something that they believe. Amir would say we cannot prove this by math. But Brian suggest the string theory to support his view. At the end, we still have no idea whether the thing they believe is really the thing existed, or it is just the thing we perceive.
Link: sites.google.com/site/ctyeung0505/week-2