Post by vchavez28 on Jan 23, 2015 1:13:50 GMT
1. Why is understanding physics and the general rules of the universe so important in doing philosophy?
Philosophy covers a wide range of study and areas of thought that include ethics, mathematics, natural science, morality and much more. Philosophers are not afraid of wherever a question or thought may lead regardless if they lead to unpleasant areas. Being able to understand physics and the rules of the universe helps when creating and engaging in these philosophical questions and debates. Philosophy has helped many professionals with their scientific work. If you know the rules of the universe and are on the cutting edge of science, more appropriate questions will arise when interrogating the universe. A huge factor is knowing how to do calculations, but another key part is asking deep questions and that is where everyone that has ever been interested in science has started out, by wondering and asking questions. Understanding the aspects of our physical world is important but so is digging into the void that goes beyond what science can answer. Philosophy may not always lead to answers but that doesn't make the questions any less important. The book “Is the Universe really made out of Rubber Bands?” makes a strong point that with the use of the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest and most powerful particle collider, exploration of string theory is open to being tested and currently being proposed so it more than just philosophy or wishful thinking.
2. What is eliminative materialism? Provide three examples of it.
Eliminative materialism is that our understanding of the mind is false and mental states do not actually exist. The film ‘Eliminative Materialism’ points out a fallacy that when we speak of our own consciousness, we still seem to use terminology that is ancient in the way we speak about our own motivations, beliefs and desires instead of using more accurate descriptions. The video also explains that their is a process to eliminative materialism that starts with explaining phenomena using different branches of science such as: math, physics, chemistry, biology, psychology and sociology and if it cannot be explained, then the joke is, we can say ‘God’ is the reason behind it. Almost implying that ‘God’ is just a window of human ignorance not proven by science yet. We shouldn't be content with ‘God’ as an explanation though because then we may stop striving to search for real answers. Instead of believing in stories and lore about what could be producing a phenomenon, we now favor a more precise materialistic explanation upon discovery. The film shows a few examples in the abandonment of mythological or religious stories like Thor creating thunder and the replacement of accurate information like electromagnetic currents. Another few examples to list: The Egyptian goddess Nut, her name translates to mean ‘sky’, she was seen as a star covered woman arching over to form the sky or Prometheus, the Titan, that gave fire to humans and finally, the sea monster ‘Charybdis’ which now is known as a whirlpool.
Philosophy covers a wide range of study and areas of thought that include ethics, mathematics, natural science, morality and much more. Philosophers are not afraid of wherever a question or thought may lead regardless if they lead to unpleasant areas. Being able to understand physics and the rules of the universe helps when creating and engaging in these philosophical questions and debates. Philosophy has helped many professionals with their scientific work. If you know the rules of the universe and are on the cutting edge of science, more appropriate questions will arise when interrogating the universe. A huge factor is knowing how to do calculations, but another key part is asking deep questions and that is where everyone that has ever been interested in science has started out, by wondering and asking questions. Understanding the aspects of our physical world is important but so is digging into the void that goes beyond what science can answer. Philosophy may not always lead to answers but that doesn't make the questions any less important. The book “Is the Universe really made out of Rubber Bands?” makes a strong point that with the use of the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest and most powerful particle collider, exploration of string theory is open to being tested and currently being proposed so it more than just philosophy or wishful thinking.
2. What is eliminative materialism? Provide three examples of it.
Eliminative materialism is that our understanding of the mind is false and mental states do not actually exist. The film ‘Eliminative Materialism’ points out a fallacy that when we speak of our own consciousness, we still seem to use terminology that is ancient in the way we speak about our own motivations, beliefs and desires instead of using more accurate descriptions. The video also explains that their is a process to eliminative materialism that starts with explaining phenomena using different branches of science such as: math, physics, chemistry, biology, psychology and sociology and if it cannot be explained, then the joke is, we can say ‘God’ is the reason behind it. Almost implying that ‘God’ is just a window of human ignorance not proven by science yet. We shouldn't be content with ‘God’ as an explanation though because then we may stop striving to search for real answers. Instead of believing in stories and lore about what could be producing a phenomenon, we now favor a more precise materialistic explanation upon discovery. The film shows a few examples in the abandonment of mythological or religious stories like Thor creating thunder and the replacement of accurate information like electromagnetic currents. Another few examples to list: The Egyptian goddess Nut, her name translates to mean ‘sky’, she was seen as a star covered woman arching over to form the sky or Prometheus, the Titan, that gave fire to humans and finally, the sea monster ‘Charybdis’ which now is known as a whirlpool.