Post by nadinerichards on Jul 8, 2015 9:24:52 GMT
1.
Philosophy involves the sciences, such as physics and mathematics, because there are still theoretical questions about them. A relevant example would be string theory. String theory “essentially claims that everything in the universe is made out of very small loops of matter, much, much smaller than anything we can see in atoms. These strings vibrate in various ways and thus cause various forms of matter to be created.” With string theory, “you can’t test it in the way we test other theories, it’s not science, it’s philosophy.” String theory concerns physics, but it is philosophy, because without testing, it is just an idea. That is where science and philosophy overlap. Philosophy is intellectual thinking that can lead to theories that just may prove to be true, and that’s when it becomes science and fact.
2.
Eliminative materialism addresses our consciousness. It is used to explain phenomena, by going down a list and eliminating math as an explanation,physics, chemistry, biology, psychology, and sociology. In the video and old joke mentions that “if none of these academic disciplines can explain it, then it is perfectly ok to say that God did it.” With eliminative materialism in place, we have replaced old superstitious ideas with new scientific ideas. Some examples are replacing the belief of Thor the thunder god, with the knowledge of electricity and magnetism, or tiny ghosts pulling muscles, we understand there is a central nervous system, or instead of spirits and curses being behind illness, we now know how viruses and bacteria work.
Philosophy involves the sciences, such as physics and mathematics, because there are still theoretical questions about them. A relevant example would be string theory. String theory “essentially claims that everything in the universe is made out of very small loops of matter, much, much smaller than anything we can see in atoms. These strings vibrate in various ways and thus cause various forms of matter to be created.” With string theory, “you can’t test it in the way we test other theories, it’s not science, it’s philosophy.” String theory concerns physics, but it is philosophy, because without testing, it is just an idea. That is where science and philosophy overlap. Philosophy is intellectual thinking that can lead to theories that just may prove to be true, and that’s when it becomes science and fact.
2.
Eliminative materialism addresses our consciousness. It is used to explain phenomena, by going down a list and eliminating math as an explanation,physics, chemistry, biology, psychology, and sociology. In the video and old joke mentions that “if none of these academic disciplines can explain it, then it is perfectly ok to say that God did it.” With eliminative materialism in place, we have replaced old superstitious ideas with new scientific ideas. Some examples are replacing the belief of Thor the thunder god, with the knowledge of electricity and magnetism, or tiny ghosts pulling muscles, we understand there is a central nervous system, or instead of spirits and curses being behind illness, we now know how viruses and bacteria work.