Block, SkipCaptcha, Upload, Automoderated users, edit, rollback
14,706
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 15:
Line 15: + + + + + Line 23:
Line 28: − +
Presuppositions of natural philosophy, and clarification of natural philosophy and science.
Western natural philosophy began with eminent [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] pre-Socratic philosophers such as [[Thales]], [[Anaximander]], possibly [[Pythagoras]], [[Heraclitus]], [[Anaxagoras]], [[Empedocles]] and [[Philolaus]], many of whom were involved in various schools. For example, Anaximander and Thales belonged to the Milesian school. [[Plato]], briefly and [[Aristotle]] at length, in works that survived to today, continued these studies of nature.
Western natural philosophy began with eminent [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] pre-Socratic philosophers such as [[Thales]], [[Anaximander]], possibly [[Pythagoras]], [[Heraclitus]], [[Anaxagoras]], [[Empedocles]] and [[Philolaus]], many of whom were involved in various schools. For example, Anaximander and Thales belonged to the Milesian school. [[Plato]], briefly and [[Aristotle]] at length, in works that survived to today, continued these studies of nature.
==Presuppositions of natural philosophy==
Natural philosophy presupposes that change is a reality. Although this may seem obvious, there have been some philosophers who have denied the concept of change, such as Plato's predecessor [[Parmenides]] and later Greek philosopher [[Sextus Empiricus]], and perhaps some Eastern philosophers. [[George Santayana]], in his ''Scepticism and Animal Faith'', attempted to show that the reality of change cannot be proven. If his reasoning is sound, it follows that to be a physicist, one must restrain one's skepticism enough to trust one's senses.
==Branches and subject matter of natural philosophy==
==Branches and subject matter of natural philosophy==
Major branches of natural philosophy include [[astronomy]] and [[cosmology]], the study of nature on the grand scale; [[etiology]], the study of (intrinsic and sometimes extrinsic) [[cause]]s; the study of [[chance]], probability and randomness; the study of [[chemical element|element]]s; the study of the [[Infinity|infinite]] and the unlimited (virtual or actual); the study of [[matter]]; [[mechanics]], the study of translation of motion and change; the study of [[nature]] or the various sources of actions; the study of natural [[quality|qualities]]; the study of physical [[quantity|quantities]]; the study of relations between physical entities; and the philosophy of [[space]] and [[time]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Adler|first=Mortimer J.|authorlink=Mortimer Adler|title=The Four Dimensions of Philosophy: Metaphysical, Moral, Objective, Categorical|publisher=Macmillan|year=1993|isbn=0-02-500574-X}}</ref>
Major branches of natural philosophy include [[astronomy]] and [[cosmology]], the study of nature on the grand scale; [[etiology]], the study of (intrinsic and sometimes extrinsic) [[cause]]s; the study of [[chance]], probability and randomness; the study of [[chemical element|element]]s; the study of the [[Infinity|infinite]] and the unlimited (virtual or actual); the study of [[matter]]; [[mechanics]], the study of translation of motion and change; the study of [[nature]] or the various sources of actions; the study of natural [[quality|qualities]]; the study of physical [[quantity|quantities]]; the study of relations between physical entities; and the philosophy of [[space]] and [[time]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Adler|first=Mortimer J.|authorlink=Mortimer Adler|title=The Four Dimensions of Philosophy: Metaphysical, Moral, Objective, Categorical|publisher=Macmillan|year=1993|isbn=0-02-500574-X}}</ref>
Natural philosophy also was a name that applied to [[scientific]] rather than purely philosophical study which was used extensively before the 19th century.
Natural philosophy also was a name that applied to [[scientific]] rather than purely philosophical study which was used extensively before the 19th century.
The term ''scientist'' only emerged in the 19th century. Prior to this, scientific study was called ''natural philosophy'' and scientists were ''natural philosophers.'' It entailed broad areas of study of the universe, including [[mathematics]] and the subjects that are now covered under the disciplines of [[chemistry]], [[physics]], [[anatomy]], and so forth.
The term ''scientist'' only emerged in the 19th century. Prior to this, scientific study was called ''natural philosophy'' and scientists were ''natural philosophers.'' These disciplines entailed broad areas of study of the universe, employing [[mathematics]] and the [[scientific method]] in the sciences of [[chemistry]], [[physics]], [[anatomy]], and so forth.
==References==
==References==