Scientific Worldviews

Characteristics:

• Systematic: Ideas must be interconnected.
• Rational: Solid arguments + rigorous method.
• Ideas are accepted as true without being proven, as they are based on important beliefs and values. We are not objective. We place the human being at the center of the universe, but we are human.
• General Consensus: Shared by society.

Ancient Worldviews

The Earth

Principles of Reality:

The diversity of substances and the transformation of one or several elements can be considered the principles of reality.

• The basic or elemental principle (arkhé).
• Everything is formed from the mixture of 4 elements: earth, water, air, and fire.

Shape of the Earth:

If the Earth were flat, one would fall into the ocean. Later, they suspected the Earth was spherical.

The Heavens

Culture and worldviews correspond, with beliefs affecting worldviews.

• The movement of celestial bodies is circular.
• Geocentrism: The Earth is immobile, the center of the universe.
• The universe is limited by the spheres of the fixed stars (the celestial vault).

Plato’s Problem: The Movement of Planets

Eudoxus provided a solution with the Theory of Homocentric Spheres:

• A complex system of 27 spheres with a common center, coinciding with the center of the Earth.
• These were crystalline, celestial spheres.
• Perfect, but with axes in different directions.
• The movement of each planet is the result of its connection with groups of 4 spheres.

Aristotelian Cosmos

Sublunar World:

• Everything is mobile, wears out, and undergoes changes.
• It is spherical, small, and located at the center of the Earth, constituted by the four elements.
• Movement is rectilinear, from bottom to top.
• Elements tend to occupy their natural place: earth first, then water, air, and fire. Objects tend to move up or down depending on their material composition.
• External Cause: All movement originates from the fixed stars down to the moon, and these movements cause meteorological events (the union of all elements).

Supralunar World:

• There is a fifth element: Ether. It does not mix with other elements, has no weight, and does not wear out.
• Planets are composed of this Ether.
• The purpose is for everything to be in equilibrium; a will exists that brings elements together to form life.
• Aristotle speaks of the existence of the Prime Mover, stating that all nature and living beings obey a purpose.

Philosophical Implications (Ancient Worldviews)

• Reality is perfectly ordered. Everything has its own purpose.
• Movement is inherent to matter.
• Knowable Reality: Using reason, human beings can fully understand the functioning of the universe.
• Anthropocentrism: Nature adjusts to the human being.

Modern Worldviews (Galileo, etc.)

Philosophical Implications (Modern Worldview)

• Simplicity: Few laws are sufficient to explain both terrestrial and celestial movements of any type.
• Mechanism: The world is a great, perfect machine. To explain reality, use everything measurable and mathematically formulated laws.
• Determinism: The universe is a closed system. If we had all the information and knew all the physical laws, we could predict what will happen.
• Role of God in Cosmology: God is the creator and designer of the world and its laws. Some are thankful for this; others see it as unnecessary.
• Importance of Nature: Nature evolves by itself, without divine intervention.
• Situation of Man in the Cosmos: Man occupies a tiny corner; the universe is not made for humans.
• Power of Reason: Reason is seen as unlimited. We know more and more.

Current Worldview

• Impossible to Separate Subject-Object: Interaction is necessary. Observation is impossible without interaction between the subject and the object. We are not objective.
• Indeterminism and Unpredictability: There are factors we cannot control. This depends on whether one is a determinist or not. (Note: Libro: questions determinism).
• Distancing from Common Sense: We cannot fully understand quantum physics, as our reason is limited.

Essential English Vocabulary

• Etiquette: A set of rules for behaving correctly in social situations.
• Shake your head: To say no by turning your head from side to side.
• Nod your head: To move your head first downwards and then upwards to say yes.
• Whistling: To make a tune or musical notes by forcing air through your mouth.
• Take offence: To feel angry and upset because of something that someone has said or done.
• Bow: To bend your body forwards from the waist.
• Blink: To close your eyes for a very short time and quickly open them again.
• Bad manners: Behaving in a way that is not polite and upsets people.
• Staring: To look at someone or something very directly for a long time.
• Blow your nose: To clean your nose by forcing air through it.
• Blunt: Saying what is true or what you think, even if this offends or upsets people.
• Impolite: Not polite; rude.
• Handshake: The act of shaking someone’s hand.
• Lack of respect: (Example: In Africa, not offering a handshake shows a lack of respect).
• Lying through their teeth: To tell an outright lie without remorse.
• Disgusting: Extremely unpleasant.
• Spot: To see or notice someone or something, usually because you are looking hard.
• Guessing: To say or decide what you think is true, without being certain about it.
• False: Means untrue, incorrect, or not factual.
• Fake: Means something which is not genuine or real.
• Recognize: To know who the person is or what the thing is that you are seeing.
• Flip a coin: To throw a coin in the air to decide depending on which side of the coin is on top when it lands.
• On the level: Honest.
• Look out for: To look carefully at people or things around you in order to try to find a particular person or thing.
• Fidget: To keep making small, quick movements with parts of your body.
• Micro-expressions: A short, involuntary facial expression which can reveal emotions.
• Give away: To tell information or facts that you should keep secret.
• Fear: The feeling that you have when you are frightened.
• Guilt: A feeling of being ashamed and sorry because you have done something wrong.
• Reliable: Reliable information can be trusted to be accurate.
• Lead sb up the garden path: To make someone believe something which is not true.
• A red flag: A signal of danger or something telling you to stop.
• Get along with: If people get along, they like each other and are friendly to each other.
• A pack of lies: A story that has nothing true in it.
• Look someone in the eye: To look at someone when you are talking to them, especially to show that what you are saying is true.
• Make a break for it: To suddenly run away from someone in order to escape.
• Practice makes perfect: Repeating an activity or doing it regularly makes you very good at it.