Post by Yesenia Carrillo on May 11, 2015 6:31:38 GMT
1. Why is understanding physics and the general rules of the universe so important in doing philosophy?
Having eliminative materialism in mind is essential when thinking about the ties between physics and philosophy. As answered in question 2, eliminative materialism is finding scientific answers to ideas of consciousness and breaking them down using different sciences until we can’t. In the video Is the Universe Really Made out of Rubber Bands?, the young boy mentions string theory which can fall under Quantum Mechanics which can therefore fall under Physics. The book Quantum Weirdness also makes a good point of the connection between physics and philosophy. Page 5 of the book reads “Newtonian physics breaks down precisely when one gets closer to the secrets of Nature”. We can break down physical concrete ideas into scientific answers that always lead us closer to full understanding but haven’t gotten it completely figured out. As the video Quantum Thinking: Illuminated Ideas in 56 Seconds explains, we can not define nature or matter or electron without using nature, matter, or electron as the definition for it itself. Understanding physics however, gets us closer to this definition.
2. What is eliminative materialism? Provide three examples of it.
What eliminative materialism essentially means is the process of elimination of ideas when trying to explain consciousness. As the video Eliminative Materialism, Part One explains, if the phenomenon can’t be explained through mathematics, we then turn to physics, which then pushes us towards chemistry, biology, psychology, and sociology. Only when none of these have an answer, do we give credit to God. New ideas and theories come to play as modern science brings in new answers.
There are several examples explained in the videos, such as that of Thor the thunder god, who we can dismiss and replace with electromagnetic currents. The video also mentions realizing that bacteria and viruses are real instead of blaming “spirits” for the cause of diseases. All of Greek mythology would be an example of eliminative materialism considering at one point our weather and nature was thought to be brought upon by Gods and heroes. We then replaced these ideas with new facts come upon by scientific research. Evolution would also be a good example of eliminative materialism. The problem here however, is that certain thoughts (such as love, desire, motivation), can not be brought down to a biological level.
Extra Credit: (In response to Angelica Guardado)
Angelica uses the word “allowing” when explaining eliminative materialism in her last sentence. I found this really interesting and fitting because in essence, we have actually allowed eliminative materialism to explain as much as it does. We could (and some do) easily reject most scientific theories and ideas and replace them with spiritual beliefs, or our own interpretations. But most of us allow what is being presented as “fact” to be what we choose to believe.
Having eliminative materialism in mind is essential when thinking about the ties between physics and philosophy. As answered in question 2, eliminative materialism is finding scientific answers to ideas of consciousness and breaking them down using different sciences until we can’t. In the video Is the Universe Really Made out of Rubber Bands?, the young boy mentions string theory which can fall under Quantum Mechanics which can therefore fall under Physics. The book Quantum Weirdness also makes a good point of the connection between physics and philosophy. Page 5 of the book reads “Newtonian physics breaks down precisely when one gets closer to the secrets of Nature”. We can break down physical concrete ideas into scientific answers that always lead us closer to full understanding but haven’t gotten it completely figured out. As the video Quantum Thinking: Illuminated Ideas in 56 Seconds explains, we can not define nature or matter or electron without using nature, matter, or electron as the definition for it itself. Understanding physics however, gets us closer to this definition.
2. What is eliminative materialism? Provide three examples of it.
What eliminative materialism essentially means is the process of elimination of ideas when trying to explain consciousness. As the video Eliminative Materialism, Part One explains, if the phenomenon can’t be explained through mathematics, we then turn to physics, which then pushes us towards chemistry, biology, psychology, and sociology. Only when none of these have an answer, do we give credit to God. New ideas and theories come to play as modern science brings in new answers.
There are several examples explained in the videos, such as that of Thor the thunder god, who we can dismiss and replace with electromagnetic currents. The video also mentions realizing that bacteria and viruses are real instead of blaming “spirits” for the cause of diseases. All of Greek mythology would be an example of eliminative materialism considering at one point our weather and nature was thought to be brought upon by Gods and heroes. We then replaced these ideas with new facts come upon by scientific research. Evolution would also be a good example of eliminative materialism. The problem here however, is that certain thoughts (such as love, desire, motivation), can not be brought down to a biological level.
Extra Credit: (In response to Angelica Guardado)
Angelica uses the word “allowing” when explaining eliminative materialism in her last sentence. I found this really interesting and fitting because in essence, we have actually allowed eliminative materialism to explain as much as it does. We could (and some do) easily reject most scientific theories and ideas and replace them with spiritual beliefs, or our own interpretations. But most of us allow what is being presented as “fact” to be what we choose to believe.