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Rene Descartes (March 31, 1596 - February 11, 1650)
Major Works: Meditations on First Philosophy, translated by John Cottingham, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Principles of Philosophy, translated by V.R. Miller and R.P. Miller (Dordrecht: D. Reidel, 1983). The Geometry of René Descartes, translated by David Eugene Smith and Marcia L. Lantham (New York: Dover Publications, 1954). The Passions of the Soul, translated by Stephen H. Voss (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1989). -
CHARLES DARWIN (February 12, 1809 - April 19, 1882)
Entry 4: When it comes to the field of philosophy Darwin ended many speculations and questions such as the meaning of life, the purpose of the universe, and questions that have troubled mankind since the beginning. Below I have provided a link to a video that summarizes his theories and also dispels some incorrect assumptions: https://youtu.be/UVx4Z3W6U-Y -
CHARLES DARWIN (February 12, 1809 - April 19, 1882)
Major Works: Darwin, Charles. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, Or, the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. London: J. Murray, 1859. Print. Darwin, Charles. The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex. London: John Murray, Albemarle Street, 1871. Print. Darwin, Charles, Martin M. Cummings, and G.-B Duchenne. The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. London: John Murray, 1872. Print. -
CHARLES DARWIN (February 12, 1809 - April 19, 1882)
Entry 1: On November 24, 1859 Charles Darwin published his finding and theory about evolution in a book known as On the Origin of Species. He did so after a 5-year voyage abroad the HMS Beagle where he got the opportunity to survey South America. During the voyage he gathered evidence of evolution and it allowed him to comprehended natural selection or inherited as opposed to acquired traits. -
CHARLES DARWIN (February 12, 1809 - April 19, 1882)
Entry 2: When the book was published the scientific as well as the philosophical community were left to question all they had thought to be true. The efforts to discredit the work from both science and philosophical points of view began and until this day the theory has not been set in stone. This may be because this is a theory that is difficult both attempt to to prove or disprove with our current technology. -
CHARLES DARWIN (February 12, 1809 - April 19, 1882)
Entry 3: Within Charles Darwin’s publication he adds a chapter that he titled Difficulties of the Theory. Within the article he recognizes the importance of falsifiability to the credibility of science and addresses the issues pertaining to the theories of natural selection and evolution. Still the theory has stood through time and has put in question many of our beliefs. -
Thomas Kuhn (July 18, 1922 – June 17, 1996)
Major Works 1: Kuhn, Thomas S. The Copernican Revolution: Planetary Astronomy in the Development of Western Thought. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1957. Print. Kuhn, Thomas S. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962. Print. -
Thomas Kuhn (July 18, 1922 – June 17, 1996)
Major Works 2: Kuhn, Thomas S. The Essential Tension: Selected Studies in Scientific Tradition and Change. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1977. Print. Kuhn, Thomas S. Black-Body Theory and the Quantum Discontinuity, 1894-1912. Chicago :University of Chicago Press, 1987. Print. -
Thomas Kuhn (July 18, 1922 – June 17, 1996)
Entry 1: Thomas Kuhn was one of the most influential philosophers of science of the twentieth century. His abstract way of thinking has influenced both science and philosophy in all fields and his books are still cited today. In 1962 he published The Structure of Scientific Revolutions changing scientific thought forever. One of the most important aspects of his theories is his thesis of incommensurability. -
Thomas Kuhn (July 18, 1922 – June 17, 1996)
Entry 2: Incommensurability is the idea that science and scientific theories are incomparable over time and over different types of sciences as well. This is a huge concept to grasp and Kuhn understands this so his thesis is further broken down into 3 simpler explanations. Methods cannot be compared, methods change frequently and how science is evaluated for example, precision and accuracy, changes frequently. -
Thomas Kuhn (July 18, 1922 – June 17, 1996)
Entry 3: Scientific observations or perceptions cannot be compared because this is dependent on beliefs, which also change over time. The last reason science is incommensurable is because language and the meaning of words and phrases changes over time. This is a small concept within his book but it sent ripples throughout science and philosophy. -
Thomas Kuhn (July 18, 1922 – June 17, 1996)
Entry 4: Kuhn’s philosophies have been used to compare scientific theories over time in a way that has given each theory more of its own credit. What this means is that each theory was its own being and not something created only because of an old theory or idea. Scientists in Kuhn’s way of thinking should not be compared to each other because they each have their own original methods. Video: https://youtu.be/dIJ8yAfWEIw -
Stephen Jay Gould (September 10, 1941 - May 20, 2002)
Entry 2: The statement announced the churches acceptance of evolution and that Catholics could believe what they choose as long as they understood and accepted that the theory of evolution is completely valid so long as one accepts that the possibility of the soul is also be entirely true. Non-overlapping magisterial explains that religion and science can be seen as two completely different entities in which each one studies the same subject but different details within it that do not overlap. -
Stephen Jay Gould (September 10, 1941 - May 20, 2002)
Major Works: Gould, Stephen Jay. Ever Since Darwin. New York: Norton, 1977. Gould, Stephen, Jay. Ontogeny and Phylogeny. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1977. Gould, Stephen J. Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History. , 1989. Print. Gould, Stephen J. Rocks of Ages: Science and Religion in the Fullness of Life. New York: Ballantine Pub. Group, 1999. Print. -
Stephen Jay Gould (September 10, 1941 - May 20, 2002)
Entry1: In 1997, Stephen Jay Gould wrote an essay with his statement of Non-overlapping magisterial. In this view science and religion each represent different areas of inquiry and do not overlap. The inspiration for the essay came from a 1996 address of Pope John Paul II to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in which the church addressed its thoughts on evolution. -
Stephen Jay Gould (September 10, 1941 - May 20, 2002)
Entry 3: Science relies on facts and knowledge while religion trusts on faith and values. Therefore, each teaching can explore the same subject without dwelling into each other’s theories because they are searching for completely different truths. Stephen Jay Gould puts at ease those who do not see a conflict between religion and science and separates each entity into its own school of thought. -
Stephen Jay Gould (September 10, 1941 - May 20, 2002)
Entry 4: Science can explain why and how someone has died but it does not dwell on what comes after death, this is the realm of religion. Video: https://youtu.be/yVd6MDLSYVA
