BIOL475 Midterm
There are two big questions one must ask in understanding the clues for God's existence. What are those two questions?
"'Why can we do science at all?' and 'Why is the universe so special?'" (Polkinghorne, 34)
What were Newton's three laws of motion?
"1. Every body persists in its state of rest or of uniform motion in a straight line, unless it is acted upon by an external force. 2. Change in motion (acceleration) is directly proportional to, and in the same direction as, the external force. 3. To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." (Hummel, 138)
List and describe the Scientific presuppositions:
"1. Order in nature. Nature has an underlying order, shown in patterns and regularities that can be discovered. 2. Uniformity of nature. The forces of nature are uniform throughout space and time. 3. Validity of sense perception. Reliable data can be obtained by using the human senses or their extensions. 4. Simplicity. If two theories or explanations fit the data, the simpler is usually to be preferred. 5. Moral responsibility. All scientists are expected to report honestly the results of their experiments so that others can have confidence in their data and use those results in their own research. 6. Consensus of acceptance. Scientists around the world engaged in research in the same discipline, using similar procedures and equipment, test research results and give them relative objectivity." (Hummel, 158-159)
In the Summa Theologica what did Aquinas basically teach and give two examples?
"Aquinas taught that philosophy and theology, human wisdom and divine revelation, must be compatible. Although the existence of God can be demonstrated by natural reason, the doctrines of the Trinity and Incarnation are mysteries received by faith based on a rational revelation. The resulting method produces a commitment to knowledge derived by reason--from philosophical axioms on the one hand, from biblical authority on the other. In that comprehensive synthesis, science and philosophy are combined with theology into one system, hardly conducive to the free investigation of either nature or Scripture." (Hummel, 151) Examples: "Why does an acorn grow? To become an oak." (Hummel, 152) Why does a caterpillar go through metamorphosis? To become a butterfly.
Describe Newton's great discovery of the "Law of Universal Attraction."
"Every particle in the universe is attracted to every other particle by a force proportional to a product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them (F = Gm1m2/r2)." (Hummel, 137).
Explain Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle.
"If you have something like an electron, then, if you know where it is, you can't know what it's doing; if you know what it's doing, you can't know where it is." (Polkinghorne, 27-28)
What was one of Galileo's most important contributions to the scientific method?
"One of Galileo's most important contributions to scientific methodology was his knack of idealizing a problem." (Hummel, 99)
In describing how the universe is incredibly special, the author refers to the Anthropic Principle. Briefly explain this principle.
"Realizing that we live in a universe that is incredibly special, and that the only reason we're here at all is because this is so. It isn't the case that evolution by itself is enough to explain our origins. Almost all universes we can think of would be sterile, incapable of evolving life however long you waited for them to do so." (Polkinghorne, 37)
Induction is no longer considered appropriate for science, which methods are?
"Retroduction or abduction, the interaction between hypothesis and observation: fitting together a possible explanation and the data, modifying when necessary, testing to see if the theory is confirmed." (Hummel, 155)
According to Charles Hummel can you be Christian and participate in the New Science, briefly explain why.
"Several lines of evidence show that Christianity was more a senior partner of the new science than its enemy. First, it is a historical reality that science developed within a civilization whose prevailing philosophy was Christian theism. Second, the important concept of the contingency of nature has a Christian source. The scientists we have studied were convinced that their theories were not figments of mathematical imagination conveniently correlating the data, but actual descriptions of the physical world as created by God." (Hummel, 160)
Newton besides his extraordinary science, conducted a lot of Biblical studies, he studied Theology. In contrast to the popular interpretations of prophecy in the Bible (both then and now);Newton commented on the prophecies in Daniel by stating, (Be complete in this answer and you may quote:
"The 'folly of interpreters who foretell times and things by this prophecy'; it was far from God's intent to 'gratify men's curiosities by enabling them to foreknow things.' Rather, those prophecies stand as witnesses to God's province when 'after they were fulfilled, they might be interpreted by events....The event of things predicted many ages before, will then be a convincing argument that the world is governed by providence.' Newton stresses the importance of understanding the nature of prophetic language and its principles of interpretation. 'It is only through want of skill therein that Interpreters so frequently turn the Prophetic types and phrases to signify whatever their fancies and hypotheses lead them to.'" (Hummel, 143)
What were Aristotle's four 'causes' and their definitions.
"The material cause is what comprises an object (the bricks and wood of a house). The formal cause is the plan or archetype (the blueprint). The efficient cause is the primary source of the change (the builders). And the final cause is the purpose (to provide a home)." (Hummel, 30)
Polkinghorne suggests that the reductionist approach does not work for a variety of reasons. Using the butterfly effect argument, or the human experience of beauty, explain what he means.
"These exquisitely sensitive systems are intrinsically unpredictable and non-mechanical in their behavior. They're also never truly separate from their environment, for they are vulnerable to changes that result from the slightest of variations in their circumstances." (Polkinghorne, 72) I think what he is saying here that the butterfly effect is an unproved assumption due to the fact that you cannot fully separate those systems from their environment, so how would a reductionist know how the system interacts apart from disruptions
Describe these two other methods.
"Through retroduction an imaginative new concept may be born." (Hummel, 155) Abduction starts with a theory and then adds on data and logic until determining the simplest, factual truth.
Newton derived the "inverse-square" relation from Kepler's third law; what is the "inverse square" relation?
"When an apple landed at his feet, he started thinking about the motion of the moon. The attractive force that caused the apple to fall extended to the top of the tree; did it also extend as far as the moon? If so, what would the attraction amount to at such a great distance?" (Hummel, 130) I1/I2 = d22/d12 "The attraction between two bodies varies inversely as the square of the distance between them" (Hummel, 135)
Polkinghorne refers to the "God of the gaps," what is that theory? Why does the author argue that this is a theological mistake?
"Where the Creator popped up as the 'explanation' of what was currently significantly unknown. The trouble was that, like the Cheshire Cat, God tended to fade away. The God of the gaps was actually a theological mistake. If God is the Creator, divine activity must somehow be connected with the whole show, not just with the difficult or murky bits of what's going on." (Polkinghorne, 33)
Give two examples of Aquinas' teachings
"Why does an acorn grow? To become an oak." (Hummel, 152) Why does a caterpillar go through metamorphosis? To become a butterfly.
The way Christians think about creation has four significant consequences, please name them.
1. Christians expect an orderly world because God never changes, but God also has free will in controlling the universe. 2. Observation and experiment are necessary. 3. The world is worthy of studying because it is God's creation. 4. Creation is not divine so we can investigate it without remorse.
What is a paradigm shift?
A paradigm shift occurs when a discovery takes place and the way of thinking prior to this discovery completely shifts, for example people accepting a heliocentric universe versus a geocentric universe.
The title of this book includes the word 'quark.' In Chapter 4, the author gives the theoretical physics definition of quark. Explain in your own words what a quark is.
A quark is what hadrons (protons and neutrons) are made up of.
In the lecture on "What is Science" Dr Butler compared two approaches to science and he used the terms 'reductionism' and 'holism." Explain how a reductionist approaches scientific study.
A reductionist approaches scientific study by breaking the world up into separate little compartments.
John Polkinghorne describes himself as both a theoretical physicist and Anglican priest. What is a theoretical physicist? What do they do? Give an example of a famous physicist.
A theoretical physicist is a scientist of physics who uses mathematical models and equations to explain natural phenomena. Albert Einstein and Steven Hawking are both examples of famous theoretical physicists.
What was Fred Hoyle discovery that led him to state, "the universe is a put up job"?
After studying the carbon model in a star shape, he realized there needed to be a resonance with a precise amount of energy.
What did Aristotle believe about the universe and what were his four basic elements?
Aristotle believed in a spherical universe centered around the stationary earth. The four basic elements in nature were earth, water, air and fire.
Describe Aristotle's view of the celestial bodies occupying 'crystalline spheres" and include all planets and the stars he knew about. You may construct diagram and hand that in before class as a hard copy, please include your name.
Aristotle thought the sun, moon and planets were surrounded by a transparent, crystalline sphere that carried them around earth. Prime motion, First Unmoved Mover, Jupiter, Mars, Moon, Earth, Mercury, Venus, Sun and Saturn
What was Aristotles fifth element and describe it?
Aristotle's fifth element was aether, which he described as an element that does not usually change or decay and is superior to the other four elements. He also thought aether to be eternal, immutable and indestructible.
Whose 'science' methodology did Bacon seriously question and why?
Bacon seriously questioned Aristotle's "science" methodology, because he did not believe progress could be made from such old theories and methodologies. Bacon was against, "reaching scientific conclusions without observation or experiment." (Hummel, 154)
Polkinghorne writes about the NASA discovery of "cosmic ripples." What are they and why did Stephen Hawking call it the "discovery of the century, perhaps of all time"?
Cosmic ripples were background radiation, which was a fossil from when the earth was half a million years old. The world expanded and cooled and the radiation no longer interacted with matter so aggressively. These ripples gave clues to how the galaxies had come to existence.
From 1624 to 1630, Galileo worked on a treatise, what was it?
Diagolo dei due massimi sistemi del mondo--Tolemaico e Copernicano ("Dialogue on the Two Principal World Systems--Ptolemaic and Copernican")
Who is credited with the method of induction and is also the father of modern science?
Galileo Galilei
Galileo refined the telescope and made celestial observations through them. What discovery did he make regarding small bodes in close proximity to Jupiter? First, how many bodies where there?
Galileo discovered another fault in Aristotle's theory. "As Galileo viewed them at different times and calculated their movements, it became clear that the four bodies are moons revolving around Jupiter." (Hummel, 89) There were four bodies.
In 1615, Galileo wrote Letter to the Grand Duchess Chritsina, in which he described his view of therelationship between science and theology; what was his view?
He argued via three essential points, what were they? "(1) The issue had been brought to the Roman court for reasons based on wrong premises. (2) Astronomical theories could not be matters of faith. (3) The new cosmology was in harmony with biblical teaching if the Bible were interpreted according to ordinary exegetical principles of long standing in church tradition, but at variance with the literal emphasis of the council of Trent." (Hummel, 105)
What is Kuhn's view of a "paradigm'?
Kuhn's view of a "paradigm" involves, "sufficiently unprecedented to attract an enduring group of adherents away from competing modes of scientific activity...[and] sufficiently open-ended to leave all sorts of problems for the redefined group of practitioners to solve." (Hummel, 156) Simply put, a paradigm is a model that can be used for future research.
For Galileo, what was the key to unlocking the secrets of the universe?
Mathematics
Fourth, was Galileo's discovery of the Jovian moons widely accepted? Why?
No, astronomers basically made fun of him for it.
Were Galileo's opponents able to refute his arguments via astronomy and Physics?
No, so they tried to attack him religiously.
Paul Davies is quoted as saying "It may seem bizarre, but in my opinion science offers up a surer path to God than religion." How did he come to that conclusion?
Paul Davies came to this conclusion due to the "rational beauty and fruitful balance" of the world. (Polkinghorne, 47)
Polkinghorne suggests that science is not always based on pure facts but a mixture of facts and opinion. He uses the phrase scientists wear "spectacles behind the eyes." Explain what he means and the rationale for that argument.
Polkinghorne means it is not just what they see but their perspective of how they see that. Opinions and biases are inevitable.
Give a quick description (and name of) of the Ptolemaic view of how the celestial bodies moved around the Earth. (In chapter 1)
Ptolemy agreed with an earth-centered universe, however, he added a circle with an equalizing point. This made the celestial bodies move uniformly, but not with respect to the earth, with respect to that equalizing point. Angular motion of the planets is uniform.
What was Galileo's approach called towards science?
Scientific method
What is Teleology?
Teleology is explaining something based on its purpose rather than the cause of it.
When the author addresses the problem of evil and suffering, he writes that Christians "believe that the Creator has been a fellow participant." Explain in your own words what he meant by that.
The Creator has been a fellow participant in evil and suffering through Jesus living on earth. He experienced friends letting him down, mocking and ultimately a gruesome crucifixion for all the evil and suffering in the entire history and future of mankind.
Describe and provide a diagram of the basic Epicycle-Deferent system of planetary and celestial motion of the pre-Copernican universe. The diagram should be provided by hard copy and handed in prior to class.
The Epicycle-Deferent system of planetary and celestial motion of the pre-Copernican universe is Hipparchus's thought on solar and lunar orbits. The sun's orbit (deferent) was not centered exactly on earth and allowed the sun to move with uniform speed but still allow for summer and winter. Apollonius then added a second circle (epicycle) which traced a path toward the deferent.
What is the basic difference between why the Greeks pursued knowledge as compared to both the Babylonians and Egyptians?
The Greeks pursued knowledge for the sake of knowledge, but the Babylonians pursued the heavenly bodies and the Egyptians pursued arithmetic. The motive of the Babylonians and Egyptians was practicality such as astrological predictions and land measurements.
Second, what were these bodies and what was it about these bodies that was of special importance?
The bodies were moons, and their importance were that they proved that earth was not the only planet with moon(s). "That is the greatest importance of Galileo's astronomical work; it popularized astronomy, and the astronomy it popularized was Copernican." (Hummel, 90)
Define in your own words 'the butterfly effect."
The butterfly effect is the fragility of some scientific systems, in which one disruption can make the whole system behave totally different.
Third, what was it about these bodies that refuted the Aristotelian view of the universe?
The discovery of these bodies refuted that, "only the earth as the center of the universe could have a moon." (Hummel, 89)
The author breaks down the problem of evil and suffering into two problems; list and describe those in your own words.
The first problem of suffering and evil is moral evil, which humankind is responsible for. Humans choose the cruelty or neglect. The second problem of suffering and evil mentioned is that God is responsible for the physical evil of this world.
Explain in your own words "the free will defense".
The free will defense is that certain consequences happen due to humans making poor choices. For example, if a human smokes a lot during life, it is likely that he or she will end up with lung cancer; this isn't due to an unloving God who allowed the human to get cancer. The human freely chose an activity that has bad consequential diseases.
In the Prolog, Galileo is put on trial and found "vehemently suspected of heresy." What was this heresy?
The heresy Galileo was put on trial for was that reporters who were to read his Dialogue on the Two Principal World Systems stated that Galileo presented the Copernican theory of astronomy as fact and not hypothesis. The Copernican theory of astronomy is the theory that the earth moves around a stationary sun.
List and describe the two extreme pictures of God that the author rejects as unacceptable.
The picture of God in which he is a puppet master that forces every creature to dance in tune with the pull of a string.
In the time of Copernicus, the study of medicine was related to what?
The study of medicine was related to astrology, and parts of the body were connected to zodiac signs.
Galileo's treatise De motu basically was a rebuttal/critical analysis of two of Aristotle's rules; which two rules did Galileo seek to negate?
The two rules on the speed of a falling body Galileo sought to negate of Aristotle's were, "That it is proportional to the body's weight, and that it is inversely proportional to the density of the medium." (Hummel, 85)
Einstein, who is considered the grandfather of quantum mechanics, discovered something 'crazy' about quantum theory when it came to how electrons have a togetherness in separation. Explain what this strange togetherness is.
This togetherness in separation is the fact that a pair of quantum particles will have influence on each other no matter how far their separation from each other is.
What are the two general characteristics of religious experience?
Worship and hope
Logical Positivism
a 20th century philosophical movement holding that all meaningful statements are either analytic or conclusively verifiable or at least confirmable by observation and experiment and that metaphysical theories are therefore strictly meaningless
Ethics
a set of moral obligations that define right and wrong in our practices and decisions
Naturalism
a view according to which all objects and events are part of nature, i.e. they belong to the world of space and time
Revelation
an act of revealing or communicating divine truth
Wholism
an approach to research that emphasizes the study of complex systems
Conclusion
an assertion of truth, fact that is logically derivable from the premises
Fideism
an exclusive or basic reliance upon faith alone, accompanied by a consequent disparagement of reason and utilized especially in the pursuit of philosophical or religious truth
Hypothesis
an idea or explanation that you then test through study and experimentation
Subjectivity
based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions
Determinism
cause-and-effect; events with a given paradigm are bound by causality in such a way that any state is completely determined by prior states
Deductive
conclusion must be true
Independence
freedom from the control, influence, support, aid, or the like, of others
Validity
how well a scientific test or piece of research actually measures what it sets out to, or how well it reflects the reality it claims to represent
Soundness
if every formula that can be proved in the system is logically valid with respect to the semantics of the system
Bias
in favor of or against one thing, person or group compared with another, usually in an unfair way
Prejudices
judgement in advance
Reason
molded by bias
Reproducibility
one component of the precision of a measurement or test method
Empiricism
philosophy of science emphasizes evidence, especially as discovered in experiments
Objectivity (Bacon - objective observer)
proceed by preparing a
Observation
receiving knowledge of the outside world through our senses
Premise
research that is used to form the basis for the proposed research question
Reductionism
start by assuming the proposition is false and then show that there is a contradiction in this assumption, thus it is absurd
For Galileo the laboratory was the...
testing ground of theories
Chaos Theory (Butterfly Effect)
the branch of mathematics that deals with complex systems whose behavior is highly sensitive to slight changes in conditions, so that small alterations can give rise to strikingly great consequences
Metaphysics
the branch of philosophy that studies the essence of a thing
Inductive
the conclusion is likely true
Reliability
the degree to which an assessment tool produces stable and consistent results
Environmental Determinism
the environment determines culture; environment influenced the psychological mind-set of individuals (frigid, torrid and ecumene zones)
Introspection
the examination of one's own conscious thoughts and feelings
Variability
the extent to which data points in a statistical distribution or data set diverge from the average, or mean, value as well as the extent to which these data points differ from each other
Probability
the extent to which something is probable
Interdeterminism
the idea that events are not caused, or not caused deterministically
Anthropic principle
the philosophical argument that observations of the physical universe must be compatible with the conscious life that observes it; relating to mankind or the period of mankind's existence
Measurement problem
the problem of how (or whether) wave function collapse occurs
Experimentation
the process of conducting a test under controlled conditions that is made to demonstrate a known truth, to examine the validity of a hypothesis, or to determine the efficacy of something previously untried
Dependence
the state of relying on or needing someone or something for aid or support
Epistemology
the study of the nature of knowledge, justification, and the rationality of belief
Uniformitarianism
the theory that changes in the earth's crust during geological history have resulted from the action of continuous and uniform processes
Falsifiability
theories that have not been shown to be wrong
Evidentialism
thesis about epistemic justification, it is a thesis about what it takes for one to believe justifiably, or reasonably, in the sense thought to be necessary for knowledge
Presuppositions
thing assumed beforehand at the beginning of a line of argument or course of action; one cannot be completely objective
Abductive
which hypothesis or theory would, if true, best explain the relevant evidence; "inference to the best answer"
