Reason and Reality

Reason and Reality – Midterm Exam Questions

1. Briefly describe Aristotle’s notions of space, time, and motion. What were his arguments rationalizing his

Denial of the infinitude of space? How did he understand celestial motion vis-à-vis terrestrial motion?

2. Philosophy during the time of St. Thomas Aquinas (13^th century AD) is often described as a synthesis of ancient Greek philosophy (particularly Aristotle) and Christian Theology. Briefly discuss aspects of the medieval world-view that leads to this point of view. How did Aquinas adapt Aristotelian logic and “Cause” into his arguments for the existence of God? How was the conflict between Aristotelian Cosmology and early Church Doctrine altered during the 13^th century? (particularly by Aquinas). How are these ideas reflected in Dante’s Divine Comedy?

3. According to some commentators, Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions produced a crisis of rationality in the sciences. What is your understanding of this crisis? In what way could one say that Kuhn’s historical views about science suggest this?According to Kuhn, what is the major shortcoming of the “usual image of science” that emphasizes procedures of confirmation and falsification?

4.Consider how the Geocentric model of the universe evolved from the time of Aristotle, through Ptolemy, up to Nicolaus Copernicus.Briefly describe these changes. Why was it so important to retain geocentricity and uniform circular motion? Do you think this evolution of world-view fits with Kuhn’s ideas about howscience progresses? Why or why not?

5. In class, we discussed the unique place Copernicus occupies in the history of Astronomy? In what ways

should he been seen as the last great medieval astronomer?In what ways could one argue Copernicus was

the first modern astronomer?

6.Briefly describe at least two aspects of the change in “World-View” that came about during the period spanning the mid-16^th to mid-17^th centuries. How did the methods of science change during this period?  How did this transition from the late medieval period to the dawn of the modern era change Humanity’s conception of God and of Man’s place in the universe?