History of Science 1: Deductive Reasoning

What is Science?

All science is born out of philosophy and logic. Philosophy asks the questions, logic provides tactics in finding the answer. The word science comes from the Latin word “to know”. Science is a collection of tactics used to discover truths about the world around us by use of experimentation and observation.

Deductive Reasoning

Aristotle loved making observations about the world. He categorized living things. Reptile comes from the Latin "to creep", avian meaning bird comes from the Latin word Avis, Mammal comes from the Latin for breast, because almost all mammals drink milk from their mothers. The word amphibian comes from the Greek for 'both life' referring to their lives both in and out of water.

Aristotle used observations to recognize common characteristics of different animals. This way he was able to organize them into groups. He reasoned that if an animal lays eggs in water then it must be related to the other animals that do. By doing this he invented the first logical argument!

If mammals produce milk
And this animal produces milk
Then this animal is a mammal

If amphibians lay eggs in water
And this animal doesn't
It's not an amphibian

These arguments are arrived at by using two facts to get a indisputable correct answer. It could also be used for more than just animals.

Men are mortal
Socrates is a man
Socrates is mortal

This was the first conscious system to turn statements of knowledge into objective fact. Just as in mathematics, 2 + 3 = 5 is undeniable, if we can agree that 2 is two items and 3 is three items then we have to agree that 5 is five items. Aristotle created a form of language which is as objective as mathematics. This was a major stride forward for humankind and the first step in logic.

  • If A is B
  • And B is C
  • Therefore A is C

However, the statements need to be correct. Two people need to agree on the premises. If not then the conclusion could be false.

  • Cars have wheels
  • This has wheels
  • It's a car! – no = it’s actually a stroller

We can adjust this to create something more agreeable. Do all cars have wheels? Flying car? Take the wheels off? And cars aren’t the only thing with wheels.

  • A sandwich is two pieces of bread with a filling
  • A hotdog is meat between two pieces of bread
  • Therefore a hotdog is a type of sandwich

A deductive argument can be valid and sound in construction but wrong in its conclusion

  • Taylor Swift is from England
  • English people love baked beans
  • Therefore, Taylor Swift loves baked beans

If we can agree on the first two statements we must agree on the conclusion. Can you spot the problems with these statements?

  • Stale crackers are better than nothing
  • Nothing is better than a meal at a 5 star restaurant
  • Therefore, stale crackers are better than a 5 star restaurant

PLAY GUESS WHO

PLAY GUESS

Are they wearing a hat? What would stop you being correct?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rome: Part One

Image
https://youtu.be/x8ZzO873e48?si=nKLVpA2w_YXvaH5q https://youtu.be/Pf0v4M0Y5cg?si=_skDhkEaQVakpMTC The story goes that one of the Trojan heroes from Homer's Illiad story, Aeneas , fled Greece after the war and settled in present-day Italy. There he founded the city of Alba Longa. His descendants would rein, until one day King Numitor was overthrown and exiled by his brother, Amulius who named himself as King. He set about punishing anyone who supported the exiled King Numitor. He condemned King Numitor's daughter, Rhea Silvia to serve as a Vestal Virgin. This was a highly honored role of ceremonial responsibility where the six priestesses to the goddess, Vesta were forbidden from having relations with a man. https://youtu.be/ER0Cu0KQFqM?si=JJcOUIvirN_DYHWn However, as a Vestal Virgin, Rhea Silva became pregnant by the God of War, Mars. Any children born to her would have a claim to the Roman throne. Therefore, when Rhea Silvia gave birth, not to one child but tw...
Read more

Big Tobacco

Image
https://youtu.be/9h-6Udx8G2o?si=kVL4tzgzET8iTjGz Tobacco has been a popular commodity for hundreds of years. In 1880, cigarettes become pass produced. Young & old, rich & poor smoked them for decades. During World War Two, they were provided to soldiers as rations, necessary supplies. In the late 1940s, Scientists and doctors began to note the effects of cigarettes. The first study linking smoking and cancer was in 1950. Multiple studies came out in the 1950s to reinforce the findings that cigarettes were dangerous. Multiple countries studied multiple smokers and nonsmokers from different backgrounds and lifestyles and found statistically significant data that those who smoked had cancer more often. The tobacco companies worried about losing their livelihood. They paid scientists to release studies that disagreed. Confirmation bias Newspapers and magazines announced the study with headlines such as, "SCIENTIST DISPUTES FINDINGS OF CANCER RISK TO SMOKERS AN...
Read more

Colonialism

Image
What is Colonialism? Colonialism is the practice of one country taking control of another and exploiting it for their own gain. Under this definition, Colonialism has always existed in some form. Every Empire there's ever been has practiced Colonialism. However, this Colonialism was always much more local, invading the next nation over instead of nations far away across an ocean. After the voyages of discovery by people like Colombus and Magellan, the whole world became avaliable for profit. Old Empires New Empires Why Colonialism? Historians generally sum the reasons behind Colonialism into three categories, "Gold, God and Glory" Gold During the middle ages, Europeans had struggled as subsistence farmers. Noble people owned everything and poor people worked for them only. Famines killed millions. Before the discovery of the new world, Europe looked very different. The English didn't y...
Read more