Midterm Study Guide History of Science Prescience Greeks and Romans 1 What early people knew what we would call mathematics astronomy medicine how they knew it what they used it for and how they passed it on Driving force in early science was survival curiosity and religion early science grew from Mesopotamia and Egypt Prehistoric people developed technologies to obtain necessities for life Oral tradition was used to pass on what seemed to be important knowledge until writing is invented Mathematics Egyptians wrote on papyrus Medicine Decimal numbers were used in building the pyramids inclined surface Mesopotamians developed the sexagesimal number system which was used in algebra and astronomy Egyptians used surgical tools for treatment of wounds fractures or dislocations and had pharmacology ritual traditions Believed disease was caused by an evil spirit in the body Mesopotamians did similar healings and also thought disease was spiritual or due to sin carelessness or sorcery Astronomy Mesopotamians were first real observers of heavens and calculated the path of Venus passed on by tablets Babylonian divination predicting events from Gods by looking for signs in the stars Calendar based off the moon Both helped shape and benefit Greek Philosophy 2 Why written records were critical for knowledge development The invention of writing was a prerequisite for the development of philosophy and science Written records allowed the education of wider groups of people and also allowed information to be evaluated Oral tradition allowed information to become skewed and unreliable it also could not be inspected or compared to anything like written works could 3 The new approach of the early Greek thinkers known as Pre Socratics and how it differed from the explanations based on myth What kinds of questions did they ask What did they think the Kosmos was made of and why In this group of philosophers Aristotle called them Physikoi the Gods disappeared from their explanations of the universe They stopped personifying nature such as myths often did They asked What was the universe made of What was its shape size How does it change and operate Thales attempted to explain natural phenomena without reference to mythology and was tremendously influential in this respect He said that the fundamental thing making up the Kosmos and all things was material for him specifically water Heraclitus said the world itself consists of a law like interchange of elements symbolized by fire Thus the world is not to be identified with any particular substance but rather with an ongoing process governed by a law of change Leucippus said everything made up of small parts or atoms and they make change possible Aneximes concluded that everything in the world is composed of air 4 Aristotle Who was he and what he thought about Born in Stagira and attended Plato s academy but criticized him and philosophers before him Taught Alexander the Great and opened lyceum in Athens and had a personal library His theology purposefulness in the universe Everything has a cause and meaning doesn t explain on how reality came into being Everything made with four causes Form Formal Cause shape what it is Matter Material Cause ingredients what its made of Agency Efficient Cause who make its and Purpose Final Cause what s its purpose a the Kosmos Rejected the theory of the form cosmology universe is eternal never ends never began was a sphere full with no void space Earth in the center change on Earth but nowhere else prime mover not like traditional God moves spheres if universe is in constant motion unmoved mover is the stable efficient cause b Elements composing the earth system Aristotle s elements were fire air water and earth Earth in center then water air and fire in successive order Their shells spheres occupy small portion of the universe heavens around spherical Earth aether c Why objects were where they were Objects were where they were because it is that object s rightful place There can be an external force acting on that object but it will always move toward its rightful place in the universe d The subjects that composed meteorology Phenomena of the upper atmosphere including comets shooting stars rain the rainbow thunder and lightening were covered in Aristotle s book Meteorology Earth air water fire along with hot cold wet dry made many elements including those of meteorology 5 Roman approach to science same as Greeks Why or why not What was occupying the Romans Greek Philosophy continued into the Roman Empire as the foundation of education Alexander the Great from the Italian peninsula started taking over Greek land around 330 CE Differed in that philosophy became a leisure activity compared to in Greece In Greece knowledge flourished after the creation of the alphabet and writing Romans studied the philosophy and only used what was logical from the Greeks the circle of Roman and Greek scholars could not go beyond Aristotle Aristotle s Philosophy grew to be foundation of science until 15th century Works translated from Greek to Latin Varro identified arts but not sciences Grammar rhetoric logic arithmetic geometry astronomy music theory medicine and law Main figure of Polarization period Pliney Natural History Romans were occupied with economic decline from war lead to decrease in education and literacy also spread of Christian religion occupied time and attention presenting serious obstacles in scientific development in Rome the Church gained power by appealing to the poor and uneducated 6 How did the early Christians view pagan learning How did they adapt to it Christians turned to education when they wanted their followers to be able to read the Holy Bible However most of education was based off of Greek philosophy course determined from Aristotelian philosophy Some Christians regarded Greek philosophy with error and some believed it was the complete opposite Without the development of monasteries for education Western Europe would most likely have less science Ultimately the Church tried to work with Science viewed it as a handmaiden could help explain their basis for education Christianity Pagan anything that disagreed with Christianity Polytheistic Christians did not care however Christians took philosophy and only used theories that would be accepted support Christian s beliefs But they did not try to stop the transmission of theories that were pagan 7 Why were the commentaries on Greek philosophy important