Rational Knowledge, Philosophy, and the Evolution of Science

Origin and Nature of Rational Knowledge

Initially, everything was unpredictable and arbitrary. It was impossible to know the regularities governing nature. The Greeks, deeply rooted in the idea of fate, gradually shifted towards the concept of necessity, seeking rational and immanent explanations.

Key Questions

– Metaphysical Period (Study of reality from first principles):

  • Cosmological phase (natural world)
  • Anthropological turn (human existence)
  • Christian thought (reason and faith)

– Epistemological Period (Study of human knowledge):

  • Heliocentric model, mechanistic view
  • Mathematization of reality and experimentation
  • Modernity (Descartes’s rationalism, British empiricism, Kant’s transcendental idealism)
  • Kant’s tasks: “What can I know?”, “What should I do?”, “What can I expect?”, “What is man?”

– Humanist Period (Study of humans):

  • Various schools and interests following a Kantian line
  • Central theme: the human being and society

Characteristics of Philosophy

  • A universal field of study, encompassing all of reality, unlike the sciences.
  • Radical knowledge, aiming to reach the ultimate explanatory principles of reality.
  • Rational knowledge: arguments, justifications, and coherent statements are essential.
  • Critical knowledge: challenges dogmatic positions.

Disciplines

  • Metaphysics: Explores the structure of reality and fundamental problems.
  • Gnoseology: Reflects on the nature of knowledge.
  • Logic: Studies the conditions for coherent thought and the right tools for reasoning.
  • Ethics: Deals with human morality.
  • Political Philosophy: Investigates matters concerning the individual in society, citizenship, and the state.
  • Aesthetics: Studies beauty and the human ability to create art.

Role of Philosophy

  • Aspires to knowledge of the most universal.
  • Seeks to identify truths applicable across all fields of knowledge and the most appropriate methods to reach them (science).
  • Moves away from dogmatism.
  • Teaches proper reasoning and abstract thinking.
  • Guides human conduct in both private morality and socio-political spheres.
  • Addresses problems beyond the scope of science.

Ancient Science

  • Finalist and essentialist models (focus on object qualities)
  • Geocentric and heterogeneous
  • Deterministic model (everything is predetermined and fixed)
  • Governed by the principle of causality and conservation principles

Modern Science: Mechanism

  • Quantitative, using mathematics as a primary tool
  • Focuses on efficient causes
  • Experimental, relying on technique and invention

Contemporary Science

The universe is finite and changeable (Big Bang Theory). Heisenberg’s principle (subatomic particles/uncertainty): there are things we cannot know with certainty.

Science

A system that ascertains specific sectors of reality, derived from rational inquiry, with specific work methods and criteria for verification.

Classification of Scientific Knowledge

  • Empirical science (natural and social/human)
  • Formal science
  • Applied sciences

According to Aristotle: theoretical sciences, technical sciences, and practical sciences.

Scientific Law

A universal explanation derived from the search for regularities in phenomena and their verification.

Scientific Theory

A collection of confirmed laws and explanations related to a particular area of reality.

Hypothesis

A tentative supposition proposed to interpret or provide solutions to certain facts.

Hypothetical-Deductive Method

1. Observation of a problematic fact, 2. Formulating a hypothesis, 3. Deduction of the consequences of the hypothesis, 4. Contrasting or verification of the derived effects, and 5. Confirmation or refutation of the hypothesis.

The Philosophy of Science

Extracts the philosophical implications of major scientific theories, analyzes the assumptions underlying scientific work in each period, and discusses strictly scientific matters.

The Problem of Scientific Knowledge

Sometimes, we must presuppose the existence of something inferred from other observed phenomena. Hypotheses, theories, and scientific models are, according to Einstein, constructions of the scientist’s mind, but are extracted from real data. Hume and Kant questioned the possibility of knowing reality as it is, without the observer’s subjective influence. Absolute certainty is not possible, and scientific explanation is only provisional.

Technique

The human ability to produce artificial instruments and exercise activities following rules and a prior plan.

Theology

Attempts to know and intellectually approach divinity, which for most is an absolute, spiritual, and eternal reality. Theologians study and interpret Scripture (the Bible). It embodies tenets accessible by faith, but theologians need a rational underpinning. They have tried to understand divinity through reason. Logical Procedures: Deductive procedure (using logic to analyze the concept of God, equating possibility with perfection) and inductive procedure (going from the particular to the general, arguing that God must exist as the ultimate cause of everything in nature).