1.
Alfred North Whitehead
–
Alfred North Whitehead OM FRS was an English mathematician and philosopher. In his early career Whitehead wrote primarily on mathematics, logic and his most notable work in these fields is the three-volume Principia Mathematica, which he wrote with former student Bertrand Russell. Beginning in the late 1910s and early 1920s, Whitehead gradually turned his attention from mathematics to philosophy of science and he developed a comprehensive metaphysical system which radically departed from most of western philosophy. Today Whiteheads philosophical works – particularly Process and Reality – are regarded as the texts of process philosophy. For this reason, one of the most promising applications of Whiteheads thought in recent years has been in the area of ecological civilization, cobb, Jr. Alfred North Whitehead was born in Ramsgate, Kent, England, in 1861. His father, Alfred Whitehead, was a minister and schoolmaster of Chatham House Academy, Whitehead himself recalled both of them as being very successful schoolmasters, but that his grandfather was the more extraordinary man. Whiteheads mother was Maria Sarah Whitehead, formerly Maria Sarah Buckmaster, Whitehead was apparently not particularly close with his mother, as he never mentioned her in any of his writings, and there is evidence that Whiteheads wife, Evelyn, had a low opinion of her. Whitehead was educated at Sherborne School, Dorset, then considered one of the best public schools in the country and his childhood was described as over-protected, but when at school he excelled in sports and mathematics and was head prefect of his class. In 1880, Whitehead began attending Trinity College, Cambridge, and his academic advisor was Edward John Routh. He earned his BA from Trinity in 1884, and graduated as fourth wrangler, in 1890, Whitehead married Evelyn Wade, an Irish woman raised in France, they had a daughter, Jessie Whitehead, and two sons, Thomas North Whitehead and Eric Whitehead. Eric Whitehead died in action serving in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I at the age of 19. In 1910, Whitehead resigned his Senior Lectureship in Mathematics at Trinity, toward the end of his time in England, Whitehead turned his attention to philosophy. Though he had no advanced training in philosophy, his work soon became highly regarded. After publishing The Concept of Nature in 1920, he served as president of the Aristotelian Society from 1922 to 1923, in 1924, Henry Osborn Taylor invited the 63-year-old Whitehead to join the faculty at Harvard University as a professor of philosophy. During his time at Harvard, Whitehead produced his most important philosophical contributions, in 1925, he wrote Science and the Modern World, which was immediately hailed as an alternative to the Cartesian dualism that plagued popular science. A few years later, he published his seminal work Process and Reality, the Whiteheads spent the rest of their lives in the United States. Alfred North retired from Harvard in 1937 and remained in Cambridge, the two volume biography of Whitehead by Victor Lowe is the most definitive presentation of the life of Whitehead. However, many details of Whiteheads life remain obscure because he left no Nachlass, additionally, Whitehead was known for his almost fanatical belief in the right to privacy, and for writing very few personal letters of the kind that would help to gain insight on his life
2.
Materialism
–
Materialism is closely related to physicalism, the view that all that exists is ultimately physical. Thus the term physicalism is preferred over materialism by some, while others use the terms as if they are synonymous, philosophies contradictory to materialism or physicalism include idealism, pluralism, dualism, and other forms of monism. Materialism belongs to the class of monist ontology, as such, it is different from ontological theories based on dualism or pluralism. For singular explanations of the reality, materialism would be in contrast to idealism, neutral monism. To idealists, spirit or mind or the objects of mind are primary, to materialists, matter is primary, and mind or spirit or ideas are secondary, the product of matter acting upon matter. The materialist view is perhaps best understood in its opposition to the doctrines of immaterial substance applied to the mind historically, famously by René Descartes, however, by itself materialism says nothing about how material substance should be characterized. In practice, it is assimilated to one variety of physicalism or another. Jerry Fodor influentially argues this view, according to which empirical laws, a lot of vigorous literature has grown up around the relation between these views. Modern philosophical materialists extend the definition of other scientifically observable entities such as energy, forces, however philosophers such as Mary Midgley suggest that the concept of matter is elusive and poorly defined. Materialism typically contrasts with dualism, phenomenalism, idealism, vitalism and its materiality can, in some ways, be linked to the concept of determinism, as espoused by Enlightenment thinkers. Later Marxists, such as Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky developed the notion of dialectical materialism which characterized later Marxist philosophy, Materialism developed, possibly independently, in several geographically separated regions of Eurasia during what Karl Jaspers termed the Axial Age. In Ancient Indian philosophy, materialism developed around 600 BC with the works of Ajita Kesakambali, Payasi, Kanada, Kanada became one of the early proponents of atomism. The Nyaya–Vaisesika school developed one of the earliest forms of atomism, though their proofs of God, buddhist atomism and the Jaina school continued the atomic tradition. Xunzi developed a Confucian doctrine centered on realism and materialism in Ancient China, Ancient Greek philosophers like Thales, Anaxagoras, Epicurus and Democritus prefigure later materialists. The Latin poem De Rerum Natura by Lucretius reflects the philosophy of Democritus and Epicurus. According to this view, all that exists is matter and void, De Rerum Natura provides mechanistic explanations for phenomena such as erosion, evaporation, wind, and sound. Famous principles like nothing can touch body but body first appeared in the works of Lucretius, chinese thinkers of the early common era said to be materialists include Yang Xiong and Wang Chong. Later Indian materialist Jayaraashi Bhatta in his work Tattvopaplavasimha refuted the Nyaya Sutra epistemology, the materialistic Cārvāka philosophy appears to have died out some time after 1400
3.
Principia Mathematica
–
The Principia Mathematica is a three-volume work on the foundations of mathematics, written by Alfred North Whitehead and Bertrand Russell and published in 1910,1912, and 1913. In 1925–27, it appeared in an edition with an important Introduction to the Second Edition. PM was an attempt to describe a set of axioms and inference rules in symbolic logic from which all mathematical truths could in principle be proven. As such, this project is of great importance in the history of mathematics and philosophy. One of the inspirations and motivations for PM was the earlier work of Gottlob Frege on logic. PM sought to avoid this problem by ruling out the creation of arbitrary sets. This was achieved by replacing the notion of a set with the notion of a hierarchy of sets of different types. Contemporary mathematics, however, avoids paradoxes such as Russells in less unwieldy ways, PM is not to be confused with Russells 1903 The Principles of Mathematics. PM states, The present work was intended by us to be comprised in a second volume of Principles of Mathematics. PM has long known for its typographical complexity. Famously, several hundred pages are required in PM to prove the validity of the proposition 1+1=2, the Modern Library placed it 23rd in a list of the top 100 English-language nonfiction books of the twentieth century. The Principia covered only set theory, cardinal numbers, ordinal numbers and it was also clear how lengthy such a development would be. A fourth volume on the foundations of geometry had been planned, as noted in the criticism of the theory by Kurt Gödel, unlike a formalist theory, the logicistic theory of PM has no precise statement of the syntax of the formalism. A raw formalist theory would not provide the meaning of the symbols that form a primitive proposition—the symbols themselves could be absolutely arbitrary, the theory would specify only how the symbols behave based on the grammar of the theory. Then later, by assignment of values, a model would specify an interpretation of what the formulas are saying. Thus in the formal Kleene symbol set below, the interpretation of what the symbols commonly mean, but this is not a pure Formalist theory. The following formalist theory is offered as contrast to the theory of PM. A contemporary formal system would be constructed as follows, Symbols used, This set is the starting set, symbol strings, The theory will build strings of these symbols by concatenation
4.
Bertrand Russell
–
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, writer, social critic, political activist and Nobel laureate. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist and he was born in Monmouthshire into one of the most prominent aristocratic families in the United Kingdom. In the early 20th century, Russell led the British revolt against idealism and he is considered one of the founders of analytic philosophy along with his predecessor Gottlob Frege, colleague G. E. Moore, and protégé Ludwig Wittgenstein. He is widely held to be one of the 20th centurys premier logicians, with A. N. Whitehead he wrote Principia Mathematica, an attempt to create a logical basis for mathematics. His philosophical essay On Denoting has been considered a paradigm of philosophy, Russell mostly was a prominent anti-war activist, he championed anti-imperialism. Occasionally, he advocated preventive nuclear war, before the opportunity provided by the monopoly is gone. He went to prison for his pacifism during World War I, in 1950 Russell was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought. Bertrand Russell was born on 18 May 1872 at Ravenscroft, Trellech, Monmouthshire and his parents, Viscount and Viscountess Amberley, were radical for their times. Lord Amberley consented to his wifes affair with their childrens tutor, both were early advocates of birth control at a time when this was considered scandalous. Lord Amberley was an atheist and his atheism was evident when he asked the philosopher John Stuart Mill to act as Russells secular godfather, Mill died the year after Russells birth, but his writings had a great effect on Russells life. His paternal grandfather, the Earl Russell, had asked twice by Queen Victoria to form a government. The Russells had been prominent in England for several centuries before this, coming to power, Lady Amberley was the daughter of Lord and Lady Stanley of Alderley. Russell often feared the ridicule of his grandmother, one of the campaigners for education of women. Russell had two siblings, brother Frank, and sister Rachel, in June 1874 Russells mother died of diphtheria, followed shortly by Rachels death. In January 1876, his father died of bronchitis following a period of depression. Frank and Bertrand were placed in the care of their staunchly Victorian paternal grandparents and his grandfather, former Prime Minister Earl Russell, died in 1878, and was remembered by Russell as a kindly old man in a wheelchair. His grandmother, the Countess Russell, was the dominant family figure for the rest of Russells childhood, the countess was from a Scottish Presbyterian family, and successfully petitioned the Court of Chancery to set aside a provision in Amberleys will requiring the children to be raised as agnostics. Her favourite Bible verse, Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil, the atmosphere at Pembroke Lodge was one of frequent prayer, emotional repression, and formality, Frank reacted to this with open rebellion, but the young Bertrand learned to hide his feelings
5.
Gravity
–
Gravity, or gravitation, is a natural phenomenon by which all things with mass are brought toward one another, including planets, stars and galaxies. Since energy and mass are equivalent, all forms of energy, including light, on Earth, gravity gives weight to physical objects and causes the ocean tides. Gravity has a range, although its effects become increasingly weaker on farther objects. The most extreme example of this curvature of spacetime is a hole, from which nothing can escape once past its event horizon. More gravity results in time dilation, where time lapses more slowly at a lower gravitational potential. Gravity is the weakest of the four fundamental interactions of nature, the gravitational attraction is approximately 1038 times weaker than the strong force,1036 times weaker than the electromagnetic force and 1029 times weaker than the weak force. As a consequence, gravity has an influence on the behavior of subatomic particles. On the other hand, gravity is the dominant interaction at the macroscopic scale, for this reason, in part, pursuit of a theory of everything, the merging of the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics into quantum gravity, has become an area of research. While the modern European thinkers are credited with development of gravitational theory, some of the earliest descriptions came from early mathematician-astronomers, such as Aryabhata, who had identified the force of gravity to explain why objects do not fall out when the Earth rotates. Later, the works of Brahmagupta referred to the presence of force, described it as an attractive force. Modern work on gravitational theory began with the work of Galileo Galilei in the late 16th and this was a major departure from Aristotles belief that heavier objects have a higher gravitational acceleration. Galileo postulated air resistance as the reason that objects with less mass may fall slower in an atmosphere, galileos work set the stage for the formulation of Newtons theory of gravity. In 1687, English mathematician Sir Isaac Newton published Principia, which hypothesizes the inverse-square law of universal gravitation. Newtons theory enjoyed its greatest success when it was used to predict the existence of Neptune based on motions of Uranus that could not be accounted for by the actions of the other planets. Calculations by both John Couch Adams and Urbain Le Verrier predicted the position of the planet. A discrepancy in Mercurys orbit pointed out flaws in Newtons theory, the issue was resolved in 1915 by Albert Einsteins new theory of general relativity, which accounted for the small discrepancy in Mercurys orbit. The simplest way to test the equivalence principle is to drop two objects of different masses or compositions in a vacuum and see whether they hit the ground at the same time. Such experiments demonstrate that all objects fall at the rate when other forces are negligible
6.
Minkowski space
–
Minkowski space is closely associated with Einsteins theory of special relativity, and is the most common mathematical structure on which special relativity is formulated. Because it treats time differently than it treats the three dimensions, Minkowski space differs from four-dimensional Euclidean space. In 3-dimensional Euclidean space, the group is the Euclidean group. It consists of rotations, reflections, and translations, when time is amended as a fourth dimension, the further transformations of translations in time and Galilean boosts are added, and the group of all these transformations is called the Galilean group. All Galilean transformations preserve the 3-dimensional Euclidean distance, Time differences are separately preserved as well. This changes in the spacetime of special relativity, where space, spacetime is equipped with an indefinite non-degenerate bilinear form. Equipped with this product, the mathematical model of spacetime is called Minkowski space. The analogue of the Galilean group for Minkowski space, preserving the interval is the Poincaré group. In summary, Galilean spacetime and Minkowski spacetime are, when viewed as barebones manifolds and they differ in what kind of further structures are defined on them. Here the speed of c is, following Poincare, set to unity. The naming and ordering of coordinates, with the labels for space coordinates. The above expression, while making the expression more familiar. Rotations in planes spanned by two unit vectors appear in coordinate space as well as in physical spacetime appear as Euclidean rotations and are interpreted in the ordinary sense. The analogy with Euclidean rotations is thus only partial and this idea was elaborated by Hermann Minkowski, who used it to restate the Maxwell equations in four dimensions, showing directly their invariance under the Lorentz transformation. He further reformulated in four dimensions the then-recent theory of relativity of Einstein. From this he concluded that time and space should be treated equally, points in this space correspond to events in spacetime. In this space, there is a defined light-cone associated with each point and it is principally this view of spacetime that is current nowadays, although the older view involving imaginary time has also influenced special relativity. An imaginary time coordinate is used also for more subtle reasons in quantum field theory than formal appearance of expressions, in this context, the transformation is called a Wick rotation
7.
General relativity
–
General relativity is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and the current description of gravitation in modern physics. General relativity generalizes special relativity and Newtons law of gravitation, providing a unified description of gravity as a geometric property of space and time. In particular, the curvature of spacetime is directly related to the energy and momentum of whatever matter, the relation is specified by the Einstein field equations, a system of partial differential equations. Examples of such differences include gravitational time dilation, gravitational lensing, the redshift of light. The predictions of relativity have been confirmed in all observations. Although general relativity is not the only theory of gravity. Einsteins theory has important astrophysical implications, for example, it implies the existence of black holes—regions of space in which space and time are distorted in such a way that nothing, not even light, can escape—as an end-state for massive stars. The bending of light by gravity can lead to the phenomenon of gravitational lensing, General relativity also predicts the existence of gravitational waves, which have since been observed directly by physics collaboration LIGO. In addition, general relativity is the basis of current cosmological models of an expanding universe. Soon after publishing the special theory of relativity in 1905, Einstein started thinking about how to incorporate gravity into his new relativistic framework. In 1907, beginning with a thought experiment involving an observer in free fall. After numerous detours and false starts, his work culminated in the presentation to the Prussian Academy of Science in November 1915 of what are now known as the Einstein field equations. These equations specify how the geometry of space and time is influenced by whatever matter and radiation are present, the Einstein field equations are nonlinear and very difficult to solve. Einstein used approximation methods in working out initial predictions of the theory, but as early as 1916, the astrophysicist Karl Schwarzschild found the first non-trivial exact solution to the Einstein field equations, the Schwarzschild metric. This solution laid the groundwork for the description of the stages of gravitational collapse. In 1917, Einstein applied his theory to the universe as a whole, in line with contemporary thinking, he assumed a static universe, adding a new parameter to his original field equations—the cosmological constant—to match that observational presumption. By 1929, however, the work of Hubble and others had shown that our universe is expanding and this is readily described by the expanding cosmological solutions found by Friedmann in 1922, which do not require a cosmological constant. Lemaître used these solutions to formulate the earliest version of the Big Bang models, in which our universe has evolved from an extremely hot, Einstein later declared the cosmological constant the biggest blunder of his life
8.
Four causes
–
The four causes are elements of an influential principle in Aristotelian thought whereby explanations of change or movement are classified into four fundamental types of answer to the question why. Aristotle wrote that we do not have knowledge of a thing until we have grasped its why, while there are cases where identifying a cause is difficult, or in which causes might merge, Aristotle was convinced that his four causes provided an analytical scheme of general applicability. The translation of Aristotles αἰτία that is nearest to current ordinary language is explanation, for a table, that might be wood, for a statue, that might be bronze or marble. Form, a change or movements formal cause, is a change or movement caused by the arrangement, Aristotle says for example that the ratio 2,1, and number in general, is the cause of the octave. Agent, a change or movements efficient or moving cause, consists of things apart from the thing being changed or moved, which interact so as to be an agency of the change or movement. For example, the efficient cause of a table is a carpenter, or a working as one. End or purpose, a change or movements final cause, is that for the sake of which a thing is what it is, for a seed, it might be an adult plant. For a sailboat, it might be sailing, for a ball at the top of a ramp, it might be coming to rest at the bottom. The four causes are not mutually exclusive, for Aristotle, several answers to the question why have to be given to explain a phenomenon and especially the actual configuration of an object. In his philosophical writings, Aristotle used the Greek word αἴτιον, aition, the appropriation of this word by Aristotle and other philosophers reflects how the Greek experience of legal practice influenced the concern in Greek thought to determine what is responsible. The word developed other meanings, including its use in philosophy in an abstract sense. In the present context, Aristotle used the four causes to provide different answers to the question, the four answers to this question illuminate different aspects of how a thing comes into being or an event takes place. Aristotle considers the material cause of an object is equivalent to the nature of the raw material out of which the object is composed, whereas modern physics looks to simple bodies, Aristotles physics instead treated living things as exemplary. However, he felt that natural bodies such as earth, fire, air, and water also showed signs of having their own innate sources of motion, change. Fire, for example, carries things upwards, unless stopped from doing so, things like beds and cloaks, formed by human artifice, have no innate tendency to become beds or cloaks. In Aristotelian terminology, material is not the same as substance, matter has parallels with substance in so far as primary matter serves as the substratum for simple bodies which are not substance, sand and rock, rivers and seas, atmosphere and wind. Only individuals are said to be substance in the primary sense, secondary substance, in a different sense, also applies to man-made artifacts. Aristotle considers the formal cause as describing the pattern or form which when present makes matter into a type of thing
9.
Metaphysics (Aristotle)
–
Metaphysics is one of the principal works of Aristotle and the first major work of the branch of philosophy with the same name. The principal subject is being qua being, or being insofar as it is being and it examines what can be asserted about anything that exists just because of its existence and not because of any special qualities it has. Also covered are different kinds of causation, form and matter, the existence of objects. The Metaphysics is considered to be one of the greatest philosophical works and its influence on the Greeks, the Muslim philosophers, the scholastic philosophers and even writers such as Dante, was immense. According to Plato, the nature of things is eternal. However, the world we observe around us is constantly and perpetually changing, Aristotle’s genius was to reconcile these two apparently contradictory views of the world. The result is a synthesis of the naturalism of empirical science, and the rationalism of Plato, at the heart of the book lie three questions. What is existence, and what sorts of things exist in the world, how can things continue to exist, and yet undergo the change we see about us in the natural world. And how can this world be understood, by the time Aristotle was writing, the tradition of Greek philosophy was only two hundred years old. It had begun with the efforts of thinkers in the Greek world to theorize about the structure that underlies the changes we observe in the natural world. Two contrasting theories, those of Heraclitus and Parmenides, were an important influence on both Plato and Aristotle, Heraclitus argued that things that appear to be permanent are in fact always gradually changing. Therefore, though we believe we are surrounded by a world of things that remain identical through time, by contrast, Parmenides argued that we can reach certain conclusions by means of reason alone, making no use of the senses. What we acquire through the process of reason is fixed, unchanging, the world is not made up of a variety of things in constant flux, but of one single Truth or reality. Plato’s theory of forms is a synthesis of two views. Given, any object that changes is in an imperfect state, then, the form of each object we see in this world is an imperfect reflection of the perfect form of the object. For example, Plato claimed a chair may take many forms, Aristotle encountered the theory of forms when he studied at the Academy, which he joined at the age of about 18 in the 360s B. C. Aristotle soon expanded on the concept of forms in his Metaphysics and he believed that in every change there is something which persists through the change, and something else which did not exist before, but comes into existence as a result of the change. To explain how Socrates comes to be born Aristotle says that it is ‘matter’ that underlies the change, the matter has the ‘form’ of Socrates imposed on it to become Socrates himself
10.
Aristotle
–
Aristotle was an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist born in the city of Stagira, Chalkidice, on the northern periphery of Classical Greece. His father, Nicomachus, died when Aristotle was a child, at seventeen or eighteen years of age, he joined Platos Academy in Athens and remained there until the age of thirty-seven. Shortly after Plato died, Aristotle left Athens and, at the request of Philip II of Macedon, teaching Alexander the Great gave Aristotle many opportunities and an abundance of supplies. He established a library in the Lyceum which aided in the production of many of his hundreds of books and he believed all peoples concepts and all of their knowledge was ultimately based on perception. Aristotles views on natural sciences represent the groundwork underlying many of his works, Aristotles views on physical science profoundly shaped medieval scholarship. Their influence extended from Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages into the Renaissance, some of Aristotles zoological observations, such as on the hectocotyl arm of the octopus, were not confirmed or refuted until the 19th century. His works contain the earliest known study of logic, which was incorporated in the late 19th century into modern formal logic. Aristotle was well known among medieval Muslim intellectuals and revered as The First Teacher and his ethics, though always influential, gained renewed interest with the modern advent of virtue ethics. All aspects of Aristotles philosophy continue to be the object of academic study today. Though Aristotle wrote many elegant treatises and dialogues – Cicero described his style as a river of gold – it is thought that only around a third of his original output has survived. Aristotle, whose means the best purpose, was born in 384 BC in Stagira, Chalcidice. His father Nicomachus was the physician to King Amyntas of Macedon. Aristotle was orphaned at a young age, although there is little information on Aristotles childhood, he probably spent some time within the Macedonian palace, making his first connections with the Macedonian monarchy. At the age of seventeen or eighteen, Aristotle moved to Athens to continue his education at Platos Academy and he remained there for nearly twenty years before leaving Athens in 348/47 BC. Aristotle then accompanied Xenocrates to the court of his friend Hermias of Atarneus in Asia Minor, there, he traveled with Theophrastus to the island of Lesbos, where together they researched the botany and zoology of the island. Aristotle married Pythias, either Hermiass adoptive daughter or niece and she bore him a daughter, whom they also named Pythias. Soon after Hermias death, Aristotle was invited by Philip II of Macedon to become the tutor to his son Alexander in 343 BC, Aristotle was appointed as the head of the royal academy of Macedon. During that time he gave not only to Alexander
11.
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
–
Leibnizs notation has been widely used ever since it was published. It was only in the 20th century that his Law of Continuity and he became one of the most prolific inventors in the field of mechanical calculators. He also refined the number system, which is the foundation of virtually all digital computers. Leibniz, along with René Descartes and Baruch Spinoza, was one of the three great 17th-century advocates of rationalism and he wrote works on philosophy, politics, law, ethics, theology, history, and philology. Leibnizs contributions to this vast array of subjects were scattered in various learned journals, in tens of thousands of letters and he wrote in several languages, but primarily in Latin, French, and German. There is no complete gathering of the writings of Leibniz in English, Gottfried Leibniz was born on July 1,1646, toward the end of the Thirty Years War, in Leipzig, Saxony, to Friedrich Leibniz and Catharina Schmuck. Friedrich noted in his journal,21. Juny am Sontag 1646 Ist mein Sohn Gottfried Wilhelm, post sextam vespertinam 1/4 uff 7 uhr abents zur welt gebohren, in English, On Sunday 21 June 1646, my son Gottfried Wilhelm is born into the world a quarter after six in the evening, in Aquarius. Leibniz was baptized on July 3 of that year at St. Nicholas Church, Leipzig and his father died when he was six and a half years old, and from that point on he was raised by his mother. Her teachings influenced Leibnizs philosophical thoughts in his later life, Leibnizs father had been a Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Leipzig, and the boy later inherited his fathers personal library. He was given access to it from the age of seven. Access to his fathers library, largely written in Latin, also led to his proficiency in the Latin language and he also composed 300 hexameters of Latin verse, in a single morning, for a special event at school at the age of 13. In April 1661 he enrolled in his fathers former university at age 15 and he defended his Disputatio Metaphysica de Principio Individui, which addressed the principle of individuation, on June 9,1663. Leibniz earned his masters degree in Philosophy on February 7,1664, after one year of legal studies, he was awarded his bachelors degree in Law on September 28,1665. His dissertation was titled De conditionibus, in early 1666, at age 19, Leibniz wrote his first book, De Arte Combinatoria, the first part of which was also his habilitation thesis in Philosophy, which he defended in March 1666. His next goal was to earn his license and Doctorate in Law, in 1666, the University of Leipzig turned down Leibnizs doctoral application and refused to grant him a Doctorate in Law, most likely due to his relative youth. Leibniz then enrolled in the University of Altdorf and quickly submitted a thesis, the title of his thesis was Disputatio Inauguralis de Casibus Perplexis in Jure. Leibniz earned his license to practice law and his Doctorate in Law in November 1666 and he next declined the offer of an academic appointment at Altdorf, saying that my thoughts were turned in an entirely different direction
12.
Monadology
–
The Monadology is one of Gottfried Leibniz’s best known works representing his later philosophy. It is a text which sketches in some 90 paragraphs a metaphysics of simple substances. During his last stay in Vienna from 1712 to September 1714, after his death Principes de la nature et de la grâce fondé en raison, which was intended for prince Eugene of Savoy, appeared in French in the Netherlands. Christian Wolff and collaborators published translations in German and Latin of the text which came to be known as The Monadology. Without having seen the Dutch publication of the Principes they had assumed that it was the French original of the Monadology, the German translation appeared in 1720 as Lehrsätze über die Monadologie and the following year the Acta Eruditorum printed the Latin version as Principia philosophiae. Leibniz himself inserted references to the paragraphs of his Théodicée, sending the interested reader there for more details, the monad, the word and the idea, belongs to the western philosophical tradition and has been used by various authors. Leibniz, who was well read, could not have ignored this. Apparently he found with it a convenient way to expose his own philosophy as it was elaborated in this period, what he proposed can be seen as a modification of occasionalism developed by latter-day Cartesians. Leibniz surmised that there are many substances individually programmed to act in a predetermined way. This is the harmony which solved the mind body problem. As far as Leibniz allows just one type of element in the building of the universe his system is monistic, the unique element has been given the general name monad or entelechy and described as a simple substance. When Leibniz says that monads are simple, he means that which is one, has no parts and is therefore indivisible, relying on the Greek etymology of the word entelechie, Leibniz posits quantitative differences in perfection between monads which leads to a hierarchical ordering. The basic order is three-tiered, entelechies or created monads, souls or entelechies with perception and memory, whatever is said about the lower ones is valid for the higher but not vice versa. As none of them is without a body, there is a hierarchy of living beings and animals. The degree of perfection in each case corresponds to cognitive abilities, some monads have power over others because they can perceive with greater clarity, but primarily, one monad is said to dominate another if it contains the reasons for the actions of other. Leibniz believed that any body, such as the body of an animal or man, has one dominant monad which controls the others within it and this dominant monad is often referred to as the soul. God is also said to be a substance but it is the only one which is necessary. Monads perceive others “with varying degrees of clarity, except for God, God could take any and all perspectives, knowing of both potentiality and actuality
13.
Consciousness
–
Consciousness is the state or quality of awareness, or, of being aware of an external object or something within oneself. Despite the difficulty in definition, many believe that there is a broadly shared underlying intuition about what consciousness is. Western philosophers, since the time of Descartes and Locke, have struggled to comprehend the nature of consciousness, the majority of experimental studies assess consciousness in humans by asking subjects for a verbal report of their experiences. The origin of the concept of consciousness is often attributed to John Lockes Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Locke defined consciousness as the perception of what passes in a mans own mind and his essay influenced the 18th-century view of consciousness, and his definition appeared in Samuel Johnsons celebrated Dictionary. Consciousness is also defined in the 1753 volume of Diderot and dAlemberts Encyclopédie, the earliest English language uses of conscious and consciousness date back, however, to the 1500s. This phrase had the meaning of knowing that one knows. In its earliest uses in the 1500s, the English word conscious retained the meaning of the Latin conscius. For example, Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan wrote, Where two, or more men, know of one and the fact, they are said to be Conscious of it one to another. The Latin phrase conscius sibi, whose meaning was more related to the current concept of consciousness, was rendered in English as conscious to oneself or conscious unto oneself. For example, Archbishop Ussher wrote in 1613 of being so conscious unto myself of my great weakness, Lockes definition from 1690 illustrates that a gradual shift in meaning had taken place. A related word was conscientia, which primarily means moral conscience, in the literal sense, conscientia means knowledge-with, that is, shared knowledge. The word first appears in Latin juridical texts by such as Cicero. Here, conscientia is the knowledge that a witness has of the deed of someone else, rené Descartes is generally taken to be the first philosopher to use conscientia in a way that does not fit this traditional meaning. Descartes used conscientia the way modern speakers would use conscience, in Search after Truth he says conscience or internal testimony. The dictionary meaning of the word consciousness extends through several centuries, B. inward awareness of an external object, state, or fact. The philosophy of mind has given rise to many stances regarding consciousness, something within ones mind is introspectively conscious just in case one introspects it. Introspection is often thought to deliver ones primary knowledge of ones mental life, an experience or other mental entity is phenomenally conscious just in case there is something it is like for one to have it
14.
Object (philosophy)
–
An object is a technical term in modern philosophy often used in contrast to the term subject. A subject is an observer and an object is a thing observed, metaphysical frameworks also differ in whether they consider objects exist independently of their properties and, if so, in what way. The pragmatist Charles S. Peirce defines the notion of an object as anything that we can think or talk about. In a general sense it is any entity, the pyramids, Alpha Centauri, the number seven, in a strict sense it refers to any definite being. Objecthood is the state of being an object, one approach to defining it is in terms of objects properties and relations. Descriptions of all bodies, minds, and persons must be in terms of their properties, the philosophical question of the nature of objecthood concerns how objects are related to their properties and relations. For example, it seems that the way to describe an apple is by describing its properties. Its properties may include its redness, its size and its composition, while its relations may include on the table, in the room, the notion of an object must address two problems, the change problems and the problems of substancess. Two leading theories about objecthood are substance theory, wherein substances are distinct from their properties, an attribute of an object is called a property if it can be experienced. Objects manifest themselves through their properties and these manifestations seem to change in a regular and unified way, suggesting that something underlies the properties. The change problem asks what that thing is. According to substance theory, the answer is a substance, that which stands under the change, because substances are only experienced through their properties a substance itself is never directly experienced. The problem of substance asks on what basis can one conclude the existence of a substance that cannot be seen or scientifically verified, according to bundle theory, the answer is, none, thus an object is merely its properties. Some philosophies include theories of bodies and minds. So the problem of substance arises in both the physical and the mental realms, by uncovering this paradox he then provides a solution that lies at the very root of Buddhist praxis. He proposes that all objects are dependent upon designation, and therefore any discussion regarding the nature of objects can only be made in light of context, the validity of objects can only be established within those conventions that assert them. In English the word object is derived from the Latin objectus with the meaning to throw, or put before or against, from ob- and jacere, as such it is a root for several important words used to derive meaning, such as objectify, objective, and objectivism. Bertrand Russell updated the terminology with one more term, the fact
15.
Qualia
–
In philosophy and certain models of psychology, qualia are individual instances of subjective, conscious experience. Examples of qualia include the pain of a headache, the taste of wine, as qualitative characters of sensation, qualia stand in contrast to propositional attitudes. Much of the debate over their importance hinges on the definition of the term, There are many definitions of qualia, which have changed over time. One of the simpler, broader definitions is, The what it is character of mental states. There are recognizable qualitative characters of the given, which may be repeated in different experiences, but although such qualia are universals, in the sense of being recognized from one to another experience, they must be distinguished from the properties of objects. Confusion of these two is characteristic of many historical conceptions, as well as of current essence-theories, the quale is directly intuited, given, and is not the subject of any possible error because it is purely subjective. Frank Jackson later defined qualia as. certain features of the bodily sensations especially, but also of certain perceptual experiences, Daniel Dennett identifies four properties that are commonly ascribed to qualia. According to these, qualia are, ineffable, that is, they cannot be communicated, intrinsic, that is, they are non-relational properties, which do not change depending on the experiences relation to other things. Private, that is, all comparisons of qualia are systematically impossible. Directly or immediately apprehensible in consciousness, that is, to experience a quale is to know one experiences a quale, another way of defining qualia is as raw feels. A raw feel is a perception in and of itself, considered entirely in isolation from any effect it might have on behavior, in contrast, a cooked feel is that perception seen as existing in terms of its effects. For example, the perception of the taste of wine is an ineffable, raw feel, a cooked feel is not qualia. While very few ever claim that such an entity, called a zombie, actually exists. Since it is by definition impossible to convey qualia verbally, it is impossible to demonstrate them directly in an argument. Arguments for qualia generally come in the form of thought experiments designed to lead one to the conclusion that qualia exist, although it does not actually mention the word qualia, Thomas Nagels paper What Is it Like to Be a Bat. is often cited in debates over qualia. Nagel argues that consciousness has a subjective character, a what-it-is-like aspect. He states that an organism has conscious mental states if and only if there is something that it is like to be that organism—something it is like for the organism. Nagel also suggests that the aspect of the mind may not ever be sufficiently accounted for by the objective methods of reductionistic science
16.
Galen
–
Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus, often Anglicized as Galen and better known as Galen of Pergamon, was a prominent Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman Empire. The son of Aelius Nicon, an architect with scholarly interests, Galen received a comprehensive education that prepared him for a successful career as a physician. Galens understanding of anatomy and medicine was influenced by the then-current theory of humorism. His theories dominated and influenced Western medical science for more than 1,300 years, Medical students continued to study Galens writings until well into the 19th century. Galen saw himself as both a physician and a philosopher, as he wrote in his treatise entitled That the Best Physician is Also a Philosopher. Many of his works have been preserved and/or translated from the original Greek, although many were destroyed, although there is some debate over the date of his death, he was no younger than seventy when he died. In medieval Europe, Galens writings on anatomy became the mainstay of the medieval university curriculum. Some of Galens ideas were incorrect, he did not dissect a human body, Galens original Greek texts gained renewed prominence during the early modern period. In the 1530s, Belgian anatomist and physician Andreas Vesalius took on a project to many of Galens Greek texts into Latin. Vesaliuss most famous work, De humani corporis fabrica, was influenced by Galenic writing. Galens name Γαληνός, Galēnos comes from the adjective γαληνός, calm, Galen describes his early life in On the affections of the mind. Galen describes his father as an amiable, just, good. His studies also took in each of the philosophical systems of the time. His father had planned a career for Galen in philosophy or politics and took care to expose him to literary. However, Galen states that in around AD145 his father had a dream in which the god Asclepius appeared and commanded Nicon to send his son to study medicine, there he came under the influence of men like Aeschrion of Pergamon, Stratonicus and Satyrus. Asclepiea functioned as spas or sanitoria to which the sick would come to seek the ministrations of the priesthood, romans frequented the temple at Pergamon in search of medical relief from illness and disease. It was also the haunt of notable people such as Claudius Charax the historian, Aelius Aristides the orator, Polemo the sophist, in 148, when he was 19, his father died, leaving him independently wealthy. In 157, aged 28, he returned to Pergamon as physician to the gladiators of the High Priest of Asia, one of the most influential and wealthy men in Asia
17.
Spacetime
–
In physics, spacetime is any mathematical model that combines space and time into a single interwoven continuum. Until the turn of the 20th century, the assumption had been that the 3D geometry of the universe was distinct from time, Einsteins theory was framed in terms of kinematics, and showed how measurements of space and time varied for observers in different reference frames. His theory was an advance over Lorentzs 1904 theory of electromagnetic phenomena. A key feature of this interpretation is the definition of an interval that combines distance. Although measurements of distance and time between events differ among observers, the interval is independent of the inertial frame of reference in which they are recorded. The resultant spacetime came to be known as Minkowski space, non-relativistic classical mechanics treats time as a universal quantity of measurement which is uniform throughout space and which is separate from space. Classical mechanics assumes that time has a constant rate of passage that is independent of the state of motion of an observer, furthermore, it assumes that space is Euclidean, which is to say, it assumes that space follows the geometry of common sense. General relativity, in addition, provides an explanation of how gravitational fields can slow the passage of time for an object as seen by an observer outside the field. Mathematically, spacetime is a manifold, which is to say, by analogy, at small enough scales, a globe appears flat. An extremely large scale factor, c relates distances measured in space with distances measured in time, waves implied the existence of a medium which waved, but attempts to measure the properties of the hypothetical luminiferous aether implied by these experiments provided contradictory results. For example, the Fizeau experiment of 1851 demonstrated that the speed of light in flowing water was less than the speed of light in air plus the speed of the flowing water, the partial aether-dragging implied by this result was in conflict with measurements of stellar aberration. By 1904, Lorentz had expanded his theory such that he had arrived at equations formally identical with those that Einstein were to derive later, but with a fundamentally different interpretation. As a theory of dynamics, his theory assumed actual physical deformations of the constituents of matter. For example, most physicists believed that Lorentz contraction would be detectable by such experiments as the Trouton–Noble experiment or the Experiments of Rayleigh and Brace. However, these negative results, and in his 1904 theory of the electron. Einstein performed his analyses in terms of kinematics rather than dynamics and it would appear that he did not at first think geometrically about spacetime. It was Einsteins former mathematics professor, Hermann Minkowski, who was to provide an interpretation of special relativity. Einstein was initially dismissive of the interpretation of special relativity
18.
Special relativity
–
In physics, special relativity is the generally accepted and experimentally well-confirmed physical theory regarding the relationship between space and time. In Albert Einsteins original pedagogical treatment, it is based on two postulates, The laws of physics are invariant in all inertial systems, the speed of light in a vacuum is the same for all observers, regardless of the motion of the light source. It was originally proposed in 1905 by Albert Einstein in the paper On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies, as of today, special relativity is the most accurate model of motion at any speed. Even so, the Newtonian mechanics model is useful as an approximation at small velocities relative to the speed of light. Not until Einstein developed general relativity, to incorporate general frames of reference, a translation that has often been used is restricted relativity, special really means special case. It has replaced the notion of an absolute universal time with the notion of a time that is dependent on reference frame. Rather than an invariant time interval between two events, there is an invariant spacetime interval, a defining feature of special relativity is the replacement of the Galilean transformations of Newtonian mechanics with the Lorentz transformations. Time and space cannot be defined separately from each other, rather space and time are interwoven into a single continuum known as spacetime. Events that occur at the time for one observer can occur at different times for another. The theory is special in that it applies in the special case where the curvature of spacetime due to gravity is negligible. In order to include gravity, Einstein formulated general relativity in 1915, Special relativity, contrary to some outdated descriptions, is capable of handling accelerations as well as accelerated frames of reference. e. At a sufficiently small scale and in conditions of free fall, a locally Lorentz-invariant frame that abides by special relativity can be defined at sufficiently small scales, even in curved spacetime. Galileo Galilei had already postulated that there is no absolute and well-defined state of rest, Einstein extended this principle so that it accounted for the constant speed of light, a phenomenon that had been recently observed in the Michelson–Morley experiment. He also postulated that it holds for all the laws of physics, Einstein discerned two fundamental propositions that seemed to be the most assured, regardless of the exact validity of the known laws of either mechanics or electrodynamics. These propositions were the constancy of the speed of light and the independence of physical laws from the choice of inertial system, the Principle of Invariant Light Speed –. Light is always propagated in empty space with a definite velocity c which is independent of the state of motion of the emitting body. That is, light in vacuum propagates with the c in at least one system of inertial coordinates. Following Einsteins original presentation of special relativity in 1905, many different sets of postulates have been proposed in various alternative derivations, however, the most common set of postulates remains those employed by Einstein in his original paper
19.
David Ray Griffin
–
David Ray Griffin is a retired American professor of philosophy of religion and theology, and a political writer. Cobb, Jr. Griffin has published a number of books on the subject of the September 11 attacks, David Ray Griffin is a longtime resident of Santa Barbara, California and was a full-time academic from 1973 until April 2004. Griffin grew up in a town in Oregon, where he was an active participant in his Disciples of Christ church. After deciding to become a minister, Griffin entered Northwest Christian College, while getting his masters degree in counseling from the University of Oregon, Griffin attended a lecture series delivered by Paul Tillich at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. At this time, Griffin made his decision to focus on philosophical theology and he eventually attended the Claremont Graduate University, where Griffin received his Ph. D. in 1970. As a student in Claremont, Griffin was initially interested in Eastern religions, however, he started to become a process theologian while attending John B. After teaching theology and Eastern religions at the University of Dayton, in 1973, Griffin returned to Claremont to establish, with Cobb, the Center for Process Studies at the Claremont School of Theology. While on research leave in 1980–81 at Cambridge University and Berkeley, many of Griffin’s writings are devoted to developing postmodern proposals for overcoming the conflicts between religion and modern science. In 1983, Griffin started the Center for a Postmodern World in Santa Barbara, following the September 11 attacks, David Ray Griffin moved his focus from questions of philosophy and religion to ones of politics and history, specifically American expansionism and imperialism. I was vaguely aware there were people, at least on the internet, I knew the US government had fabricated evidence to go to war several times before. I did not take this possibility seriously, I was so confident that they must be wrong. At this time, he set about writing his first book on the subject, part One of the book looks at the events of 9/11, discussing each flight in turn and also the behaviour of President George W. Bush and his Secret Service protection. Part Two examines 9/11 in a context, in the form of four disturbing questions. Critics of Griffins thesis, such as Chip Berlet, have said many of the claims in the book are refutable. Griffin has rejected these criticisms and debated Berlet, Griffins second book on the subject was a direct critique of the 9/11 Commission Report, called The 9/11 Commission Report, Omissions And Distortions. David Ray Griffin has delivered several lectures that are popular within the 9/11 Truth Movement and has given interviews on alternative media shows such as The Alex Jones Show, a lecture entitled 9/11 and American Empire, How should religious people respond. Delivered on April 18,2005, at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, was aired by C-SPAN, until then, otherwise reasonable Americans will believe the Bush Administration benefited from 9/11, and there will always be a question about what really happened on that day. A process Christology, Westminster Press,1973, ISBN 0-664-20978-5 Process Theology, An Introductory Exposition, Cobb, Richard A. Falk and Catherine Keller, Westminster John Knox Press,2006, ISBN 0-664-23009-1 9/11 and American Empire, Intellectuals Speak Out, Vol
20.
International Standard Book Number
–
The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
21.
Nicholas Rescher
–
Nicholas Rescher is a German-American philosopher at the University of Pittsburgh. He is the Chairman of the Center for Philosophy of Science and has served as Chairman of the Philosophy Department. He has served as president for the American Catholic Philosophical Association, Leibniz Society, American Metaphysical Society, American Philosophical Association, and C. S. Peirce Society. He is the founder of American Philosophical Quarterly, Nicholas Rescher was born in the city of Hagen in the Westphalia region of Germany. He relocated to the United States when he was 10 and he obtained a degree in mathematics at Queens College, New York. Thereafter, he attended Princeton University, graduating with his Ph. D. in Philosophy in 1951 at the age of 22, the youngest person ever to have obtained a Ph. D. in that department. From 1952 to 1954, he served a term in the United States Marine Corps, Rescher began his career as an academic at Princeton University in 1951. He joined the department at the University of Pittsburgh in 1961. In 1964, he founded the American Philosophical Quarterly, from 1980 to 1981, Rescher served as the chairman of the philosophy department. In July 1988, Rescher changed roles at the Center for Philosophy of Science, resigning as its director, in 2010, he donated his philosophy collection to the Hillman Library. Rescher is a writer, with over 100 books and 400 articles, generating the jest that Rescher is not a single person. Rescher has described his own approach to philosophy as synthesizing the idealism of Germany, in the 1970s, he began working more extensively with American pragmatism with a focus on the writings of C. S. Peirce, who was to number among his major influences. He has contributed to futuristics, and with Olaf Helmer and Norman Dalkey, a lifelong aficionado of the philosophy of G. W. Leibniz, Rescher has been instrumental in the reconstruction of Leibniz’s machina deciphratoria, an ancestor of the famous Enigma cipher machine. Rescher is also responsible for two items of historical rediscovery and reconstruction, the model of cosmic evolution in Anaximander. Rescher has been honored many times for his work, in 1984, he received the Humboldt Prize for Humanistic Scholarship. In 2005, he received the Cardinal Mercier Prize, and in 2007 the American Catholic Philosophical Societys Aquinas Medal. Having held visiting lectureships at Oxford, Konstanz, Salamanca, Munich, and Marburg, he has been awarded fellowships by the Ford, Guggenheim, the first recipient of the prize was Reschers former student, Ernest Sosa. As of 2012, the prize included a medal and $25,000.00
