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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Syllabus: Kuhn's Philosophy Of Science, Joseph Torchia
Syllabus: Kuhn's Philosophy Of Science, Joseph Torchia
Spring 2013, Kuhn's Philosophy of Science
A critical investigation of the philosophy of science of Thomas Kuhn (1922-1996), with a special focus upon his critique of the classical model of the development of science in terms of a cumulative acquisition of knowledge, and by implication, a gradual progression toward truth. In broader terms, the course assesses the metaphysical and epistemological implications of Kuhn’s understanding of scientific change and the possibility of scientific progress.
Transubstantiation And Quantum Physics: The Parallels Of Mystery In Religion And Science, Zachary Sexton
Transubstantiation And Quantum Physics: The Parallels Of Mystery In Religion And Science, Zachary Sexton
Spring 2013, Science and Religion
As the study of physics has progressed into the abstract realm of quanta, some have argued that the notion of transubstantiation is an unreasonable understanding of the Eucharist. However, when confronted with the uncertainty that modern physics presents, sharp parallels between this uncertainty and the metaphysical mysteries of transubstantiation. If it is reasonable to accept uncertainty in quantum physics, then it should be reasonable to accept the mysteries within the metaphysical world.
Heisenberg’S Uncertainty Principle, Matthew Santos
Heisenberg’S Uncertainty Principle, Matthew Santos
Spring 2013, Kuhn's Philosophy of Science
In 1926 Werner Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle set the field of quantum mechanics on a trajectory riddled with indeterminacy, a trajectory which stood in stark contrast with the classical Newtonian world causality and origin. In doing so, Heisenberg effectively created a new standard by which physicists conducted their science, broadened the scope of that science, and altered the very worldview of those physicists. Such paradigmatic upheaval fits the philosophical model of scientific progress posited by Thomas Kuhn. However, in the ever-changing and still-evolving world of quantum mechanics, Heisenberg’s revolutionary work uniquely strays from Kuhn’s model in its further implications.
The Ever Changing Shape Of The Universe: A Kuhnian Analysis Of Edwin Hubble's Discoveries, John Bugnacki
The Ever Changing Shape Of The Universe: A Kuhnian Analysis Of Edwin Hubble's Discoveries, John Bugnacki
Spring 2013, Kuhn's Philosophy of Science
Thomas Kuhn, author of The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, sought to explain how science changes, functions, and advances. According to Kuhn, science periodically undergoes a paradigm-shift during which time the prevailing methodologies, theories, and commitments of normal-science are all thrown into question until a new dominant paradigm takes hold. However, as his career progressed and his critics railed against his new conception of scientific progress, Kuhn would emphasize the role of linguistic incommensurability in paradigm shifts over normal-science. In 1923, astronomer Edwin Hubble took the first steps toward the discovery of galaxies. In doing so, Hubble simultaneously drew upon …
How Can We Explain Altruism?, Teresa Levasseur
How Can We Explain Altruism?, Teresa Levasseur
Spring 2013, Science and Religion
This paper looks at the topic of Altruism, or more specifically altruistic behaviors. The paper explores the explanations offered from a scientific perspective as well as those from a theological perspective to determine which view offers a deeper understanding of altruism.
On The Metaphysical Necessity Of Suffering From Natural Evil, Ryan Edward Sullivan
On The Metaphysical Necessity Of Suffering From Natural Evil, Ryan Edward Sullivan
Spring 2013, Science and Religion
Why does God permit suffering in the world? If God is wholly good, omnipotent, and omniscient, why would He not intervene to prevent us from suffering? These are questions that pertain to the problem of evil: how to reconcile the existence of God with the evil occurrences of this world, without sacrificing any of His divine attributes. The most potent version of the problem of evil is a recent formulation known as the evidential argument from evil. The evidential argument states that while the existence of God is not logically incompatible with the fact that there are evil occurrences, there …
Simone Weil's Spiritual Critique Of Modern Science: An Historical-Critical Assessment, Joseph K. Cosgrove
Simone Weil's Spiritual Critique Of Modern Science: An Historical-Critical Assessment, Joseph K. Cosgrove
Philosophy Faculty Publications
This paper evaluates Simone Weil's philosophy and theology of science from the perspective of an historical phenomenology of science.