The Problem of Change
Why do things change?
This was the first greek philosopher
Thales
Plato divided reality into the physical realm and this nonphysical ream
The realm of Ideas or Form
Until the late 1800's, what we now call science was generally called this
natural philosophy
The ancient greeks used this word for any kind of change
Motion
Thales believed that everything in the world was ultimately made from this substance
water
Plato believed these were perfect, eternal, and unchanging
forms
these four christian scientists were at the forefront of the Scientific Revolution
Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton
A rock, a growing flower, a burning cow are all examples of this central concept
the problem of change
Thales may have learned some of his mathematics during his travels to these two places
Egypt and Babylonia
These are the first three of Plato's liberal arts
Grammar, logic, and rhetoric
Thales’s attempt to explain why the world changes while maintaining order introduced these three interconnected fields.
Philosophy, science, and mathematics
according to the author, this makes change easier for humans to understand
order
this greek believed that the structure of the universe was mathematical
Pythagoras
Plato adopted this idea from the pythagoreans: The world is fundamentally _______
mathematical
Plato’s dedication to this set the agenda for Western science
Pythagoreanism
this mathematical field provides the tools needed to solve the problem of change
calculus
this was the pythagorean motto describing their belief about the fundamental nature of reality
all is number
Plato believed studying this could purify the sould
mathematics
The Pythagoreans connected these two things in a historically important way
astronomy and music