Theories and observations The impact of science on common sense views

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Theories and observationsThe impact of science
on common sense views

• Case study The Copernican Revolution
• Kuhns arguments about theories/paradigms and
  scientific observations
• Case study Changes in theories about humans
  next of kin

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Theories and observationsThe impact of science
on common sense views

• The Elizabethan world view (1558-1603)
• Shakespeare (1564-1616)
• John Donne (1572-1531)
• Challenges to aspects of it
• Copernicus (1473-1543)
• Galileo (1564-1642)

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Theories and observationsThe impact of science
on common sense views

• The Elizabethan world view (1558-1603)
• The Great Chain of Being
• A place for everything and everything in its
  place
• Degrees of reality based on degrees of
  intellect and/or of spirit
• Hierarchical

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The Great Chain of Being and its analogues
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Theories and observationsThe impact of science
on common sense views

• The Elizabethan world view (1558-1603)
• The music of the spheres

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Theories and observationsThe impact of science
on common sense views

• The Elizabethan world view (1558-1603) and, to
  some extent the ancient Greek world view, as in
  theater
• The tragedies of Sophocles and Shakespeare
• The comedies of Shakespeare
• The Copernican system and the poetry of John
  Donne

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The Copernican RevolutionTheories and
observations

• Observations
• Pre-Copernican revolution
• Few new stars or comets recorded
• Few changes in the Heavens recorded
• Post-Copernican revolution
• Supernovae
• Comets
• Sunspots
• Craters and mountains on the moon
• New planets

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The Copernican RevolutionImpact on world views

• John Dunne An Anatomy of the World
• The old world, being lost?
• The new worlds, being found?
• The impacts

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Another revolutions impact on human world views

• Human capacities vs. (non-human) capacities
• Non-human animals as Brutes
• Uniquely human capacities/behaviors
• Tool making
• Hunting
• Social relationships
• Social organization
• Communication
• Familial and tribe emotions/relationships

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Another revolutions impact on human world views

• Human capacities vs. (non-human) capacities
• Non-human animals as brutes
• What does the research outlined in Ape Genius
  suggest about mental capacities, emotions,
  relationships, etc. in non-human primates?
• How did observations change with a change in
  paradigm/theory?
• How did changes in theory and observations change
  humans understandings of their purported
  uniqueness?