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The Students are expected to know the answers to the following questions

The following list of questions is to guide you to read history of science. Use each question and prepare and plan your readings. Ensure that you have the answers when you are quized. It is not a bad idea to listen to the lectures again while preparing your answers to the questions, while also reading from other sources accessible to you.

  1. Though most greek scholars agreed on the basic substances (elements) are four, their inter-relationships and the way they argued about how they expain the world around are different.  Make a comparison of these different views.
  2. What is a world view? Can you contrast atomist world view from that of non-atomist (Aristotelian) world view. 
  3. There are some everlasting contributions made by Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.  What are they?  And how are they used in today's logic and mathematics? (Use your class notes to answer this question or listen to the lectures again.)
  4. During the class I did not say any thing about Ptolemy, Galen, Theophrastus or Hippocrates.  But, they are also poineers of their respective areas of research.  Read on your own and comment briefly about their achievements.
  5. You heard several views of the Greeks.  How do they differ from what we know today (standard views of modern science)?
  6. Aristotle used the four types of causes as a way of analyzing everything in the world.  Write about the four causes with examples.
  7. What criteria did Thales use to demarcate mythology from natural philosophy?  Is this criteria still relevant for current modern science?
  8. How do you demarcate science from other belief systems.  List the various characters that we discussed in the class and discuss if they are necessary or sufficient.
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