Reviewing the video Journey of Man 1 How

Reviewing the video Journey of Man 1. How would you explain the main proposition put forward in the video “Journey of Man”? 2. What types of evidence were offered to justify or support its claims? 3. What is your response to or evaluation of the arguments in the video? Interactive Video 1

Empiricism What is Empiricism as a Way of Knowing? Compare Empiricism and Rationalism 2

Empiricism Gaining Knowledge from Observation and Experience 3

Empiricism • It derives from a Greek word ‘empiric’, meaning ‘experience’ • It is an epistemology that developed in reaction to Rationalism, that asserted that knowledge is innate or present in our mind at birth. Many Empiricists believe that our mind is a “tabula rasa”, or a blank slate, at birth. • Empiricism teaches that knowledge comes from our interactions with and sensory perceptions in the natural, physical world. • Knowledge is “a posteriori” 4

Empiricism Ideas and knowledge develop in our minds as a result of our sensory experiences. 5

What are your senses? You use your senses to gather information about the outside world. You can see, hear, taste, smell and touch things. You can also detect pain, pressure, temperature, and the position and movement of your body. All these sensations are changed into electrical signals and carried to your brain which then puts all the information together to produce the whole picture. David Eagleman on Perception 6

Empiricism as a Way of Knowing How we justify or prove knowledge claims 1. Basic sensory experience 2. More complicated life experiences 3. Scientific experiments 7

Given the claim In general, men are better leaders than women. Rationalism Empiricism • Let’s think clearly about this proposition. • (abstract reasoning) • Let’s go take a look. • (observation, experience, science) 8

Justification Methods Rationalism Empiricism Any abstract reasoning Any sensory perceptions Logic & Math Science 9

Sometimes Reason Knowledge and Experience Knowledge Conflict Reason & Logic Experience & Science • Are ghosts real? • Do people have auras? • Does positive thinking produce higher performance? • Should we pay attention to astrology? • Does human life begin at conception? • Will a higher minimum wage result in many low-income workers loosing their jobs?

Oftentimes Reason Knowledge and Experience Knowledge Work in Tandem Reason and Logic Experience and Science • Clear reasoning, supplemented by lessons from experience • Experiential knowledge, woven together or extended by reason 11

The Universe Evidence Observation & Logic Bible: Psalm 93: 1 "the world is firmly established, it cannot be moved. ” Psalm 104: 5 "the Lord set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved. ” Ecclesiastes 1: 5 "And the sun rises and sets and returns to its place" Copernicus (1500 s) Mathematics & Observation www. biography. com/people/ galileo-9305220 (1600 s) Telescopic observation Today Mounds of scientific data 12

The Earth in Perspective Empirical Science and technology development have made things a bit more complicated ! 13

The Solar System 14

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A Group of Galaxies 16

Virgo Supercluster 17

Superclusters Neighboring the Virgo Cluster 18

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Omega Centauri Hubble snapped this view of a colorful assortment of 100, 000 stars residing in the crowded core of a giant star cluster. The image reveals a small region inside the massive globular cluster Omega Centauri, which boasts nearly 10 million stars. Globular clusters, ancient swarms of stars united by gravity, are the homesteaders of our Milky Way Galaxy. The stars in Omega Centauri are between 10 billion and 12 billion years old 20

Empiricism and the Public • 26% of U. S. adults believe that the sun revolves around the earth. (NSF, 2014) • Beliefs about the origins of human life. (1982 -2010) (XX) 21

% Who Think Climate Change is a Serious Problem Pew Research Center, 2013 22

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Empirical Arguments 24

Assignment on 2 -20 25