Describe the contributions of the following people to our
understanding of the "scientifc method", how science progresses, and how the
process of science differs from other ways of knowing:
Bacon
Descarte
Popper
Kuhn
Describe and give examples of deductive and inductive reasoning,
and explain their relative advantages and disadvantages
Describe the general "Scientific Method" and the difference
between hypotheses, laws, and theories
Briefly describe how our understanding of the "Western"
concepts of force and motion changed from the time of the ancient Greeks through the
present.
Briefly describe the ideas of the following people towards our
understanding of gravitational force and motion:
Aristotle
Aquinas
Copernicus
Kepler
Newton
Einstein
Briefly describe the ideas of the following people or
concepts with respect to the nature of matter and its changes:
Democritus
4 Element Theory (Empedocles, Aristotle)
Phlogiston Theory
Compare and contrast the Four Element Theory and Four Humor Theory
and why these theories were so hard to dislodge
Explain the philosophies and contributions of the following people in
Chinese history and how they affected the development of science in China:
Lao-tzu - Taoism
Buddha - Buddhism
Confucius (K'ung-fu-tzu)- Confucianism
Mencius (Meng-tzu) - Confucianism
Zhu Xi (Chu Hsi) (1130-1200) - Neoconfucianism,
ideas of Li and Chi (Qi)
Draw a timeline from 1500 BCE to 2000 ACE and indicate the
approximate dates for the work of the people listed above.
Describe the 5 Element (Phase Theory) and Symbolic correlations
and how they were used. Explain and draw a diagram showing the relationships
among the 5 Elements that account for changes in the 5 elements. How did early Chinese
views differ from the 4 Element theory of the Greeks?
Briefly explain Yin/Yang theory. How was it used in in the trigrams and
hexagrams of I Ching. How were the hexagrams described in I Ching used?
To what extent did 5 Element (Phase) Theory and Yin/Yang Theory
hinder the development of science in China?
Explain the role of magical principles and associative (or analogical
thinking) in the development of Chinese beliefs about nature.
Give example of how Western science developed analogical ideas in the
development of science. How did these Western uses of analogy differ from Chinese
attempts.
Explain how the concept of law (both legal and natural) developed
differently in China and the West, and how these differences affected the different
developments of science.