MAGIC

                                                                                                                         
Magic may be defined as the power of apparently influencing the course of events by using mysterious or supernatural forces. Some synonyms of the word magic are: BEWITCHERY, BEWITCHMENT, CONJURING, DEVILRY (or DEVILTRY), DIABLERIE, ENCHANTMENT, ENSORCELLMENT, MOJO, NECROMANCY, SORCERY, THAUMATURGY, VOODOOISM, WITCHCRAFT, WITCHERY, WIZARDRY.
                                                                                                                         
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. As we have come to know in modern times, magical events (or “miracles”) may merely be a form of deception by some “magician.”
                                                                                                                         
It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical analysis, whereas practitioners of magic claim it is an inexplicable force beyond logic.
                                                                                                                         
Magic has been practiced in all cultures, and utilizes ways of understanding, experiencing and influencing the world somewhat akin to those offered by religion, though it is sometimes regarded as more focused on achieving results than religious worship. Magic has been used by the practitioners of various religions and cults from ancient times onward to frighten uneducated people into obedience or turn them into adherents.
                                                                                                                         
This can result from some unexplained event (like a crippled person getting up and walking after a preacher put his hands on her and spoke some incomprehensible utterances); in some religions, such magical events are called “miracles.”
                                                                                                                         
Psychologically, the same events can take place in the minds of people who are being told about magical (or miracle) events—that is, if such people sincerely believe that such events really happened (like a man walking on water or a person being raised from the dead).
                                                                                                                         
Magical events believed to have happened can have a psychological effect on a person’s mind if read from a book (like the Bible or Quran) or if spoken from a pulpit by a preacher or a priest. It is not what actually happens that affects the minds of the people in the audience; it is what they believe has happened that causes the psychological effect.

FULL SUBMISSION TO SOME THEISTIC RELIGION LACKS INTEGRITY

Humaneness is a human quality that can be maintained without a superstitious belief in any diety, and self-discipline can be maintained without the threat or fear of some impending doom. In other words, freedom from the mental slavery of religion does not necessitate a worse character; in fact, it may even foster more integrity rather than less because integrity literally means "the quality or condition of being whole or undivided"; when a person submits his or her soul (meaning "mind") completely to some indoctrination, he or she has less integrity because his or her mind is not his or her own. Moreover, when an adult totally submits to some dogma, he or she not only loses his or her integrity but such is also a loss of spiritual maturity--the reason for such loss is that being spiritually mature means being a self-reliant and benevolently responsible individual. Theistic religions tend to render its believers humble, submissive, and gullible; such believers are taught to obey--not to question or entertain any semblance of critical or creative thinking. They are told what to think and how to act.

CONFUCIANISM--JUST ONE OF MANY NONTHEISTIC RELIGIONS

A GOOD PERSON CAN BE RELIGIOUS AND NONTHEISTIC TOO.

Nontheism is a term that covers a range of both religious and nonreligious attitudes characterized by the absence of belief in anything supernatural. In this sense, religion may be sensibly defined as a set of beliefs, values, and practices; or, a cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion. Thus a person can be nontheistic and nonsuperstitious and still be religious. For me, the most important aspect of religion is to promote humaneness. 

Confucius was a great teacher of humaneness. You know the Golden Rule, don’t you? It says, “DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU.” Confucius was the first person we know of to teach the Golden Rule, although he put it this way: “WHAT YOU DO NOT WISH FOR YOURSELF, DO NOT DO TO OTHERS.”

Many people began to listen to his teachings, which became known as “Confucianism.” Confucianism is not a religion, like Islam or Christianity, because Confucius did not have anything to say about God or the gods. Confucianism is a way of thinking about how to live a good life and how to humanely treat others.

FACTS ARE THE MOST ACCURATE KNOWLEDGE

What is a fact? A fact is knowledge or information based on real occurrences.

Science is the most reliable collection of facts.

What is science? Science is the observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena.

The most reliable method for discovering a fact is the scientific method.

What is the scientific method?  The scientific method include the principles and empirical processes of discovery and demonstration considered characteristic of or necessary for scientific investigation, generally involving the observation of phenomena, the formulation of a hypothesis concerning the phenomena, experimentation to demonstrate the truth or falseness of the hypothesis, and a conclusion that validates or modifies the hypothesis.

What is a hypothesis? A hypothesis is a tentative explanation for an observation, phenomenon, or scientific problem that can be tested by further investigation.

What is a theory?  A theory is a set of statements or principles devised to explain a group of facts or phenomena.

Theory and experiment work together in science, with experiments leading to new theories that in turn suggest further experiments. Although these methods and attitudes are generally shared by scientists, they do not provide a guaranteed means of scientific discovery; other factors, such as intuition, experience, good judgment, and sometimes luck, also contribute to new developments in science.

Mathematics plays an important role in science.

What is the role of mathematics in science?  All of the activities of the scientific method are characterized by a scientific attitude, which stresses rational impartiality. Measurement plays an important role, and when possible the scientist attempts to test his theories by carefully designed and controlled experiments that will yield quantitative rather than qualitative results.

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD OF DISCOVERING FACTS

The scientific method has evolved over many centuries and has now come to be described in terms of a well-recognized and well-defined series of steps.

1.   State the problem clearly and correctly.

2.   Research the problem adequately.

(Information, or data, is gathered by careful observation of the phenomenon being studied.)

3.   Formulate a hypothesis.

(On the basis of that information a preliminary generalization, or hypothesis, is formed, usually by inductive reasoning, and this in turn leads by deductive logic to a number of implications that may be tested by further observations and experiments. Induction is the process of deriving general principles from particular facts or instances. Deduction is the process of reasoning in which a conclusion follows necessarily from the stated premises; inference by reasoning from the general to the specific. Logic is valid reasoning.)

 

4.   Write the steps that you will take to investigate or experiment in order to gain direct knowledge in regards to the truth or falsity of your hypothesis.

5.   Investigate or experiment.

(Investigation involves the careful observation of the phenomenon being studied.  A test under controlled conditions that is made to demonstrate a known truth, examine the validity of a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy of something previously untried.
Record, organize and evaluate significant data resulting directly from your own investigation or experiment.)

6.   Draw your conclusion.

7.   If the conclusions drawn from the original hypothesis successfully meet all these tests, the hypothesis becomes accepted as a scientific theory or law; if additional facts are in disagreement with the hypothesis, it may be modified or discarded in favor of a new hypothesis, which is then subjected to further tests.

    (Even an accepted theory may eventually be overthrown if enough contradictory evidence is found, as in the case of Newtonian mechanics, which was shown after more than two centuries of acceptance to be an approximation valid only for speeds much less than that of light.)

A LINK TO THE SIGNING OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT

http://www.ssa.gov/history/fdrsign.html

A HUMANE EQUITABLE SOCIETY

THE CRISIS OF CAPITALISM is getting more serious in all aspects. The structural contradiction and moral taint of capitalist society, full of deception, fraud, hypocrisy and vanity, have been brought to light.

THE FINANCIAL CRISIS caused by the market economy of capitalism has driven the world into uncontrollable confusion.

With the passage of time the capitalist corruptness and falsity have been brought to light by its failure to have a fair distribution of wealth and employment.

The idea reflecting the desire of humankind to live in a more humane way has become more world-wide in its urgency. The truth of socialism is clearly evidenced in a new historic environment in the 21st century.

Democratic-socialism can be the most humane political-economic system that is just and worthwhile which humanity can devise to bear good fruition without fail. Socialism can be scientifically applied. The future of mankind can be ensured by socialism based on science.

SOCIALISM IS AN ECONOMIC SYSTEM IN WHICH THE MEANS OF PRODUCTION ARE COMMONLY OWNED AND CONTROLLED COOPERATIVELY.

AS A FORM OF SOCIAL ORGANIZATION, SOCIALISM IS BASED ON CO-OPERATIVE SOCIAL RELATIONS AND SELF-MANAGEMENT; RELATIVELY EQUAL POWER-RELATIONS AND THE REDUCTION OR ELIMINATION OF HIERARCHY IN THE MANAGEMENT OF ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL AFFAIRS.

SOCIALIST ECONOMIES ARE BASED UPON PRODUCTION FOR USE AND THE DIRECT ALLOCATION OF ECONOMIC INPUTS TO SATISFY ECONOMIC DEMANDS AND HUMAN NEEDS (USE VALUE); ACCOUNTING IS BASED ON PHYSICAL QUANTITIES OF RESOURCES, SOME PHYSICAL MAGNITUDE, OR A DIRECT MEASURE OF LABOR-TIME. GOODS AND SERVICES FOR CONSUMPTION ARE DISTRIBUTED THROUGH MARKETS, AND DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME IS BASED ON THE PRINCIPLE OF INDIVIDUAL MERIT/INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTION.

Norman Mattoon Thomas (Dec. 20, 1984, to Dec. 19, 1968) was a leading American socialist, pacifist and six-time presidential candidate for Socialist Party of America. The Socialist Party candidate for president of the United States, Norman Thomas, said in a 1944 speech, "The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the name of liberalism, they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation without knowing how it happened."

He went on to say; "I no longer need to run as a Presidential Candidate for the Socialist Party. The Democrat Party has adopted our platform."

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States(1933–1945) and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war. The only American president elected to more than two terms, he facilitated a durable coalition that realigned American politics for decades. With the bouncy popular song "Happy Days Are Here Again" as his campaign theme, FDR defeated incumbent Republican Herbert Hoover in November 1932, at the depth of the Great Depression. FDR's persistent optimism and activism contributed to a renewal of the national spirit, reflecting his victory over paralytic illness to become the longest serving president in U.S. history.

In his "first hundred days" in office, which began March 4, 1933, Roosevelt spearheaded major legislation and issued a profusion of executive orders that instituted the New Deal—a variety of programs designed to produce relief (government jobs for the unemployed), recovery (economic growth), and reform (through regulation of Wall Street, banks and transportation). The economy improved rapidly from 1933 to 1937, but then relapsed into a deep recession. The bipartisan Conservative Coalition that formed in 1937 prevented his packing the Supreme Court or passing any considerable legislation; it abolished many of the relief programs when unemployment diminished during World War II. Most of the regulations on business were ended about 1975–85, except for the regulation of Wall Street by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which still exists. Along with several smaller programs, major surviving programs include the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which was created in 1933, and Social Security, which Congress passed in 1935.

LIKE PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT WAS A MEMBER OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. AND, THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY HAS BEEN THE MOST HUMANE PARTY SINCE PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT.

OUR BEST SOLUTION TO OUR POLITICAL CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE AND OUR FINANCIAL, ECONOMIC CRISIS IS TO KEEP ELECTING MEMBERS OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY THAT WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE THE USA CLOSER TO A HUMANE, EQUITABLE SOCIETY; AND, CONTINUE TO ENLIGHTEN THE WORLD TO THE UNIVERSAL BENEFITS OF HUMANE, EQUITABLE SOCIETIES.

THE USA GOVERNMENT

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic.

A republic is:

a. A political order in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who are entitled to vote for officers and representatives responsible to them.

b. A nation that has such a political order.

Democracy is a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.

Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant (Latin: foedus, covenant) with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and constituent political units (like states or provinces). Federalism is a system based on democratic rules and institutions in which the power to govern is shared between national and provincial/state governments, creating what is often called a federation.

In modern republics such as the United States and India, the executive is legitimized both by a constitution and by popular suffrage. Montesquieu included both democracies, where all the people have a share in rule, and aristocracies or oligarchies, where only some of the people rule, as republican forms of government.

Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (18 January 1689 – 10 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French social commentator and political thinker who lived during the Enlightenment. He is famous for his articulation of the theory of separation of powers, taken for granted in modern discussions of government and implemented in many constitutions throughout the world. He was largely responsible for the popularization of the term feudalism.

A constitution is:

a. The system of fundamental laws and principles that prescribes the nature, functions, and limits of a government or another institution.

b. The document in which such a system is recorded.

c. Constitution The fundamental law of the United States, framed in 1787, ratified in 1789, and variously amended since then.

WHAT IS CAPITALISM?

Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production are privately owned and operated for profit from investment, usually in competitive markets. There is no consensus on the precise definition of capitalism, nor on how the term should be used as a historical category. There is, however, little controversy that private ownership of the means of production, creation of goods or services for profit in a market, and prices, wages and competition are elements of capitalism. The designation is applied to a variety of historical cases, varying in time, geography, politics and culture.

Private ownership in capitalism implies the right to control property, including the determination of how it is used, who uses it, whether to sell or rent it, and the right to the revenue generated by the property. However, there may be an abandonment period of time, after which resources return to unowned status.

Economists, political economists and historians have taken different perspectives on the analysis of capitalism. Economists usually emphasize the degree that government does not have control over markets (laissez faire), and on property rights. Most political economists emphasize private property, power relations, wage labor, class and emphasize capitalism as a unique historical formation. There is general agreement that capitalism encourages economic growth. The extent to which different markets are free, as well as the rules defining private property, is a matter of politics and policy, and many states have what are termed mixed economies.. An economic system that relies on private property and market relations but also contains a significant degree of government intervention is sometimes called a mixed economy.

DON'T BE STUCK IN A LOWER LEVEL OF THINKING

The evolutionary thought processes of humanity have basically proceeded as follows: (1) MAGIC & SUPERSTITION, (2) MYTHOLOGY & FOLKTALES, (3) RELIGION & FAITH, (4) PHILOSOPHY & LOGIC, (5) SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY.

Although, in the evolutionary cognition of humanity, each one has served its purpose (for better or worse), it is virtual retardation to get stuck in a past progression. It's late, but it's time to get with the modern thinking of science and technology.

Just think of how much modern convenience we wouldn't have if the pioneers of the advancements of Western Civilization hadn't risen above the BLIND FAITH of the religiously dominated "DARK AGES" and carried the ignorant masses into the "AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT."

Now, Asian progressive thinkers are leading their civilizations into the modern age of science and technology. Unfortunately, Africa in general and many people of African descent are too BLINDED BY THEIR RELIGIOUS FAITH--as they themselves say: they "...walk by FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT...." They are too ignorant (or foolish) to even know how stupid that sounds. It's like they are walking around unnecessarily wearing blindfolds trying to navigate through a complicated maze of reality being told what to do and where to go every step of the way--most of such religious fanatics are going nowhere fast. But, what can I say to wake them up? It's much like they are content to be high on religious dogma or hypnotized by it rather than to face and deal realistically with reality; however, I think it is because they feel BLESSED (meaning: HAPPY)--MUCH LIKE A DRUG ADDICT FEELS ECSTATIC WHILE HIGH ON DRUGS. And, also much like a drug addict, the RELIGIOUS FANATICS COULDN'T CARE LESS ABOUT REALITY JUST AS LONG AS THEY ARE FEELING BLESSED. I guess the person who said "IGNORANCE IS BLISS" was correct--at least when it comes to addictions--religious or otherwise.

However, it takes a lot of patience and optimism to keep trying to wake people up who are really enjoying their dream and don't want to be awakened. Thus, trying to tell a religious fanatic that there is a better way, is like trying to reason with someone under hypnosis or under the influence of a mind altering drug.

I BELIEVE IN THREE GODS

One day, when I was very young, a girl that I loved asked me: “Do you believe in God?”

Not knowing any better, I said: “No.”

She then went on to say, “You’ve got to believe in something!”

As you can see, I never forgot her question. But now I have a better answer: I do believe in God. I believe in three gods, all of whom I conceptualize as one God in my own mind.

My three gods are: nature, humanity, and my own mind.

(1)        Nature is god of the universe.

(2)        Humanity is god of the earth.
(3)        My own mind is god of my own body.

These three gods are God to me.

I am no longer in touch with that little girl who, if still alive, is a woman now; but, if I were, I would want her to know that I do now believe in something—in fact, I not only believe in one god, I believe in three gods: nature, humanity, and my own mind. These three together is my God.

So, I guess you can say that I am a naturalist, a humanist, and an individualist. But most of all I am a human being who thinks for himself.

WHAT IS EXISTENTIALISM

European nations (not necessarily all European individuals) have learned how to think accurately both in in science and in philosophy. Science has been taught freely in public schools; philosophy, however, has (for the most part) has only been taught in college and universities. Existentialism, which is the most modern and most comprehensive philosophical movement, is only taught (if at all) in colleges. Below is an introduction by a college professor to the philosophical movement, which is actually a movement of existence philosophies that has been somewhat inaccurately labeled existentialism as though they compose a school or systematic way of thinking. Following are links to this comprehensive introduction. Later, I will post more specific controbutions to modern existence philosophies. Just click on the following links (in order); listen and enjoy learning.

1.  http://youtu.be/CSOImo5Xi-Y

2.  http://youtu.be/6lVChwmaX5o

3.  http://youtu.be/kkSkPW7kVYE

4.  http://youtu.be/HtJsY2yxPQs

I AIM NEITHER TO CONDEMN NOR ABOLISH RELIGION

     Many people today are accustomed to “being done to or done for” in their daily lives. The television entertains them, their churches organize their social lives and leisure activities, and their teachers (or ministers) “spoon-feed” them knowledge (or tell them what to think and what to do). All that is usually required of them is to show up, believe and obey.

It is my intention to reinstate in such people a desire to realistically solve problems, to realistically overcome obstacles, and to realistically achieve self-fulfillment. However, in order to reach these goals it is necessary to help people acquire a more realistic mindset.

     By the time many people reach physical maturity, they have already formed certain opinions. The mindsets that need to be changed are exemplified by comments like these: “I hate math!” or “I don’t need to know why; just tell me what to do!” or “All that I need to know is in the Bible!” or “I walk by faith, not by sight!” or “God said it, I believe it, and that’s all there is to it!” All of these statements suggest either a closed mind or believing without really thinking.

     I am not trying to end religion; religion is good for some people (especially those who haven’t learned how to successfully think for themselves). I’m just trying to help people to learn how to successfully think for themselves. Unfortunately, many who could benefit by learning to think more scientifically have minds that have been so filled with nonsense that that they have no room for sensible thoughts to get in—especially if those sensible thoughts contradict any of the dogma that they have been spoon-fed and have unwittingly accepted with blind-faith.

     So, even though I myself have benefitted tremendously from my past religious indoctrinations and even though I still benefit from my own religious orientation, I realize that many others could benefit as I have by opening their minds and cleaning out some of the dogmatic notions that have mentally enslaved their thinking so that they can successfully learn how to accurately think for themselves. Therefore, my aim is neither to condemn nor to abolish religion; my aim is to help people to free their minds and to accurately think for themselves.

TYCHO BRAHE & JOHANNES KEPLER

When Isaac Newton said, "If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants." some of those giants were Nicolaus Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, and Rene Descartes.

Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) and Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) made crucial contributions to our understanding of the universe: Tycho’s observations were accurate enough for Kepler to discover that the planets moved in elliptic orbits, and his other laws, which gave Newton the clues he needed to establish universal inverse-square gravitation.

Tycho Brahe, from a rich Danish noble family, was fascinated by astronomy, but disappointed with the accuracy of tables of planetary motion at the time. He decided to dedicate his life and considerable resources to recording planetary positions ten times more accurately than the best previous work. After some early successes, and in gratitude for having his life saved by Tycho’s uncle, the king of Denmark gave Tycho tremendous resources: an island with many families on it, and money to build an observatory. (One estimate is that this was 10% of the gross national product at the time!) Tycho built vast instruments to set accurate sights on the stars, and used multiple clocks and timekeepers.

He achieved his goal of measuring to one minute of arc. This was a tremendous feat before the invention of the telescope. His aim was to confirm his own picture of the universe, which was that the earth was at rest, the sun went around the earth and the planets all went around the sun - an intermediate picture between Ptolemy and Copernicus.

Johannes Kepler believed in Copernicus’ picture. Having been raised in the Greek geometric tradition, he believed God must have had some geometric reason for placing the six planets at the particular distances from the sun that they occupied. He thought of their orbits as being on spheres, one inside the other. One day, he suddenly remembered that there were just five perfect Platonic solids, and this gave a reason for there being six planets - the orbit spheres were maybe just such that between two successive ones a perfect solid would just fit. He convinced himself that, given the uncertainties of observation at the time, this picture might be the right one. However, that was before Tycho’s results were used. Kepler realized that Tycho’s work could settle the question one way or the other, so he went to work with Tycho in 1600. Tycho died the next year; Kepler stole the data, and worked with it for nine years.

He reluctantly concluded that his geometric scheme was wrong. In its place, he found his three laws of planetary motion:

1.      The planets move in elliptical orbits with the sun at a focus.

2.      In their orbits around the sun, the planets sweep out equal areas in equal times.

3.      The squares of the times to complete one orbit are proportional to the cubes of the average distances from the sun.

Kepler's laws are strictly only valid for a lone (not affected by the gravity of other planets) zero-mass object orbiting the Sun; a physical impossibility. Nevertheless, Kepler's laws form a useful starting point to calculating the orbits of planets that do not deviate too much from these restrictions. Kepler also discovered that the tides were caused by the moon’s gravity.

THE CARTESIAN REVOLUTION--THE LANGUAGE OF MATHEMATICS

While Galileo confined himself to the study of mathematical and astronomical phenomena, his contemporary, René Descartes (1596-1650), a French philosopher and mathematician, began to describe in clear-cut terms the full outline of the new universe discovered by the rationalists. When still a young man, Descartes became deeply dissatisfied with the scholasticism that still survived in the teachings of the Jesuits from whom he received his early training. A Catholic who never quarreled with the official custodians of religious tradition, he was determined to gain knowledge only from himself and from nature and the observation of man.

René Descartes is called the father of modern philosophy. He initiated the movement generally termed rationalism, and his book, "Discourse on Method and Meditations," defined the basic problems of philosophy for at least a century.

To appreciate the novelty of the thought of René Descartes, one must understand what modern philosophy, or rationalism, means in contrast to medieval, or scholastic, philosophy. The great European thinkers of the 9th to 14th century were not incapable of logical reasoning, but they differed in philosophic interests and aims from the rationalists. The moderns, from Descartes on, usually identified philosophy with the natural and pure sciences; the medievals, however, made little distinction between philosophical and theological concerns.

The medieval doctors, like St. Thomas Aquinas, wanted to demonstrate that the revelations of faith and the dictates of reason were not incompatible. Their universe was that outlined by Aristotle in his Physics - a universe in which everything was ordered and classified according to the end that it served. During the Renaissance, however, men began exploring scientific alternatives to Aristotle's hierarchical universe. Further, new instruments, especially Galileo's telescope, added precision to scientific generalizations.

By the beginning of the 17th century the medieval tradition had lost its creative impetus. But the schoolmen, so called because they dominated the European universities, continued to adhere dogmatically to the traditional philosophy because of its association with Catholic theology. The rationalists, however, persistently refused professorships in order to preserve their intellectual integrity or to avoid persecution. They rejected the medieval practice of composing commentaries on standard works in favor of writing original, usually anonymous, treatises on topics suggested by their own scientific or speculative interests. Thus the contrast is between a declining tradition of professorial disputes over trivialities and a new philosophy inspired by original, scientific research.

Descartes participated in this conflict between the scholastic and rationalist approaches. He established a new, clear way of thinking about philosophy and science by rejecting all ideas based on assumptions or emotional beliefs and accepting only those ideas which could be proved by or systematically deduced from direct observation. Descartes made major contributions to modern mathematics, especially in developing the Cartesian coordinate system and advancing the theory of equations.

In recognizing that mathematics constituted the fundamental basis of physical science, Descartes laid the groundwork for that exactness of observation and calculation that was to become the outstanding characteristic of modern science. His work is considered of such importance that it is generally recognized by the term, the Cartesian Revolution. The old Aristotelian idea that nature consists of a variety of unrelated objects, each seeking to fulfill its aim in its own way, was now superseded by the Cartesian principle that nothing in nature is accidental or arbitrary, but that everything is governed by universal mathematical laws. Cartesianism became the official beacon of the new science, even if its explanations were as yet a little too simple and not always proved by experimentation. Most important of all, it effectively prepared the way for the great synthesis of Newton, who has been called the greatest of the Cartesians.

FROM THE DARK AGES TO THE AGE OF REASON--FRANCIS BACON

During the Age of Reasoning, among the proponents of the new inductive, experimental method, Francis Bacon (1561-1626) was the most influential. Bacon wanted to revolutionize philosophy by turning its material from speculative metaphysics to experimental science. In three remarkable books, one of which was Novum Organum, he astutely attacked the deductive method of scholasticism and with great eloquence described the direction of the new scientific methodology. In doing so, he repudiated the traditional, religious authority in favor of experimentation. He warned that the man of science must center his interest on the laboratory not the cathedral. In setting forth the widening intellectual breach separating the people of his day from the Dark Ages, he helped formulate a new conception of the universe and contributed much to the triumph of the mechanical interpretation of nature by the Western Civilization.

Francis Bacon is considered the father of modern scientific method. Basically, the scientific method includes the principles and empirical processes of discovery and demonstration considered characteristic of or necessary for scientific investigation, generally involving the observation of phenomena, the formulation of a hypothesis concerning the phenomena, experimentation to demonstrate the truth or falseness of the hypothesis, and a conclusion that validates or modifies the hypothesis.

In his book, Novum Organum, he warned that four Idola, or obstacles to clear-thinking, idols of the Tribe, Den, Market, and Theatre, had to be removed in order to insure against error in the collection of facts. After exposing obstacles to accurate thinking, Bacon went on to suggest ways of overcoming them. He rejected traditional dogmas and individual prejudices, directed the thought of Europeans to the study of the particular, and shifted the emphasis from arguments to facts. Experience, he said, is the only medium through which we may know things. The new science was strongly influenced by Bacon’s classical formula: “Man, who is the servant and interpreter of nature, can act and understand no further than he has observed, either in operation or in contemplation, of the method and order of nature.”

Specifically, the Four Idols, which Bacon said were preventing people from thinking more accurately, actually were flaws and fallacies of the human mind. These are flaws that each human being has to overcome in order to think scientifically.

The four idols distinguished by Francis Bacon are erroneous images of things:

1.   Idols of the Tribe—general tendencies to be deceived, inherent in our nature as human beings

2.   Idols of the Cave—distortions arising from our particular perspectives

3.   Idols of the Marketplace—errors that come in the course of communication with others: misunderstandings arising through misuses or abuses of words

4.   Idols of the Theater—errors of introducing ideas, theories, and imaginative notions as facts

As you read Bacon’s explanation for the human tendencies to think inaccurately, it may help to think of “Idols” as meaning false notions.

1.   “The Idols of the Tribe have their foundation in human nature itself, and in the tribe or race of men. For it is a false assertion that the sense of man is the measure of things. On the contrary, all perceptions as well of the senses as of the mind are according to the measure of the individual and not according to the measure of the universe. And the human understanding is like a false mirror, which, receiving rays irregularly distorts and discolors the nature of things by mingling its own nature with it.” –Novum Organum, Aphorism XLI

In other words, the senses are flawed in that they are capable of illusions; and, the mind is capable of delusions.

2.   “The Idols of the Cave are the idols of the individual man. For everyone (besides the errors common to human nature in general) has a cave or den of his own, which refracts and discolors the light of nature, owing either to his own proper and peculiar nature; or to his education and conversation with others; or to the reading of books, and the authority of those whom he esteems and admires; or to the differences of impressions, accordingly as they take place in a mind preoccupied or predisposed or in a mind indifferent and settled; or the like. So that the spirit of man (according as it is meted out to different individuals) is in fact a thing variable and full of perturbation, and governed as it were by chance. Whence it was well observed by Heraclitus that men look for sciences in their own lesser worlds, and not in the greater or common world.” –Novum Organum, Aphorism XLII

The mind itself may cause its own distortions called delusions. People are predisposed to thinking that opinions and imaginings profoundly stated and faithfully believed by the masses are somehow true. And, some of us not only have blind faith but are also blinded by our faith.

3.   “But the Idols of the Market Place are the most troublesome of all—idols which have crept into the understanding through the alliances of words and names. For men believe that their reason governs words; but it is also true that words react on the understanding; and this it is that has rendered philosophy and the sciences sophistical and inactive. Now words, being commonly framed and applied according to the capacity of the vulgar, follow those lines of division which are most obvious to the vulgar understanding. And whenever an understanding of greater acuteness or a more diligent observation would alter those lines to suit the true divisions of nature, words stand in the way and resist the change. Whence it comes to pass that the high and formal discussions of learned men end oftentimes in disputes about words and names; with which (according to the use and wisdom of the mathematicians), it would be more prudent to begin, and so by means of definitions reduce them to order. Yet even definitions cannot cure this evil in dealing with natural and material things, since the definitions themselves consist of words, and those words beget others. So that it is necessary to recur to individual instances, and those in due series and order, as I shall say presently when I come to the method and scheme for the formation of notions and axioms.”  --Novum Organum, Aphorism LIX

According to Bacon, there are two basic kinds of Idols of the Market Place:

“They are either names of things which do not exist (for as there are things left unnamed through lack of observation, so likewise are there names which result from fantastic suppositions and to which nothing in reality corresponds), or they are names of things which exist, but yet confused and ill-defined, and hastily and irregularly derived from realities.”  --Novum Organum, Aphorism LX

Bacon said that the Idols of the Market Place were given this name by him because "on account of the commerce and consort of men there. For it is by discourse that men associate, and words are imposed according to the apprehension of the vulgar [deficient in refinement]. And therefore the ill and unfit choice of words wonderfully obstructs the understanding. Nor do the definitions or explanations wherewith in some things learned men are wont to guard and defend themselves, by any means set the matter right. But words plainly force and overrule the understanding, and throw all into confusion, and lead men away into numberless empty controversies and idle fancies."

4.   Idols of the Theater are “Idols which have immigrated into men’s minds from the various dogmas of philosophies [religions, myths, superstitions], and also from wrong laws of demonstration. These I call Idols of the Theater because in my judgment all the received systems are but so many stage plays, representing worlds of their own creation after an unreal and scenic fashion. Nor is it only of the systems now in vogue, or only of the ancient sects and philosophies, that I speak; for many more plays of the same kind may yet be composed and in like artificial manner set forth; seeing that errors the most widely different have nevertheless causes for the most part alike. Neither again do I mean this only of entire systems, but also of many [false] principles and [false] axioms in science, which by tradition, credulity, and negligence have come to be received. --Novum Organum, Aphorism XLIV

Concerning the number Bacon says furthermore: “Idols of the Theater, or of Systems, are many, and there can be and perhaps will be yet many more. For were it not that now for many ages men’s minds have been busied with religion and theology; and were it not that civil governments, especially monarchies, have been averse to such novelties, even in matters speculative; so that men labor therein to the peril and harming of their fortunes—not only unrewarded, but exposed also to contempt and envy—doubtless there would have arisen many other philosophical [and religious] sects like those which in great variety flourished once among the Greeks. For as on the phenomena of the heavens many hypotheses may be constructed so likewise (and more also) many various dogmas may be set up; and established on the phenomena of philosophy [religion, mythology, superstition, etc.]. And in the plays of this philosophical [imaginary] theater you may observe the same thing which is found in the theater of the poets, that stories invented for the stage are more compact and elegant, and more as one would wish them to be, than true stories out of history. –Novum Organum, Aphorism LXII

FROM THE DARK AGES TO THE AGE OF REASON--COPERNICUS & GALILEO

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) was a Renaissance astronomer and the first person to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology which displaced the Earth from the center of the universe. Copernicus' epochal book, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres), published just before his death in 1543, is often regarded as the starting point of modern astronomy and the defining epiphany that began the scientific revolution. His heliocentric model, with the Sun at the center of the universe, demonstrated that the observed motions of celestial objects can be explained without putting Earth at rest in the center of the universe. His work stimulated further scientific investigations, becoming a landmark in the history of science that is often referred to as the Copernican Revolution.

He was born into a well-to-do family, and after his father died in 1483 he was put under the guardianship of his uncle, a bishop of Warmia (Poland). He went to university in Krakow and spent a decade in Italy, studying law and mathematics. A canon of the cathedral at Frombork, Copernicus carried out administrative duties and, from his house, observed the stars and planets. For years he worked on his theory that the planets in our solar system revolved around the sun (Ptolemy of ancient Greece had explained that the universe was a closed system revolving around the earth, and the Catholic church concurred). Hesitant to publish his work for fear of being charged with heresy (which was punishable with death), Copernicus summarized it in 1530 and circulated it among Europe's scholars, where it was greeted with enthusiasm. His work was finally published in 1543, apparently just a few weeks before he died.

Because Copernicus' heliocentric theory of the planets defied 1,500 years of tradition, some historians mark the publication date of De revolutionibus as the beginning of the "scientific revolution."... It wasn't until 1835 that his work was taken off the list of books banned by the Vatican. Galileo Galilei was another scientist who got in trouble for believing that the earth moved around the sun.

Mathematics as the only key to unshakable knowledge was the paramount discovery of the sixteenth century, but it remained for an Italian mathematician, astronomer and experimental physicist, Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), to give it practical and convincing application. He played a major role in the Scientific Revolution—so much so that he has been called the “father of modern observational astronomy,” the “father of modern physics,” the father of science,” and the “Father of Modern Science.” His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations, and support for Copernicanism.

Stephen Hawking says, "Galileo, perhaps more than any other single person, was responsible for the birth of modern science." The motion of uniformly accelerated objects, taught in nearly all high school and introductory college physics courses, was studied by Galileo as the subject of kinematics. His contributions to observational astronomy include the telescopic confirmation of the phases of Venus, the discovery of the four largest satellites of Jupiter (named the Galilean moons in his honor), and the observation and analysis of sunspots. Galileo also worked in applied science and technology, inventing an improved military compass and other instruments.

Galileo's championing of Copernicanism was controversial within his lifetime, when a large majority of philosophers and astronomers still subscribed to the geocentric view that the Earth is at the centre of the universe. After 1610, when he began publicly supporting the heliocentric view, which placed the Sun at the centre of the universe, he met with bitter opposition from some philosophers and clerics, and two of the latter eventually denounced him to the Roman Inquisition early in 1615. In February 1616, although he had been cleared of any offence, the Catholic Church nevertheless condemned heliocentrism as "false and contrary to Scripture", and Galileo was warned to abandon his support for it—which he promised to do. When he later defended his views in his most famous work, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, published in 1632, he was tried by the Inquisition, found "vehemently suspect of heresy", forced to recant, and to spend the rest of his life under house arrest.