Can Someone please summarize this chapter in a paragraph of 5 or 6 lines? Thank

Question

Can Someone please summarize this chapter in a paragraph of 5 or 6 lines?

Thank you

CHAPTER 1 The Ancient Philosophers Set the Stage Natural science was born from philosophy. The philosophers of the ancient world fathered many ideas on natural law, some of which dominated Western thought for the next 2000 years. In the 5th century BC, at the crossroads of Greek and Persian Philosophical ban cultures, philosophy emerged as a serious academic discipline er was no longer just a pastime of dabbling merchants or physicians one cou did. From a respected philosopher. And man become a ofessional thinker cling escriptions of water cy Thales' calculations of the eclipses of the sun, and through the biosphere, onward, a succcssion of Greek philosophers built upon the world through systematic obser idea of "natural law," garnering concepts of t vations. The goal of Thales and others of his generation was to find formulas to plain natural phenomena. They sought uniformity within a world of diversity studies Thales was perhaps most successful at finding uniformity in his geome where he discovered rules regarding triangles that the base angles of an isosceles triangle are equal, and that the sum of the angles of a triangle are equivalent to two situations, Thales was able to right angles. Applying geometric principles to life calculate the height of a pyramid by measuring its shadow, and the distance of a boat to the shore, by using the concept of similar triangles. This marked a beginning for the formulation of natural law based on observations of the world Heraclitus, a "professional thinker" of the period, promoted the controver sial idea that everything in the world is continually changing, and that flu only universal reality. his idea of change is one that would remain controversial up through at least the 19th century. Heraclitus stated that "there's nothing is and nothing was, but everything's becomin He viewed living organisms as a mix re of morphing essences like air and fire, and he interpreted birth and death a illusions in the spectrum of life where elements are continuously arranged and rearranged. Two-thousand years before Charles Darwin revolutionized biological Heraclitus science, by introducing the concept of change in his theory of evoluti proposed ideas on ntrinsic change i iving forms, and in al matter. These ideas

Explanation / Answer

The chapter tells how philosophers try to understand and explain science in the Nature- from atom to objects to planets and universe. Various philosolphers from different fields contributed to the understanding of things surrounding us. Earlier, mathematician like Thales, used philosophy to explain natural parameters, like estimating height of a tree, using length of its shadow. Heraclitus stressed on the idea that everything in this world changes , even at the basic internal level. His ideas were supported by Plato who explained stability due to opposite properties & internal flux, but were opposed by Parmenides. Parmenides stated that change is not real and in fact, its just an interpretation of human mind. Democritus agreed with Parmenides, stating that senses create perception. Protagoras interpreted words of Democritus in a different way, stating that senses bear importance. Pythagoreans, tried to explain natural happenings, like shape/position of earth in universe, by the use of numbers and mathematics. In conclusion, different philosophers have contributed differently to the understanding of life and objects on and beyond earth.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse C
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.