In order to understand the intellectual changes which the Enlightenment brought it will be necessary to first understand the intellectual environment from which it was a departure. The intellectual environment in the West at the end of the 16th century was marked by a kind of hybrid composed of both Aristotelian philosophy and Christian theology. This hybrid now goes by the name of Aristotelian Scholasticism and it will be the purpose of this post to describe some of the more essential features of the 16th century intellectual’s mind. (more…)
May 10, 2006
Learning Another Language of Thought
At this point I would like to announce a new project which I am taking upon myself as a blogger concerned primarily with western philosophy. It has been argued that the main reason behind both the difficulties which the West has with the Middle East as well as the “solutions” which the former has “offered” the latter, derive from the fact that the latter simply has not experienced an Enlightenment while the former has. It will thus be the task which I will take upon myself to, beginning with the Enlightenment, review the way in which the pre-Enlightenment mind became how it is today by describing, in a relatively chronological order, the great minds and ideas which have shaped the West. (more…)
Progress in Science
Over at Daylight Atheism, Ebonmuse has posted on the nature of science, concluding that science is not a body of knowledge, but is rather a way of knowing. As the comments to the post indicate, I disagree with this description of science. In this post I will describe Kuhn’s arguments against science as a body of knowledge as well as science as a way of knowing, arguments which I find persuasive. In order to demonstrate the importance which Kuhn’s view plays in considering the nature of science, I will appeal to the Intelligent Design/evolution debate as an illustration. (more…)
