philosophy midterm

What does all learning through argumentation proceed from?

Knowledge already possessed.

What is scientific knowledge?

Knowing the specific cause that makes a fact true and knowing it could not possibly be otherwise.

What is a demonstration?

A syllogism that produces scientific knowledge.

What does it mean for a demonstration premise to be true?

It corresponds to what is actually the case because non-existent things cannot be known.

What does it mean for a demonstration premise to be primary?

It is foundational rather than dependent on a more basic premise.

What does it mean for a demonstration premise to be immediate or indemonstrable?

It requires no prior proof to be known.

What does it mean for a demonstration premise to be better known than the conclusion?

Our conviction in it must be firmer than our conviction in the conclusion.

What does it mean for a demonstration premise to be prior to the conclusion?

It must logically precede the conclusion so it can act as its cause.

Why must a demonstration premise be a cause of the conclusion?

Scientific knowledge requires knowing the cause of the thing demonstrated.

What does "better known to man" mean?

It means closer to immediate sense perception.

What does "better known in the order of being" mean?

It means a universal cause farther removed from immediate sense perception.

What is the first mode of per se?

An attribute belonging to a subject as part of its essential nature.

What is the second mode of per se?

An attribute whose defining formula contains the subject to which it belongs.

What is the third mode of per se?

Something not predicated of another subject, such as a substance.

What is the fourth mode of per se?

Something with a consequential or causal connection to a subject.

What is a commensurately universal attribute?

An attribute essentially belonging to every instance of a subject, with that subject the primary thing to which it belongs.

What is knowledge of the fact?

Knowing that something is true.

What is knowledge of the reasoned fact?

Knowing why something is true through its proximate cause.

What is a Propter Quid demonstration?

A demonstration in which the middle term is the true, proximate cause of the conclusion.

What is a Quia demonstration of the first type?

One whose premises are not immediate and do not contain the proximate cause.

What is a Quia demonstration of the second type?

One with immediate premises that uses a better-known reciprocal effect rather than the true cause as the middle term.

How do you convert a Quia #2 demonstration into a Propter Quid demonstration?

Reverse the major and middle terms so the true cause becomes the middle term.

What are Aristotle's levels of cognitive development?

Sense-perception → memory → experience → science or skill.

How do repeated sense perceptions lead to universal truths?

They stabilize in the soul, allowing the mind to grasp indivisible concepts and universals.

What does the battle-route metaphor illustrate?

Scattered sense perceptions are like a retreating army until one makes a stand and order is restored.

What is induction?

Moving from repeated particular experiences to universal truths.

How does induction relate to demonstration?

It gives us per se statements needed as necessary premises for demonstration.

What is Euclid's definition of a point?

That which has no part.

What is Euclid's definition of a line?

Breadthless length.

What is Euclid's definition of a circle?

A plane figure contained by one line such that all straight lines from the center to it are equal.

What is a trilateral figure?

A figure contained by three straight lines.

What do Euclid's postulates and common notions correspond to in Aristotle?

Immediate basic truths, axioms, and theses.

Do Euclid's postulates and common notions meet Aristotle's six criteria?

Yes; they are primary and indemonstrable basic truths.

How do we learn Euclid's postulates and common notions?

Through induction and intuition, not by proving them from prior premises.

Do Euclid's postulates belong only to geometry?

Yes; they specifically belong to geometry.

Why are Euclid's common notions called common?

They are universal principles applicable across multiple sciences.

How is Proposition 1 related to Proposition 2?

Proposition 1's construction is required as a step in proving Proposition 2.

What is the demonstrative regress?

A method using an intermediate stage to move from a Quia demonstration toward a Propter Quid demonstration.

What is hypothetico-deductive reasoning?

Forming a hypothesis and testing consequences derived from it.

In "if p, then q," what is p?

The antecedent representing the hypothesis.

In "if p, then q," what is q?

The consequent representing the observable effect.

What is the logic of falsifying a hypothesis?

If p then q; not-q; therefore not-p.

Why is strict logical verification of a hypothesis a fallacy?

"If p then q; q; therefore p" does not logically prove p.

How can repeated verification support a hypothesis?

Repeatedly verifying multiple predicted consequents can show the hypothesis is probably true.

What degree of certainty does empirical verification provide?

Probability and high verisimilitude, not absolute certainty.

How does Galileo's moon example illustrate demonstrative regress?

He moves from lunar phases to a suspected cause, tests the connection geometrically, then demonstrates the effect from the cause.

What is Zabarella's intermediate stage?

A mental examination that tests the causal connection and eliminates alternative explanations.

In what sense are the experimental sciences distinct from philosophy of nature?

Philosophy of nature is rigorous and demonstrative, while experimental sciences remain in dialectical movement.

Why are experimental-science generalizations tentative?

They remain tied to singular and specific matter and cannot fully detach from the particular.

In what sense are the experimental sciences not distinct from philosophy of nature?

They share the same subject, originate in sensible matter, and aim to know natural things in their principles.

What do the experimental sciences and philosophy of nature have in common?

Subject matter, origin in sensible experience, and ultimate end.

What is the method of philosophy of nature?

Strictly demonstrative; it begins with the general and confused and seeks ultimate causes.

What is the method of the experimental sciences?

Dialectical reasoning, tentative generalizations, greater concretion, and proximate causes.

How does natural philosophy use sensory experience?

It begins with what is most obvious to sense-perception: confused wholes and generalities.

How do experimental sciences use sensory experience?

They investigate increasingly concrete, singular, and specific parts.

Why is natural philosophy a higher science?

It is prior and more exact because it knows both the fact and reasoned fact while remaining more certain.

What is DeKoninck's main criticism of modern biologists?

They explain life through the inanimate or obscure instead of beginning with familiar living organisms.

What is better known or less known to us?

Familiar organisms and sensory experiences are better known; microscopic organisms and basic physical matter are less known.

What do modern biologists think the word "life" means?

They often treat it as meaningless, ambiguous, or merely a linguistic convenience.

Why does beginning with obscure organisms create this problem?

Ambiguous borderline cases make a clear definition difficult, leading them to dismiss the concept of life.

What does the shotgun-hunter example show?

Chance and purpose can coexist because random shot can serve a purposeful end.

What does the mushroom-spore example show?

Randomly distributed spores can serve the purposeful end of survival.

What is Fabre's subject of study?

Living entomology, especially insects such as wasps and caterpillars in nature.

How does Fabre's style of study differ from other biologists?

He patiently observes live insects in the open field, unlike biologists using dissection, chemical testing, and dry prose.

Why does Fabre say his style is for children and philosophers?

It helps philosophers study instinct and helps children love natural history.

What was Fabre's initial hypothesis about the processionary caterpillars?

If trapped in a circle, they would recognize the mistake, leave the path, and go to food.

How did Fabre test the hypothesis?

He forced caterpillars into a closed circle on a vase by removing diverging silk trails.

What observable effect was Fabre testing for?

That the caterpillars would break the circle and move toward nearby food.

How can Fabre's hypothesis be stated as "if p, then q"?

If the caterpillars have rudimentary reasoning, then they will alter their circular path to avoid starvation.

What is von Frisch's ultimate goal in studying bees?

To compare their dances and understand the evolution of their complex communication system.

What does the round dance communicate?

Food is near the hive, with liveliness indicating richness.

What does the tail-wagging dance communicate?

The distance and direction of a farther food source.

How are the sun and gravity involved in bee dancing?

Bees use the food source's angle to the sun and translate it into a gravity-based angle on a vertical comb.

What does the sickle dance communicate?

An intermediate distance in the Italian honeybee.

Are bee dances taught by older bees?

No; the language is innate and instinctual.

What do differences among bee dances show about evolution?

They show varying stages of evolutionary development, or "dialects."

How does Frisch think the bee language evolved?

Gradually from simple intention movements.

What was the older view of blood circulation?

Veins carried crude blood, arteries carried perfected spirits, and blood came from digested food.

What was Harvey's novel theory, and was it a hypothesis or observable effect?

He hypothesized that blood continuously circulates from heart → arteries → body → veins → heart.

What purpose does Harvey assign to blood circulation?

It nourishes and warms the body by returning cooled blood to the heart.

What do the arteries do?

They carry warmed, perfected, nutritive blood from the heart to the body.

What do the veins do?

They return cooled, weakened blood from the body to the heart.

What is Harvey's first proposition?

Blood enters the arteries in quantities far too large to have come from food.

What is Harvey's second proposition?

Blood flows to the extremities in quantities far greater than nutrition requires.

What is Harvey's third proposition?

The veins continuously return blood to the heart.

Are Harvey's three propositions hypotheses or observable effects?

They are observable effects used to test and demonstrate his hypothesis.

How does Harvey support his first proposition?

He calculates blood pumped over time and uses vivisection to show the amount exceeds the body's total blood supply.

How does Harvey support his second proposition?

Arm ligatures show blood enters through arteries and causes venous swelling when venous return is blocked.

How does Harvey support his third proposition?

Venous valves allow movement toward the heart but block movement toward the extremities.

How can Harvey's hypothesis be expressed as "if p, then q"?

If blood continuously circulates, then enormous pumping volume, arterial entry with venous exit, and one-way venous flow should occur.

What is the end or purpose of the heart according to Harvey?

It is the foundation of life and source of native heat, continually pumping and preserving the blood.

How does the struggle for existence relate to natural selection?

Useful variations tend to preserve individuals and be inherited by offspring through natural selection.

What does Darwin mean by "struggle for existence"?

Dependence, competition for survival, and success in producing offspring in a broad metaphorical sense.

What is geometrical increase?

The tendency of organisms to increase at a high geometric rate unless destruction checks reproduction.

Why does geometrical increase create a struggle for existence?

More organisms are produced than can survive, creating competition for limited conditions of life.

What does the Scotch fir example illustrate?

One species can change an entire ecosystem through a complex web of dependencies.

What does the humble-bee example illustrate?

One species can affect another through dependencies linking clover, bees, mice, and cats.

Why is competition especially severe within the same species?

They occupy the same areas, need the same food, and face the same dangers.

What is Darwin's definition of natural selection?

The preservation of favorable variations and rejection of injurious variations.

How does natural selection differ from artificial selection?

Humans select for their own purposes over short periods, while nature preserves useful traits over immense periods regardless of mere appearance.