Saturday, December 4, 2021

961: Analogy thinking.......

 The idea that a mechanics, based on three laws of motion, combined with reductions and predictions, could explain all motion phenomena, 

  

regular and irregular, celestial and terrestrial, became the model for the other sciences from the eighteenth century. 

  

Newton's gravitational mechanism was taken as a prototype for finding laws in other disciplines. After all, attracting forces appeared not only to occur in mechanics but also in other fields, such as electricity. 

  

And these fields, according to the Newtonians, could become as successful as mechanics if worked out analogously to the Newtonian theory of mechanics. 

  

This analogical thinking, like the empirical cycle, is a pattern of reductions: where a certain reduction has worked in one area, it could also work in another area. 

  

This thinking using analogy wasn't new, but in those years from 1700 on it became more popular,

But it turned out to be less valid than the other deduction pattern, the empirical cycle. 

   

Let's start with a successful case; the theory of electricity. Today, the study of electricity falls under physics, but in the eighteenth century, the so-called electricians formed a separate group of scientists. 

  

They discovered all kinds of new phenomena. In 1734, Charles du Fay showed that there are two types of electricity: 

  

vitreous electricity that is created by the friction of, for example, glass, and resinous electricity, which is created by the friction of resin. 

  

These two types of electricity are today called positive and negative charges. It turned out that there is an attraction between two charged objects if one is positively charged and the other negatively charged. 

  

If the charges are both positive or both negative, then there is a repulsive force. Despite this difference from gravity, 

  

the electric force between charges was modeled analog to the Newtonian law of gravity by Charles-Augustin de Coulomb in 1784.

   

I guess we all know the phenomenon of seeing your hair getting attracted by some object, that you have rubbed on woolen cloth, for instance. Nowadays for us, it is child's play.

  

Newtonian physics became the model for other sciences. This became the moment in history, where to focus moved from the world of texts, the philology to the world of physics.

  

The mechanization of our worldview became a fact. This was already noticeable in medicine, where people had already come to regard the body as a machine.

   

We see this, for example, in the work of the Dutch physician Herman Boerhaave (1668 -1738), 

  

who tried to give a mechanistic explanation of diseases on the basis of hydrostatic equilibrium and fluid pressure, but without much success.

  

Technically it sounds like this: Hydrostatic pressure is a measurement of the force per unit area on an object in the fluid or on the surface of a closed container. 

   

This pressure can be caused by gravity, acceleration, or by forces outside a closed container.

  

In the terminology, you hear words Newton used in his physical theories, so the temptation is great to assume that something analogous might be happening in the body.

   

The music scholar and composer Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683 - 1764)was also influenced by Newton. 

  

His case involved Newton's discovery of the refraction of light by a prism, which showed that white light is in fact made up of rainbow colors.

   

He showed that a single tone in fact is a set of tones, which we call overtones. But this analogy didn't lead to deducible predictions. It just stayed an analogy.

    

It is one of the big mysteries of the history of knowledge, that mechanics appears to be largely absent in other cultures of that time, like India, China, or Islamic culture.

  

Although the empirical cycles originated from philology, which we find in all cultures, it mysteriously only evolved in Europe and brought us natural sciences and more.

    

Thank you for your attention.....the floor is yours...

   


MacMillan The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2nd edition
Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 1995
 http://plato.stanford.edu/contents.htm
Rens Bod: "Een Wereld vol Patronen".  2019

The Discussion


[13:21] herman Bergson: That makes me think of developing a vaccine...that is also by analogy

[13:22] herman Bergson: virus x looks like virus y....we have a vaccine for x....maybe it can be adapted for y

[13:23] herman Bergson: It not always works....but you can give it a try

[13:24] herman Bergson: What we see in this period of human thinking is, that physics became the leading science in that century

[13:25] herman Bergson: The humanists looked backward to discover great truths..

[13:26] herman Bergson: and now we enter an era that is focused on discovering all the time NEW things

[13:26] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): well the middle eastern countries are so obsessed with religios stuff, Allah, holy wars against everyone else and how to create the most miserable living conditions for their people, mostly for their women that there is no wonder nothing happens in these countries, sad reality. Its back to storage there

[13:26] herman Bergson: One step further and we talk of "discovering" new products

[13:27] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): while Europe focuses on reality and fact = science

[13:27] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): = progress

[13:27] herman Bergson: Yes I guess you are right Bejiita...

[13:28] herman Bergson: But here you introduce the concept of PROGRESS

[13:28] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): progress is good

[13:28] herman Bergson: like growth...?!

[13:28] Laila Schuman: depends upon who "owns it"

[13:28] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): infinite economic growth or other growth?

[13:28] Laila Schuman: WHO

[13:29] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): aaa yes

[13:29] herman Bergson: It crossed my mind that this change in the European mindset also was the beginning of capitalism in some way

[13:29] herman Bergson: There you go Laila.....indeed

[13:30] herman Bergson: In the beginning, science might have been just satisfying curiosity....

[13:30] Laila Schuman: I remember attending a lecture given by Kruchev's son... speaking on his experience in the race for rockets.....

[13:30] herman Bergson: step two might have been science for developing products

[13:30] Laila Schuman: he was in the places where it happened... even the building of them

[13:30] Laila Schuman: WHOM and WHY

[13:31] herman Bergson: those rockets were for politics

[13:31] Laila Schuman: lol... his wife was sitting behind me and she corrected him on a name he mentioned... he BLASTED HER IN FRONT OF EVERYONE

[13:31] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): the moon race?

[13:31] Laila Schuman: everyone

[13:33] Laila Schuman: I believe Von Brown was involved a that time

[13:33] Laila Schuman: spellling?

[13:33] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): aaa Werner con Braun yes

[13:33] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): the rocket man

[13:33] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): built the V2

[13:34] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and helped in the moon race

[13:34] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): a true classic

[13:34] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): legend

[13:34]  Carma   (carma.caerndow) is offline.

[13:34] herman Bergson: The issue today is actually that we witness the beginning of modern science here and that we now know what it has brought  us

[13:35] Laila Schuman: or not brought us

[13:35] herman Bergson: At least it brought us our consumerism :-)

[13:36] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hmmm

[13:36] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): and an endlessly growing heap of trash

[13:36] herman Bergson: yes

[13:36] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): while we empty the earth's resources

[13:36] herman Bergson: Newton never could have foreseen that

[13:37] Laila Schuman: and the dream of tourist travel to space... which I find repulsive considering the needs of many people... and the reluctance to face climate control... such greed

[13:37] herman Bergson: He just wanted the knowledge to understand and explain phenomena

[13:37] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hmm it's just a way to get money from the rich, not the star trek vision

[13:38] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): but in star trek there is no economic interests, just the will to get it done (Except for the Ferengi that is)

[13:38] herman Bergson: Space tourism shows how much the rich are alienated from reality and live in their own buble lacking the empathy for the rest of the world

[13:38] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): exactly

[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): F**CK U ALL POOR LOWLIFE HAVE SOOOO MUCH MONEY LOOOK WHAT I CAN DOOO! IM SOO GOOD

[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): GUUUUUUUGH!

[13:39] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): i hate that attitude!

[13:40] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): what we in Sweden call "Skrytmåns"

[13:40] herman Bergson: I read something about the psychology of the rich...was a book review if I am not mistaken

[13:41] herman Bergson: Anyway...we now know when and where it all began :-)

[13:41] Laila Schuman: here, they do not pay taxes on income from their stock.... so that is a main place to put their money

[13:41] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hmm

[13:41] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): where is here Laila?

[13:41] herman Bergson: US

[13:41] Laila Schuman: the US

[13:41] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): tax paradises

[13:42] Laila Schuman: how they are getting away with not paying their fair share of taxes

[13:43] Laila Schuman: why Biden wants to mess with their taxes

[13:43] herman Bergson: Well....we'll see what that might bring.....

[13:43] herman Bergson: but let's keep that for another day :-)

[13:44] Laila Schuman: between off shore tax havens and stock dividends...who needs banks

[13:44] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): some contribution they can do at least but i guess their mindset is I WANT IT ALL! ITS MINE AND ON;Y MINE AND I WANT MOOOOOOOORE!

[13:44] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): the more u have the more u want

[13:44] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): never satisfied

[13:44] herman Bergson: That seems to be the case indeed with them Bejiita

[13:44] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hmm

[13:45] herman Bergson: Well...guess we may leave it to that for today :-)

[13:45] herman Bergson: We almost saved the world again....

[13:45] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): ok NOW we can get Plupped

[13:45] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako):

[13:45] herman Bergson: Thank you all again for participating :-)

[13:45] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): YOU will get plupped

[13:45] herman Bergson: Class dismissed...

[13:45] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): hehehe no YOU will get plupped!

[13:45] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): * PLUPP *

[13:45] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): muahaha

[13:45] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako):

[13:46] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): well we'll see

[13:46] .: Beertje :. (beertje.beaumont): Thank you Herman for this class

[13:46] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): great again anyway

[13:46] Particle Physicist Bejiita (bejiita.imako): interesting