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For the current in the 19th century German idealism, see Naturphilosophie

Natural philosophy or the philosophy of nature, known in Latin as philosophia naturalis, is a term applied to the objective study of nature and the physical universe that was dominant before the development of modern science. Naturphilosophie ( philosophy of nature) was a current in the philosophical tradition of German idealism in the 19th century particularly associated with Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. "n objective account is one which attempts to capture the nature of the object studied in a way that does not depend on any features of the particular subject who studies it Nature, in the broadest sense is equivalent to the natural world, physical universe, material world or material universe. The Universe is defined as everything that Physically Exists: the entirety of Space and Time, all forms of Matter, Energy Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding It is considered the precursor of what is now called natural science, especially physics. In Science, the term natural science refers to a naturalistic approach to the study of the Universe, which is understood as obeying rules or law of Physics (Greek Physis - φύσις in everyday terms is the Science of Matter and its motion.

Forms of science historically developed out of philosophy or more specifically natural philosophy. Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language At older universities, long-established Chairs of Natural Philosophy are nowadays occupied mainly by physics professors. A university is an institution of Higher education and Research, which grants Academic degrees in a variety of subjects The meaning of the word professor ( Latin: professor, person who professes to be an expert in some art or science teacher of highest rank) varies Modern notions of science and scientists date only to the 19th century (Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary dates the origin of the word "scientist" to 1834). Before then, the word "science" simply meant knowledge and the label of scientist did not exist. Isaac Newton's 1687 scientific treatise is known as The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. Sir Isaac Newton, FRS (ˈnjuːtən 4 January 1643 31 March 1727) Biography Early years See also Isaac Newton's early life and achievements The Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica ( Latin: "mathematical principles of natural philosophy" often Principia

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Origin and evolution of the term

Natural philosophy was the term describing a field of study whose usage preceded our current term natural science (from scientia in Latin, which means "knowledge") when the subject of that knowledge or study was "the workings of nature". In Science, the term natural science refers to a naturalistic approach to the study of the Universe, which is understood as obeying rules or law of Natural philosophy pertains to the work of analysis and synthesis of common experience and argumentation attempting to explain or describe nature, while the term science in the 16th century and prior was also used, and used exclusively, as a synonym for knowledge or study. The term "science", as in "natural science", gained the meaning of science in the modern sense when knowledge acquisition through experiments (special experiences) regulated by the scientific method became its own specialized branch of study over and above natural philosophy. In scientific inquiry an experiment ( Latin: Ex- periri, "to try out" is a method of investigating particular types of research questions or Scientific method refers to bodies of Techniques for investigating phenomena

In the 18th and 19th centuries, natural philosophy referred to what is now called physical science. Physical science is an encompassing term for the branches of Natural science and Science that study non-living systems in contrast to the biological sciences From the mid-19th century, when it became increasingly unusual for scientists to contribute to both physics and chemistry, it just meant physics, and is still used in that sense in degree titles at the University of Oxford. Physics (Greek Physis - φύσις in everyday terms is the Science of Matter and its motion. Chemistry (from Egyptian kēme (chem meaning "earth") is the Science concerned with the composition structure and properties The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the Natural philosophy was distinguished from the other pre-cursor of modern science, natural history, in that the former involved reasoning and explanations about nature (and after Galileo, quantitative reasoning), whereas the latter was essentially qualitative and descriptive. Natural history is the Scientific research of Plants or Animals leaning more towards the Observational than Experimental methods Galileo Galilei (15 February 1564 &ndash 8 January 1642 was a Tuscan ( Italian) Physicist, Mathematician, Astronomer, and Philosopher A quantitative attribute is one that exists in a range of magnitudes and can therefore be measured.

Scope of natural philosophy

In what is thought to be one of Plato's earliest dialogues, Charmides, the distinction is drawn between sciences or bodies of knowledge which produce a physical result, and those which do not. Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece The Charmides ( Ancient Greek:) is a Dialogue of Plato, in which Socrates engages a handsome and popular boy in a conversation about the meaning of Natural philosophy has been categorized as a theoretical rather than a practical branch of philosophy (like ethics). Sciences that guide arts and which draw upon the philosophical knowledge of nature can of course produce many practical results, but these subsidiary sciences (e. g. architecture or medicine) are considered to go beyond natural philosophy.

The study of natural philosophy presupposes that change is a reality. Although this may seem obvious, there have been some philosophers who have denied change, such as Plato's teacher Parmenides and later Greek philosopher Sextus Empiricus and perhaps some Eastern philosophers as well. Parmenides of Elea ( Greek:, early 5th century BC was an Ancient Greek Philosopher born in Elea, a Greek city on the southern coast of Sextus Empiricus (c 160-210 AD was a Physician and Philosopher, and has been variously reported to have lived in Alexandria, Rome, or George Santayana in his Scepticism and Animal Faith attempted to show that the reality of change cannot be proven. George Santayana ( December 16, 1863, Madrid &ndash September 26, 1952, Rome) was a Philosopher, Essayist If his reasoning is sound, it follows that to be a physicist, one must restrain one's skepticism enough to trust one's senses.

Beginning with Schelling, the mode of change studied in natural philosophy has been development, rather than evolution. Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling ( January 27, 1775 – August 20, 1854) later von Schelling, was a German Philosopher Development is predictable directional change, while evolution is the irreversible accumulation of historically mediated information.

In René Descartes' metaphysical system of dualism, there are two kinds of substance: matter and mind. Metaphysics is the branch of Philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science Dualism denotes a state of two parts The word's origin is the Latin duo, "two". According to this system, everything which is "matter" is deterministic and natural—and so belongs to natural philosophy—and everything which is "mind" is volitional and non-natural, and falls outside the domain of philosophy of nature. Determinism is the philosophical Proposition that every event including human cognition and behaviour decision and action is causally determined The question of free will

Branches and subject matter of natural philosophy

Major branches of natural philosophy include astronomy and cosmology, the study of nature on the grand scale; etiology, the study of (intrinsic and sometimes extrinsic) causes; the study of chance, probability and randomness; the study of elements; the study of the infinite and the unlimited (virtual or actual); the study of matter; mechanics, the study of translation of motion and change; the study of nature or the various sources of actions; the study of natural qualities; the study of physical quantities; the study of relations between physical entities; and the philosophy of space and time. Astronomy (from the Greek words astron (ἄστρον "star" and nomos (νόμος "law" is the scientific study Cosmology (from Greek grc κοσμολογία - grc κόσμος kosmos, "universe" and grc -λογία -logia) is study Etiology (alternatively aetiology, aitiology) is the study of causation. Causality (but not causation) denotes a necessary relationship between one event (called cause and another event (called effect) which is the direct consequence A chemical element is a type of Atom that is distinguished by its Atomic number; that is by the number of Protons in its nucleus. Infinity (symbolically represented with ∞) comes from the Latin infinitas or "unboundedness Matter is commonly defined as being anything that has mass and that takes up space. Mechanics ( Greek) is the branch of Physics concerned with the behaviour of physical bodies when subjected to Forces or displacements Nature, in the broadest sense is equivalent to the natural world, physical universe, material world or material universe. In the vernacular quality can mean a high degree of excellence (“a quality product” a degree of excellence or the lack of it (“work of average quality” or a property of Quantity is a kind of property which exists as magnitude or multitude Philosophy of space and time is the branch of Philosophy concerned with the issues surrounding the Ontology, Epistemology, and character of Space (Adler, 1993)

History of natural philosophy

See History of physics, History of chemistry and History of astronomy for the history of natural philosophy prior to the 17th century. The modern discipline of Physics emerged in the 17th century following in traditions of inquiry established by Galileo Galilei, René Descartes, Isaac The history of Chemistry begins with the discovery of Fire, then Metallurgy which allowed purification of metals and the making of alloys as well as the exploitation Astronomy is the oldest of the Natural sciences dating back to antiquity, with its origins in the religious, Mythological, and Astrological

Figures in natural philosophy

While proposals for a much more 'inquisitive' and practical approach to the study of nature originated with Francis Bacon, Robert Boyle wrote what is considered to be a seminal work on the distinction between nature and metaphysics called A Free Enquiry into the Vulgarly Received Notion of Nature. Francis Bacon 1st Viscount St Alban KC QC (22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626 was an English Philosopher, Statesman, and author Robert Boyle was a Natural philosopher, chemist physicist inventor and early Gentleman scientist, noted for his work in Physics and Chemistry Metaphysics is the branch of Philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science This book, written in 1686, marked the point where the scene was set for natural philosophy to turn into science. It represented a radical departure from the scholasticism of the Middle Ages, and while features of natural philosophy retained some of the trappings of the elitism associated with its precursor, natural philosophy was arguably empirical while previous attempts to describe nature were not. Scholasticism was the dominant form of theology and philosophy in the Latin West in the Middle Ages, particularly in the 12th 13th and 14th centuries Elitism is the belief or attitude that those individuals who are considered members of the Elite &mdash a select group of people with outstanding personal abilities intellect In Philosophy, empiricism is a theory of Knowledge which asserts that knowledge arises from Experience. Nature, in the broadest sense is equivalent to the natural world, physical universe, material world or material universe. An important distinguishing characteristic of science and natural philosophy is the fact that natural philosophers generally did not feel compelled to test their ideas in a practical way. Instead, they observed phenomena and came up with 'philosophical' conclusions. Observation is either an activity of a living being (such as a Human) which senses and assimilates the Knowledge of a Phenomenon, or the recording of data A phenomenon (from Greek φαινόμενoν, pl φαινόμενα - phenomena) is any observable occurrence

Boyle, while he is the first to fully embrace such an approach in both his experimental endeavours and his writings, shares with Bacon (and Galileo who was the inspiration in these matters for both Bacon and Boyle) a conviction that practical experimental observation was the key to a more satisfactory understanding of nature than would have otherwise been sought through either exclusive reference to received authority or a purely speculative approach. Galileo Galilei (15 February 1564 &ndash 8 January 1642 was a Tuscan ( Italian) Physicist, Mathematician, Astronomer, and Philosopher

Although Galileo's 'natural philosophy' is hardly distinguishable from science in many ways, the connection between his experiments and his writings about them is characteristically philosophical, rather than being cluttered with the results of meticulously recorded observational detail of practical scientific research, in the way that Boyle subsequently advocated.

Even though Boyle described what he practiced as 'natural philosophy', the very innovations that Boyle introduced can be seen as a basis for delineating a transition from proto-science to science. Among these innovations are an insistence upon the publication of detailed experimental results, including the results of unsuccessful experiments; and also a requirement for the replication of experiments as a means of validating observational claims.

Thus Boyle's application of the term 'natural philosophy' to his own work may be regarded an anachronistic conflation with earlier proto-science, since the distinction between the terms 'natural philosophy' and 'science' only arose after Boyle's passing.

Boyle would therefore describe his work as 'natural philosophy', whereas we would describe it as 'science'; and yet Boyle's use was correct for his own time. Nonetheless, he is in many ways the architect of the modern distinction between the two terms.

The ancient emphasis on deduction has its representative in Aristotle's Organum, and the new emphasis on induction and research has its representative in Francis Bacon's treatise Novum Organum. Francis Bacon 1st Viscount St Alban KC QC (22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626 was an English Philosopher, Statesman, and author


In popular culture

The writer Nat Hillard maintains a weekly column for the Stanford Daily newspaper entitled "Nat-ural Philosophy". Nat-ural Philosophy

Novelist Neal Stephenson focuses on a number of real and fictional natural philosophers (including Isaac Newton, who is a major supporting character) in his trilogy "The Baroque Cycle". [1]

References

See also

External links

Dictionary

natural philosophy

-noun

  1. The objective study of nature in the widest sense, including mathematics and all the sciences.
  2. The study of the physical sciences including mathematics.
  3. The study of physics, astronomy and mathematics.
  4. The mathematical study of astronomy and cosmology.
  5. The philosophy of quantum mechanics, relativity and cosmology.
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