Anybody know what "scientific method" means in ancient Latin and Greek languages?!?! It's a bonus question on my son's homework and any help would be appreciated...the Google does not seem to know the answer
1. make an observation 2. form a question 3. form a hypothesis 4. conduct an experiment 5. analyse data and draw a conclusion
All we got for the question is what does "scientific method" means in ancient Latin and Greek languages?!?!
Scientists of the old days were called natural philosophers. They believed in observing nature to see if there was a series of patterns nature obeys we nowadays call laws. The very first particle physicist was Democritus, "the laughing philosopher." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_philosophy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democritus
That method was not invented in Greek times. The Arabs/Muslim scholars invented hypothesis with experimentation, later. The question is essentially how does Aristotle define a scientific method. The answer would be something about empirical study and logical deduction.
Sorry I have no idea. But perhaps this video will help. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_7iXw9zZrLo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
It's an ill-formed or trick question. It doesn't mean anything in those languages because the words "scientific method" is modern English.
I think the question is simply how did Aristotle define the "scientific method." The answer is not our current definition. The teacher wants the student to explain the differences. My explanation would point out that hypothesis, experimentation and rigorous testing were not used by Aristotle, as Arabs added that later, not the Greeks/Latins.
Well for one Democritus is considered by modern scientists to be more of the father of modern science than other philosophers of that era. Democritus was older than Aristotle. Therefore his ideas that we contribute as a direction towards modern day science pre-dates Aristotle's incorrect beliefs. Democritus theories regarding the atomic theory of the universe align better with our modern theories of science whereas past philosophers like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle have had their ideas debunked for a long time now. They were brilliant thinkers however their ideas regarding how the universe operates are wrong. The belief in cause and effect under scientific terms is wrong. The belief that the earth is at the center of the universe is wrong. It's just the wrong answer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Socratic_philosophy Again per Wiki Democritus was a Pre-Socratic philosopher. Even per Aristotle, natural philosophers sought natural explanations for phenomena. That is science. Aristotle believed in incorrect meta-physics.
That's all good, but the question is not about the history of scientific theories. The question is about the history of the scientific method. So, what the teacher would want you to do is explain what Democritus would consider a scientific method. I would explain what Aristotle thought, since he fostered a more empirical method and added logical deduction. But neither are what we think of as the "Scientific Method" nowadays.
