Friday, 17 April 2015
Standing on the shoulders of giants
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Isaac Newton
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| Thales of Miletus |
In a letter to Robert Hooke, written in February 1676, the great Isaac Newton wrote, "If I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants."
Newton borrowed the expression from Bernard of Chartres who, more than 500 years earlier, remarked we are as dwarfs perched on the shoulders of giants. We see more and farther than our predecessors, not because we have keener vision or greater height, but because we are lifted up and borne aloft on their gigantic stature.
This was not Newton engaging in false modesty. It was profoundly true that his achievements were possible only because his education included a thorough grounding in the works of Greek natural philosophers who lived 2,000 or more years before him.
Thales of Miletus was the first person known to fully reject supernatural, religious or mythological explanations for natural phenomena and to claim that every event had a natural cause. From a 21st century perspective it is easy to think that was no big deal. But it was. It was quite extraordinary at a time when everyone, from kings to paupers, believed that everything that happened had a supernatural cause. This is why Thales is now regarded as the father of science.
Following Thales were great men like Democritus, Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Epicurus and a clutch of others. These men did not get everything right but they developed a revolutionary approach to understanding the world and gave us the basic tools of logic, maths, epistemology and rational investigation which are the foundations we stand upon today. And they were the foundations Newton stood upon.
Thales developed his ideas 2,600 years ago. Over the intervening years we have proved him right time-after-time—we have discovered the natural causes for thousands of phenomena from earthquakes to lightning, from the movement of the planets to the trajectories of comets, from conception to disease, from anger to ecstasy.
Yet, all these years later, billions of people still refuse to accept his basic tenet. They cling to the idea that SOME things have a supernatural explanation. The ground these people occupy is ever shrinking as a wave of knowledge surrounds them. They stand firm on their shrinking island despite the fact they have no evidence that they are right and no way of studying the supernatural phenomena they claim exist.
I wonder how many years will pass before they concede that Thales was right and they are wrong?
Newton borrowed the expression from Bernard of Chartres who, more than 500 years earlier, remarked we are as dwarfs perched on the shoulders of giants. We see more and farther than our predecessors, not because we have keener vision or greater height, but because we are lifted up and borne aloft on their gigantic stature.
This was not Newton engaging in false modesty. It was profoundly true that his achievements were possible only because his education included a thorough grounding in the works of Greek natural philosophers who lived 2,000 or more years before him.
Thales of Miletus was the first person known to fully reject supernatural, religious or mythological explanations for natural phenomena and to claim that every event had a natural cause. From a 21st century perspective it is easy to think that was no big deal. But it was. It was quite extraordinary at a time when everyone, from kings to paupers, believed that everything that happened had a supernatural cause. This is why Thales is now regarded as the father of science.
Following Thales were great men like Democritus, Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Epicurus and a clutch of others. These men did not get everything right but they developed a revolutionary approach to understanding the world and gave us the basic tools of logic, maths, epistemology and rational investigation which are the foundations we stand upon today. And they were the foundations Newton stood upon.
Thales developed his ideas 2,600 years ago. Over the intervening years we have proved him right time-after-time—we have discovered the natural causes for thousands of phenomena from earthquakes to lightning, from the movement of the planets to the trajectories of comets, from conception to disease, from anger to ecstasy.
Yet, all these years later, billions of people still refuse to accept his basic tenet. They cling to the idea that SOME things have a supernatural explanation. The ground these people occupy is ever shrinking as a wave of knowledge surrounds them. They stand firm on their shrinking island despite the fact they have no evidence that they are right and no way of studying the supernatural phenomena they claim exist.
I wonder how many years will pass before they concede that Thales was right and they are wrong?
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Nildogma, the blogga
About Me
- Nildogma
- As a 20-year-old I was insatiably curious about the world and passionate about rejecting superstitions and all kinds of false beliefs. I still am today. Sometimes when people believe things that are not true, it make little or no difference but sometimes the consequences can be disastrous and deadly. Now, I do what I can to help people improve their thinking skills, especially in how they impinge on core beliefs, such as cultural values and religious beliefs. I have an active Facebook page for which I create memes and write articles almost daily. I also engage people in on-line debates. You can find me here: https://www.facebook.com/bill.flavell.1 I lecture at universities around the world and present or debate at public meetings. I also, draw on my management consultancy background to help freethought groups, almost anywhere in the world, to get organised, develop strategy and improve their media and presentation skills. If you would like me to present at your university or for your church group or freethought group, please contact me.
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Beautifully written.
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