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LE 1 Guide Questions Part 2 - Greek Views of Matter, Motion, and The Universe

The ancient Greeks made many contributions to early concepts of science: 1) They believed in natural laws governing phenomena without supernatural beings 2) They focused on developing locally sound, consistent theories that could infer results from existing knowledge 3) Their views of matter and motion included terrestrial and celestial domains with different properties

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949 views5 pages

LE 1 Guide Questions Part 2 - Greek Views of Matter, Motion, and The Universe

The ancient Greeks made many contributions to early concepts of science: 1) They believed in natural laws governing phenomena without supernatural beings 2) They focused on developing locally sound, consistent theories that could infer results from existing knowledge 3) Their views of matter and motion included terrestrial and celestial domains with different properties

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Part 2 – Greek views of matter, motion, and the universe

How did the ancient Greeks contribute to our modern concept of science?

The Greek View of Matter, Motion, and the Universe includes:


1. Nature Philosophy and the Role of Mathematics
- There are natural laws that explain physical phenomena without supernatural beings
- Plato introduced the notion of symmetry = perfection, circle is the most beautiful and
perfect
- They believe that good theories should be/have: locally sound, consistent ideas, and
plausible results (can infer results from existing knowledge).
2. Matter
- Domain and Elements

3. Motion
- Terrestrial
o Alteration: any change
o Natural and vertical: natural tendency to find its home (recall: earth  water 
air  fire)
o Horizontal/violent: not a result of objects finding their “home”
- Celestial “perfect”
o Diurnal Motion of the Stars
 Motion over t = day
o Annual Motion of the Stars
 Motion over t = year
o Annual Motion of the Sun
 Analemma – figure 8 like the annual path of the sun

 Retrograde motion: Mars’ path in relation to the fixed stars


4. The Universe

How was their approach different from the current approach?

The approach of the Greeks focused on having the theory locally sound, consistent ideas, and
plausible results (can infer results from existing knowledge) and while these are also factors for the
current approach, the modern view of a good theory requires quantitative predictions and repetition
with comparison of observations and experiments. They should be consistent, thus accepted until
proven wrong.

Why did they consider a square to have a higher degree of perfection than a triangle?

Their notion of perfection is a circle. Thus, the closer the shape is to a circle, the higher degree of
perfection. In this case, if we try to superimpose a circle to both the square and the triangle, the
square look more like the circle than the triangle.

Why did they associate perfection with constancy?

Originally, the Greeks observed constancy and unfailed regularity within the environment. Although
only the Gods are perfect, they believe that humans can pursue perfection by attaining constancy and
obtaining lots of knowledge such as – being able to predict regular patterns, regular rise and set of
the sun, etc. These constant patterns reflected perfection for them.
What did Plato mean by “saving the appearances”?

It refers to developing theoretical models that can account for the observed motions of the celestial
bodies. Plato wanted the future Philosophers to continuously observe the heavenly bodies in terms of
combinations of uniform circular motions and to spread this observation to humanity.

How, if at all, is the “Allegory of the Cave” related to their approach to natural philosophy?

What is meant by diurnal motion, annual motion, precession of the equinoxes?

The diurnal motion is the motion observed on a daily basis; it is caused by the earth’s rotation on its
axis. On the other hand, annual motion is the motion observed on a yearly basis/cycle; it is caused by
the earth’s revolution around the earth. Finally, the precession of the equinoxes is the apparent
backward movement of the equinoxes along the ecliptic; it is caused by the gravitational pull of the
sun and moon on the earth’s equatorial bulge.

How is the annual motion of the Sun different from the annual motion of the “fixed stars”?

The annual motion of the sun and the annual motion of the fixed stars differs in two aspects: path and
direction of movement. The annual motion of the sun tends to move eastward through the sky and
follows an ecliptic path, while the annual motion of the fixed stars looks like a westward movement
and follows a straight path along the celestial equator (perpendicular to the earth’s axis of rotation).

How were the Greeks able to establish that the Earth is spherical?

The Greeks were able to establish that the earth is spherical based on experimental evidences and
observations. One of which would be its spherical shadow during lunar eclipse (SEM). Erathosthenes
was able to estimate the earth’s radius by looking directly at the sun in Alexandria to Cyrene when it
was perfectly blinding.

What are the main features of the two domains view of the universe?

1. Sublunar/Terrestrial Domain
- This contains the earthy features of the universe.
- Earth, water, air, fire
2. Suplunar/Celestial Domain
- This contains the “Gods” or the perfect features of the universe.
- Celestial bodies: moons, sun, other planets, etc.

How are the celestial and terrestrial domains different?

The celestial and terrestrial domains differ by the perfectity???? The bodies in the celestial domain
are god-like, they are all perfect, as compared to the bodies in the terrestrial domains where they are
faulty.

How is Ptolemy's description of the universe different from earlier descriptions by Aristotle and
Eudoxus?

All of Ptolemy, Aristotle, and Eudoxus describe a geocentric model of the universe – they all believed
that the Earth is the center of the universe. However, Exodus explains that the ones responsible for
the circular motions are the “intelligences”, while Aristotle introduced the existence of the Prime
Mover that causes the movement of everything. Ptolemy’s description is different because it is more
sophisticated and mathematically heavy. It specifically addressed the issue of retrograde motion and
provided a framework for predicting planetary positions by introducing the concepts of epicycle and
deferent. Moreover, Aristotle and Eudoxus’s models showed that the Earth is the exact center of the
universe, Ptolemy allotted for a deviation (it is not exactly in the center) to account for the planet’s
retrograde motion.

Ptolemy’s geocentric model of the universe


Compare and contrast the models of the universe by Eudoxus, Aristotle, and Aristarchus.

Eudoxus and Aristotle’s models are geocentric models, while Aristarchus’s is a heliocentric model.

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