The Civilization of Illiteracy Part 57

He discusses the conditions of existence for which we are not adjusted in ber den Frieden, Weltordnung und Weltuntergang (O.

Norden and H. Norden, Editors.), Bern. 1975, p. 494.

In a letter to Jacques Hadamard (1945), Einstein explained: "The words of the language, as they are written or spoken, do not seem to play any role in my mechanisms of thought. The physical ent.i.ties which seem to serve as elements in thought are certain signs and more or less clear images which can be 'voluntarily'

reproduced or combined" cf. A Testimonial from Professor Einstein, in The Psychology of Invention in the Mathematical Field, edited by J. Hadamard, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1945, p. 142.

Raymond Kurzweil, The Age of Intelligent Machines, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1990.

"Rather than defining intelligence in terms of its const.i.tuent processes, we might define it in terms of its goal: the ability to use symbolic reasoning in the pursuit of a goal" (p. 17).

Alan Bundy, The Computer Modelling of Mathematical Reasoning. New York: Academic Press, 1983.

Allan Ramsey. Formal Methods in Artificial Intelligence.

Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991.

M. Reinfrank, Editor. Non-Monotonic Reasoning: Second International Workshop. Berlin/New York: Springer Verlag, 1989.

t.i.tus Lucretius Carus. De rerum natura (edited with translation and commentary by John G.o.dwin). Warminster, Wilts.h.i.+re, England: Aris & Phillips,1986.

-. The Nature of Things. Trans. Frank O. Copley. 1st ed. New York: Norton., 1977.

Epicurus, called by Timon "the last of the natural philosophers," was translated by Lucretius into Latin. His Letter to Herodotus and Master Sayings (Kyriai doxai) were integrated in De rerum natura (On Nature). A good reference book is Clay Diskin's Lucretius and Epicurus, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1983.

Galileo Galilei. Discorsi e dimostrazioni matematiche (Two New Sciences: Including Centers of Gravity and Force of Percussion, translated, with a new introduction and notes, by Stillman Drake). Toronto: Wall & Thompson, 1989.

-. Galileo's Early Notebooks. The Physical Questions (translated from the Latin, with historical and paleographical commentary, by William A. Wallace). Notre Dame IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1977.

Starting out as a dictionnaire raisonn of the sciences, the arts, and crafts, the Encyclopdie became a major form of philosophic expression in the 18th century. Philosophers dedicated themselves to the advancement of the sciences and secular thought, and to the social program of the Enlightenment.

The Encyclopdie showcased new directions of thought in all branches of intellectual activity. The emergent values corresponding to the pragmatic condition of time, tolerance, innovation, and freedom, were expressed in the Encyclopedic writings and embodied in the political program of the revolutions it inspired. One of the acknowledged sources of this orientation is Ephraim Chamber's Cyclopedia (or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences), London, 1728.

The examination of star naming is in some ways an exercise in the geology of pragmatic contexts. The acknowledgment of what is high, over, above, and beyond the observer's actions suggested power. The sequence of day and night, of seasons, of the changing weather is a mixture of repet.i.tive patterns and unexpected occurrences, even meteorites, some related to wind, fire, water. Once the shortest and the longest days are observed, and the length of day equal to that of night (the equinox), the sky becomes integrated in the pragmatics of human self-const.i.tution by virtue of affecting cycles of work.

Furthermore, parallel to the mytho-magical explanation of what happens follows the a.s.sociation of mythical characters, mainly to stars. Saturn, or Chronos, was the G.o.d of time, a star known for its steady movement; Jupiter, known by the Egyptians as Ammon, the most impressive planet, and apparently the biggest.

Details of this geology of naming could lead to a book. Here are some of the names used: Mythomagical: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Ura.n.u.s, Pluto; Zodiacal: Gemini, Capricorn, Sagittarius, Scorpio, etc.

s.p.a.ce: limitless, 3-dimensional, in which objects exist, events occur, movement takes place. Objects have relative positions and their movement has relative directions. The geometric notion of s.p.a.ce expands beyond 3-dimensionality.

Paradigm: Since the time Thomas Kuhn published The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962), the concept of paradigm was adopted in philosophic jargon. The underlying thesis is that science operates in a research s.p.a.ce dominated by successive research models, or paradigms. The domination of such a paradigm does not make it more important than previous scientific explanations (paradigms are not comparable). Rather it effects a certain convergence in the unifying framework it ascertains.

Logos: ancient Greek for word, was many times defined, almost always partially, as a means to express thoughts. By generalization, logos became similar to thought or reason, and thus a way to control the word through speech (legein). In this last sense, logos was adapted by Christianity as the Word of Divinity.

For a description of holism, see Holism-A Philosophy for Today, by Harry Settanni (New York: P. Lang, 1990).

Techn: from the Greek, means "pertaining to the making of artifacts" (art objects included).

Francis Bacon (1561-1626): Statesman and philosopher, distinguished for establis.h.i.+ng the empiric methods for scientific research. Intent on a.n.a.lytical tools, he set out methods of induction which proved to be effective in the distinction between scientific and philosophical research. In The Advancement of Learning (1605) and especially Novum Organum (1620), Bacon set forth principles that affected the development of modern science.

Ren Descartes (1596-1650): Probably one of the most influential philosophers and scientists, whose contribution, at a time of change and definition, marked Western civilization in many ways.

The Cartesian dualism he developed ascertains a physical (res extensa) and a thinking (res cogitans) substance. The first is extended, can be measured and divided; the second is indivisible. The body is part of res extensa, the mind (including thoughts, desires, volition) is res cogitans. His rules for the Direction of the Understanding (1628), influenced by his mathematical concerns, submitted a model for the acquisition of knowledge. The method of doubt, i.e., rejection of everything not certain, expressed in the famous Discourse on Method (1637), together with the foundation of a model of science that combines a mechanic image of the universe described mathematically, are part of his legacy.

Edwin A. Abbot. Flatland. A Romance of Many Dimensions. By a Square.

A broad-minded square guides the reader through a 2-dimensional s.p.a.ce. High priests (circular figures) forbid discussing a third dimension. Abruptly, the square is transported into s.p.a.celand and peers astonished into his 2-dimensional homeland.

Spatial reasoning: a type of reasoning that incorporates the experience of s.p.a.ce either in direct forms (geometric reasoning) or indirectly (through terms such as close, remote, among others).

Linearity: relation among dependent phenomena that can be described through a linear function.

Non-linearity: relations among dependent phenomena that cannot be described through a linear function, but through exponential and logarithmic functions, among others.

Jackson E. Atlee. Perspectives of Non-Linear Dynamics.

Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990.

S. Neil Rasband. Chaotic Dynamics of Non-Linear Systems. New York: Wiley, 1990.

Coherence: the notion that reflects interest in how parts of a whole are connected. Of special interest is the coherence of knowledge.

Ralph C.S. Walker. The Coherence Theory of Truth: Realism, Anti-Realism, Idealism. London/New York: Routledge, 1989.

Alan H. Goldman. Moral Knowledge. London/New York: Routledge, 1988.

A major survey, focused on the contributions of Keith Lehrer and Laurence Bon Jour, was carried out in The Current State of the Coherence Theory. Critical Essays on the Epistemic Theories of Keith Lehrer and Laurence Bon Jour, with Replies (John W.

Bender, Editor, Dordrecht/Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1989).

David Kirsch. Foundations of Artificial Intelligence. (A special volume of the journal Artificial Intelligence, 47:1-3, January 1991. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Self-organization is a dominant topic in artificial life research. The Annual Conference on Artificial Life (Santa Fe) resulted in a Proceedings in which self-organization is amply discussed. Some aspects pertinent to the subject can be found in:

H. Haken. Advanced Synergetics: Instability Hierarchies of Self-Organizing Systems and Devices. Berlin/New York: Springer Verlag, 1983.

P.C.W. Davies. The Cosmic Blueprint. London: Heinemann, 1987.

G. M. Whitesides. Self-a.s.sembling Materials, in Nanothinc, 1996.

http://www.nanothinc.com/webmaster @nanothinc.com

More information on self-a.s.sembling materials and nanotechnology can be found on the Internet at http://www.nanothinc.com/webmaster @nanothinc.com and at http:[email protected]

Richard Feynman, in a talk given in 1959, stated that "The principles of physics...do not speak against the possibility of maneuvering things atom by atom. [...] The problems of chemistry and biology can be greatly helped if our ability to...do things on an atomic level is ultimately developed, a developmet which I think cannot be avoided." (cf. http://www.foresight.org).

Preston Prather. Science Education and the Problem of Scientific Enlightenment, in Science Education, 5:1, 1996.

The money invested in science is a slippery subject. While direct funds, such as those made available through the National Science Foundation, are rather scarce, funding through various government agencies (Defense, Agriculture, Energy, NASA) and through private sources amounts to hundreds of billions of dollars. How much of this goes to fundamental research and how much to applied science is not very clear, as even the distinction between fundamental and applied is less and less clear.

Ernst Mach. The Science of Mechanics (1883). Trans. T.J.

McCormick. LaSalle, IL: Open Court, 1960.

Henri Poincar. The Foundations of Science (1909). Trans. G.B.

Halsted. New York: The Science Press, 1929.

N.P. Cambell. Foundations of Science (1919). New York: Dover, 1957.