From Myth to Logos: Philosophy & Science Origins

Myth - Logos:

In the 6th century BC, a new set of ideas appeared in Greece. Rational thought emerged to explain the world, human beings, and their behavior. This challenged the power of mythological explanations, favoring explanations based on a new, rational method. This new method is characterized by:

• Having a critical attitude.
• Using criteria, principles, and logic when arguing.
• Justifying and providing arguments.

Relationship between Science and Philosophy:

Originally, philosophers were called "physicists," and their subject was Nature. While the forces of nature were personified, their performance was unpredictable and capricious. A clear example of the relationship between science and nature is that Democritus was a philosopher who defended the principle that all things were made of atoms.

Axiom: An "obvious truth" that requires no demonstration, as it is self-evident.

Hypothesis: A proposition used to check the veracity of a thesis through valid arguments. Once validated and proven, it becomes a scientific theory; otherwise, the hypothesis remains if it cannot be refuted.

Paradigm: A scientific explanatory model.

Metaphysics: The branch of philosophy that covers issues related to the divine, "beyond" what is physical.

Ontology: The area that studies the reflection of reality.

Kuhn's Theory: Thomas Kuhn's theory posits that science develops within a paradigm during normal periods. The succession of paradigms does not involve changes in interpreting and explaining the facts. Facts that cannot be explained from the prevailing paradigm lead to a crisis, resulting in a scientific revolution and a paradigm shift.

Falsifiability (Popper): Falsificationism is a theory by philosopher Karl Popper stating that a hypothesis is scientific if it can be challenged and potentially disproven. An example of falsification is the existence of the soul. The existence of the soul is a hypothesis because, while we may not currently have methods to verify it, if such methods were developed, we could potentially verify its existence (or not).